Sicilian Defense
Starting 1.e4 c5, the Sicilian is Black's most popular and most combative answer to 1.e4. Instead of mirroring White in the centre, Black contests it with the c-pawn, creating imbalanced structures that give both sides winning chances. With lines such as the Najdorf, Sveshnikov, Taimanov and Dragon it is a staple of world championship play.
2377master games
2615avg. Elo
44variations
White wins %28 · draw %52 · Black wins %20
Played by: Caruana, Abdusattorov, Firouzja, Wei Yi, Erigaisi, Rapport, Praggnanandhaa, Vachier Lagrave
Main line
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 e6 4.O-O Nge7 5.Re1 a6 6.Bf1 d5 7.exd5 Nxd5 8.d4 Nf6 9.Be3 Be7 10.c4 O-O 11.Nc3 cxd4 12.Nxd4 Ne5 13.h3 Bd7 14.Bf4 Ng6 15.Be3 Qc7
Learn every line move by move on an interactive board with Stockfish 19 evaluation, model games and spaced repetition. Also: every chess tournament worldwide and 4,100+ puzzles.
Try 7 days free →Variations played by masters (44)
Nyezhmetdinov-Rossolimo Attack · ECO B30 · for Black
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 e6 4.O-O Nge7 5.Re1 a6 6.Bf1 d5 7.exd5 Nxd5 8.d4 Nf6 9.Be3 Be7 10.c4 O-O …
277 games · avg. Elo 2610 · W/D/L 81/146/50 · Model game: Madaminov – Yakubboev, 2026 (0-1)
Moscow Variation · ECO B51 · for Black
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.Bb5+ Nd7 4.O-O a6 5.Be2 Ngf6 6.d3 e6 7.a4 b6 8.Nfd2 Bb7 9.f4 Be7 10.Bf3 Qc7 …
197 games · avg. Elo 2618 · W/D/L 46/104/47 · Model game: Ponomariov – Mendonca, 2024 (1-0)
Najdorf Variation, English Attack · ECO B90 · for Black
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Be3 e5 7.Nb3 Be6 8.f3 h5 9.Nd5 Bxd5 10.exd5 Nbd7 …
157 games · avg. Elo 2610 · W/D/L 45/80/32
Nyezhmetdinov-Rossolimo Attack, Fianchetto Variation · ECO B31 · for Black
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 g6 4.O-O Bg7 5.Re1 e5 6.Bxc6 dxc6 7.d3 Qe7 8.a4 Nf6 9.a5 O-O 10.Be3 Rd8 …
120 games · avg. Elo 2618 · W/D/L 43/61/16 · Model game: Vitiugov – Predojevic, 2024 (1/2-1/2)
French Variation, Normal · ECO B40 · for Black
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 Nc6 6.Nxc6 bxc6 7.e5 Nd5 8.Ne4 Qc7 9.f4 Qb6 10.c4 Bb4+ …
117 games · avg. Elo 2614 · W/D/L 28/75/14
Modern Variations · ECO B50 · for Black
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.d4 cxd4 5.Qxd4 Nc6 6.Bb5 Bd7 7.Qd3 g6 8.Bg5 Bg7 9.O-O-O Ng4 10.Qd2 h6 …
113 games · avg. Elo 2624 · W/D/L 30/59/24 · Model game: Vitiugov – Giri, 2025 (1/2-1/2)
Modern Variations · ECO B50 · for Black
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.d4 cxd4 5.Qxd4 Nc6 6.Bb5 Bd7 7.Qd3 g6 8.Bg5 Bg7 9.O-O-O Ng4 10.Qd2 h6 …
113 games · avg. Elo 2624 · W/D/L 30/59/24 · Model game: Vitiugov – Giri, 2025 (1/2-1/2)
Najdorf Variation · ECO B90 · for Black
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.f3 e5 7.Nb3 Be6 8.Be3 h5 9.Qd2 Nbd7 10.O-O-O Be7 …
