there are many more ways to decline, I play g6 then the d5 counterthrust.
depends what "playable" is to you.. like you said you like to attack so maybe you dont like to defend
The Smith-Morra Gambit... Accept or Refute?
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I never accept. Usually they don't really know what they're doing either after that.
Accepting this gambit seems to be a bad idea. I was beaten by it two days ago, where I accepted and didn't play actively enough. A drubbing I'll never forget!
I can't resist accepting gambits and trying to keep my position solid. I love material.
Cutebold wrote:
Accepting this gambit seems to be a bad idea. I was beaten by it two days ago, where I accepted and didn't play actively enough. A drubbing I'll never forget!
I don't think you can judge how good something is theoretically solely from your own experience! Theoretically black is supposed to eventually get an edge if I remember correctly, but you have to be confident that you won't fall for the traps and know how to play when a pawn up but without the initiative.
Oh, I meant it seems to be a bad idea for me! Since I don't know the theory, playing the tamest continuation without a forest of complications is the best for me. Maybe I'll give it a look over - it's somewhat popular where I live.
as Elubas says, and the end of the day black should be better..
but for 2 lower rated players, accepting leads to a very natural position for white, and its a much bigger strain for the black player. if white fails theyre usually trying to force a draw in an endgame, where if black fails its checkmate
The right thing to do is to accept the gambit, make sure you play a6, d6, e6 and also that White will never be able to push e5 under favourable conditions (that's the key idea in this gambit, if White can push e5, he has threats and an easy game). The best thing you can do is to use the search function, this gambit has been discussed here in depth several times.
GM's do not play it and have called it unsound. I believe them. If you have time to study the opening, learn the lines and accept.
There are other ways to decline the gambit.
Elubas wrote:
I can't resist accepting gambits and trying to keep my position solid. I love material.
I'm a material glutton too. lol. I'm trying to learn to behave.
The only way to refute a gambit is to accept it. That is especially true here, because if black knows his theory white eventually ends up being a pawn down for pretty much nothing.
Accept the gambit! 
What did Smith play against 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 ? 3.d4 cxd4 4.c3?! allows 4...Nf6! as a strong reply 
Pedantic and wrong, IMO. I remember getting Chess Digest when Ken Smith was editor, and I don't recall him ever advocating an e4-Nf3-d4-c3 move order. It's not like you could've missed it, either, he was tireless in his enthusiasm for the opening.
rich wrote:
white plays 2.d4 I would play Nf6.
He he, that is the reason I play sometimes this gambit in blitz or bullet. 2...Nf6 3.e5 Thanks for allowing me to push e5 with tempo. Now what about your knight?
Gonnosuke wrote:
There's no good excuse for declining the Smith-Morra. Compared to something like the King's Gambit which can lead to irrational positions, the Smith-Morra is one dimensional and easy to neutralize once you learn a few key concepts. With a little homework you'll never have to fear the light square banzai strategy again....
As Costelus mentioned, e5 is the key to whites game. The move order I've had the most success with is e6 a6 Nge7 intending Ng6 which is a great square for the knight as it puts some heat on e5. Example:
From a purely statistical perspective, this move order should scare white off the Smith-Morra altogether since he's only scoring 37% in the 836 games where 7...Nge7 was played.
As usual, stats don't tell the whole tale. 9.Bf4 is bullcrap.
Care to test out the 9.Be3 b5 10.Bb3 Ng6 line against me, Gonnosuke? :)
costelus wrote:
rich wrote:
white plays 2.d4 I would play Nf6.
He he, that is the reason I play sometimes this gambit in blitz or bullet. 2...Nf6 3.e5 Thanks for allowing me to push e5 with tempo. Now what about your knight?
I have to say, I've played the Morra in hundreds, if not thousands, of online blitz games. Maybe 2 Black players have gone 2...Nf6.
I am an aggressive sicilian defense player, and I have heard about this gambit. I learned two different lines in the Smith-Morra Gambit: The Smith-Morra Gambit Accepted, or the Smith-Morra Gambit Declined.
The question is: Which option will give black a more playable position, Accepting the Gambit, or Refuting it?