Sebastian Cohen: Level 89 Chess Rival (2334 ELO)

Queen tier · Positional Master · plays the Smith-Morra Gambit

How Sebastian plays

Sebastian is a positional player through and through, which makes his choice of accepting the Smith-Morra Gambit a quiet act of confidence. At 48, from Canada, he takes the pawn with a shrug, develops with ...Nc6, ...d6 and ...e6, and aims to consolidate into a sound position with a material plus. In his view, a pawn is a pawn, and if he survives the opening it will win the endgame for him.

He is happiest once the initiative has faded: queens traded, his king safe, and a long technical phase ahead with an extra pawn and a good structure. Sebastian is far less comfortable during the first fifteen moves, when White's lead in development is at its peak and the position demands concrete defence instead of strategic judgement. He prefers to absorb pressure quietly, and fast, forcing play is the part of the game he enjoys least.

At 2334 ELO, Sebastian plays at master strength. Outright blunders are rare, so you need a sound opening, a clear plan and accurate calculation in sharp moments. A draw against him is a good result; a win means you played a very good game.

Smith-Morra Gambit: the line Sebastian plays

Sebastian plays the Black side of the Smith-Morra Gambit: after 1.e4 c5 2.d4 cxd4 3.c3 they take the pawn with ...dxc3 and then develop with ...Nc6, ...d6, ...e6 and ...Nf6. Black keeps the extra pawn and tries to survive White's lead in development.

1.e4 c5 2.d4 cxd4 3.c3 dxc3 4.Nxc3 Nc6 5.Nf3 d6 6.Bc4 e6 7.O-O Nf6 8.Qe2 Be7

Learn it move by move: Smith-Morra Gambit walkthrough

How to beat Sebastian

  1. Treat every move as a tempo. Slow prophylaxis like a3 gives him the time to castle and untangle, and once he consolidates, the extra pawn becomes a long-term winning asset.
  2. Keep the queens on. Without them his extra pawn and better structure decide, so avoid trades that relieve his king and reach the technical endgame he plays for.
  3. Use the open c-file. A rook on c1 combined with Bb5 or a knight heading for b5 pressures c6 and c7, keeping his queenside under fire while your other pieces develop.
  4. If you gambit the pawn, play for activity, not material: castle, put a rook on d1 and the queen on e2, and look for Nd5 or e5 to rip open the d-file. If you would rather not gambit, 2.Nf3 leads to an Open Sicilian where they reply ...d6 and ...a6.
  5. The book answers 1.e4 (including the Alapin 2.c3 and the Open Sicilian 2.Nf3). Open 1.d4 and he is out of book immediately.

What beating Sebastian teaches you

Sebastian teaches you how to play with compensation: making every tempo count and keeping the queens on until the pressure produces something concrete.

Neighbours on the ladder