90 games · avg. Elo 2628 · W/D/L 29/43/18 · Model game: Liang – Salem, 2026 (0-1)
Najdorf Variation · ECO B90 · for Black
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.f3 e5 7.Nb3 Be6 8.Be3 h5 9.Qd2 Nbd7 10.O-O-O Be7 …
90 games · avg. Elo 2628 · W/D/L 29/43/18 · Model game: Liang – Salem, 2026 (0-1)
French Variation · ECO B40 · for Black
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.g3 Nc6 4.Bg2 Nf6 5.d3 d5 6.Qe2 Be7 7.a4 Qa5+ 8.Nbd2 c4 9.c3 cxd3 10.Qxd3 O-O …
79 games · avg. Elo 2620 · W/D/L 27/38/14 · Model game: Harikrishna – Rapport, 2026 (1-0)
French Variation · ECO B40 · for Black
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.g3 Nc6 4.Bg2 Nf6 5.d3 d5 6.Qe2 Be7 7.a4 Qa5+ 8.Nbd2 c4 9.c3 cxd3 10.Qxd3 O-O …
79 games · avg. Elo 2620 · W/D/L 27/38/14 · Model game: Harikrishna – Rapport, 2026 (1-0)
Najdorf Variation, Opocensky Variation · ECO B92 · for Black
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Be2 e5 7.Nb3 Be7 8.Be3 Be6 9.f4 exf4 10.Bxf4 Nc6 …
74 games · avg. Elo 2614 · W/D/L 20/39/15
Najdorf Variation, Adams Attack · ECO B90 · for Black
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.h3 e5 7.Nb3 Be7 8.g4 h6 9.Be3 b5 10.Nd5 Bb7 …
69 games · avg. Elo 2604 · W/D/L 26/25/18 · Model game: Mamedov – Muradli, 2025 (0-1)
Najdorf Variation, Yates Variation · ECO B90 · for Black
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Bd3 e5 7.Nde2 Be7 8.O-O O-O 9.Ng3 Bg4 10.Be2 Be6 …
67 games · avg. Elo 2614 · W/D/L 21/38/8 · Model game: Matlakov – Iljiushenok, 2024 (1-0)
Closed · ECO B23 · for Black
1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 d6 3.Nge2 Nf6 4.g3 g6 5.Bg2 Bg7 6.O-O Nc6 7.d3 Rb8 8.f4 O-O 9.h3 Nd7 10.a4 a6 …
64 games · avg. Elo 2610 · W/D/L 18/36/10 · Model game: Hakobyan – Muradli, 2025 (1/2-1/2)
Alapin Variation · ECO B22 · for Black
1.e4 c5 2.c3 Nf6 3.e5 Nd5 4.Bc4 Nb6 5.Bb3 d6 6.exd6 Qxd6 7.Na3 a6 8.Ne2 Nc6 9.O-O g6 10.Ng3 Na5 …
59 games · avg. Elo 2619 · W/D/L 14/26/19 · Model game: Yoo – Robson, 2024 (1/2-1/2)
Alapin Variation, Barmen Defense · ECO B22 · for Black
1.e4 c5 2.c3 d5 3.exd5 Qxd5 4.d4 Nf6 5.Nf3 e6 6.Na3 Qd8 7.Nc4 Nc6 8.Nce5 Qc7 9.Nxc6 bxc6 10.dxc5 Bxc5 …
47 games · avg. Elo 2602 · W/D/L 10/35/2 · Model game: Tiviakov – Romanov, 2023 (1/2-1/2)
Chekhover Variation · ECO B53 · for Black
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Qxd4 Nf6 5.Bg5 Nc6 6.Bb5 Bd7 7.Qd3 e6 8.Nc3 h6 9.Bh4 a6 10.Bxc6 Bxc6 …
39 games · avg. Elo 2610 · W/D/L 9/20/10 · Model game: Rapport – Abdusattorov, 2026 (0-1)
Najdorf Variation, English Attack, Anti-English · ECO B90 · for Black
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Be3 Ng4 7.Bc1 Nf6 8.Be3 Ng4 9.Bg5 h6 10.Bh4 g5 …
33 games · avg. Elo 2623 · W/D/L 8/20/5 · Model game: Vachier Lagrave – Tabatabaei, 2026 (1-0)
Najdorf Variation, Lipnitsky Attack · ECO B90 · for Black
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Bc4 e6 7.Be3 b5 8.Bb3 Be7 9.a3 O-O 10.Qe2 Bb7 …
33 games · avg. Elo 2610 · W/D/L 11/16/6 · Model game: Adhiban – Vokhidov, 2024 (1/2-1/2)
Modern Variations, Main Line · ECO B54 · for Black
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Bd3 Nc6 6.Be3 g6 7.h3 Bg7 8.c4 Ng4 9.hxg4 Bxd4 10.Bxd4 Nxd4 …
30 games · avg. Elo 2612 · W/D/L 8/17/5 · Model game: Artemiev – Gumularz, 2026 (1-0)
Najdorf Variation, Amsterdam Variation · ECO B93 · for Black
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.f4 e5 7.Nb3 Nc6 8.f5 Be7 9.Bd3 b5 10.a4 bxa4 …
30 games · avg. Elo 2608 · W/D/L 11/12/7 · Model game: Yakubboev – Niemann, 2026 (1/2-1/2)
Kalashnikov Variation · ECO B32 · for Black
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 e5 5.Nb5 d6 6.c4 g6 7.Bd3 Nf6 8.O-O Bg7 9.f3 O-O 10.Bg5 Be6 …
29 games · avg. Elo 2598 · W/D/L 7/15/7 · Model game: Kokarev – Esipenko, 2026 (0-1)
Closed, Traditional · ECO B23 · for Black
1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 Nc6 3.Nf3 g6 4.d4 cxd4 5.Nxd4 Bg7 6.Be3 Nf6 7.Bc4 O-O 8.Bb3 d6 9.f3 Qa5 10.Qd2 Nxd4 …
29 games · avg. Elo 2613 · W/D/L 4/18/7
Najdorf Variation, Zagreb Variation · ECO B91 · for Black
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.g3 e5 7.Nb3 Be7 8.Bg5 Nbd7 9.a4 h6 10.Be3 h5 …
28 games · avg. Elo 2620 · W/D/L 10/12/6 · Model game: Ponomariov – Shankland, 2025 (1/2-1/2)
Lasker-Pelikan Variation, Sveshnikov Variation, Chelyabinsk Variation · ECO B33 · for Black
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 e5 6.Ndb5 d6 7.Bg5 a6 8.Na3 b5 9.Nd5 Be7 10.Bxf6 Bxf6 …
28 games · avg. Elo 2590 · W/D/L 2/22/4
Delayed Alapin Variation, with d6 · ECO B50 · for Black
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.c3 Nf6 4.Be2 g6 5.O-O Bg7 6.d3 O-O 7.Be3 b6 8.Nbd2 Bb7 9.Qb1 Nbd7 10.h3 Qc7 …
24 games · avg. Elo 2631 · W/D/L 6/13/5 · Model game: Martinez Alcantara – Kramnik, 2024 (0-1)
Closed, Carlsen Variation · ECO B23 · for Black
1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Qxd4 Nc6 5.Qd2 g6 6.b3 Bh6 7.f4 Nf6 8.Bb2 O-O 9.O-O-O a5 10.a4 Nb4 …
20 games · avg. Elo 2610 · W/D/L 7/9/4
Moscow Variation, Sokolsky Variation · ECO B52 · for Black
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.Bb5+ Bd7 4.Bxd7+ Qxd7 5.c4 Nf6 6.Nc3 g6 7.d4 cxd4 8.Nxd4 Bg7 9.O-O O-O 10.f3 Rc8 …
19 games · avg. Elo 2594 · W/D/L 0/14/5
Scheveningen Variation, Classical Variation · ECO B84 · for Black
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Be2 e6 7.Be3 Qc7 8.Qd2 b5 9.a3 Bb7 10.f3 Nc6 …
19 games · avg. Elo 2612 · W/D/L 9/8/2 · Model game: Van den Doel – Van Wely, 2024 (1-0)
Richter-Rauzer Variation, Modern Variation · ECO B60 · for Black
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 Nc6 6.Bg5 Bd7 7.Qd2 a6 8.O-O-O e6 9.Kb1 Be7 10.Nxc6 Bxc6 …
18 games · avg. Elo 2609 · W/D/L 5/7/6 · Model game: Mamedov – Xu, 2025 (1-0)
Kan Variation, Modern Variation · ECO B42 · for Black
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 a6 5.Bd3 Nf6 6.O-O Qc7 7.Qe2 d6 8.c4 Nbd7 9.Nc3 Ne5 10.Kh1 Be7 …
18 games · avg. Elo 2604 · W/D/L 7/8/3 · Model game: Dardha – Yu Yangyi, 2025 (1/2-1/2)
Kan Variation, Maróczy Bind, Réti Variation · ECO B41 · for Black
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 a6 5.c4 Nf6 6.Nc3 Bb4 7.Qd3 d5 8.exd5 exd5 9.Be2 O-O 10.O-O Nc6 …
17 games · avg. Elo 2606 · W/D/L 2/12/3 · Model game: Andersen – Teclaf, 2024 (1/2-1/2)
Delayed Alapin Variation · ECO B22 · for Black
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.c3 d5 4.exd5 Qxd5 5.d4 Nf6 6.Na3 Nc6 7.Be3 cxd4 8.Nb5 Qd7 9.Nbxd4 Be7 10.Bd3 Nd5 …
17 games · avg. Elo 2607 · W/D/L 4/12/1 · Model game: Nakamura – Erigaisi, 2025 (1/2-1/2)
Classical Variation, Sozin Attack · ECO B57 · for Black
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 Nc6 6.Bc4 e6 7.Be3 Bd7 8.Bb3 Nxd4 9.Qxd4 Be7 10.O-O-O O-O …
16 games · avg. Elo 2629 · W/D/L 6/6/4 · Model game: Kadric – Shevchenko, 2024 (0-1)
Four Knights Variation · ECO B45 · for Black
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nc6 5.Nc3 Nf6 6.a3 Be7 7.Nxc6 bxc6 8.e5 Nd5 9.Qg4 g6 10.Qg3 d6 …
15 games · avg. Elo 2635 · W/D/L 5/5/5 · Model game: Svidler – Erdogmus, 2025 (1-0)
Four Knights Variation · ECO B45 · for Black
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nc6 5.Nc3 Nf6 6.a3 Be7 7.Nxc6 bxc6 8.e5 Nd5 9.Qg4 g6 10.Qg3 d6 …
15 games · avg. Elo 2635 · W/D/L 5/5/5 · Model game: Svidler – Erdogmus, 2025 (1-0)
Taimanov Variation · ECO B46 · for Black
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nc6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Nxc6 bxc6 7.Qd3 d5 8.Qg3 h5 9.h4 d4 10.Nb1 Nf6 …
14 games · avg. Elo 2622 · W/D/L 2/6/6 · Model game: Siddharth – Wang Yue, 2024 (1/2-1/2)
Najdorf Variation, Petronić Attack · ECO B90 · for Black
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Rg1 h5 7.Bg5 b5 8.a4 b4 9.Nd5 e6 10.Nxf6+ gxf6 …
13 games · avg. Elo 2619 · W/D/L 6/3/4 · Model game: Van Foreest – Vachier Lagrave, 2024 (1/2-1/2)
Closed, Chameleon Variation · ECO B23 · for Black
1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 Nc6 3.Nge2 Nf6 4.d4 cxd4 5.Nxd4 e5 6.Ndb5 d6 7.Nd5 Nxd5 8.exd5 Nb8 9.c4 Be7 10.c5 O-O …
13 games · avg. Elo 2610 · W/D/L 4/5/4 · Model game: Pranesh – Maurizzi, 2026 (1-0)
Prins Variation · ECO B54 · for Black
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.f3 e5 6.Nb3 d5 7.Bg5 Be6 8.Bxf6 gxf6 9.exd5 Qxd5 10.Qxd5 Bxd5 …
13 games · avg. Elo 2599 · W/D/L 3/7/3 · Model game: Lu Shanglei – Gupta, 2025 (1/2-1/2)
Alapin Variation, Smith-Morra Declined · ECO B22 · for Black
1.e4 c5 2.c3 Nf6 3.e5 Nd5 4.d4 cxd4 5.Nf3 Nc6 6.cxd4 d6 7.Bc4 Nb6 8.Bb5 d5 9.Bxc6+ bxc6 10.Qc2 Bg4 …
13 games · avg. Elo 2592 · W/D/L 5/7/1 · Model game: Ahmadzada – Yuffa, 2024 (1/2-1/2)
Open · ECO B32 · for Black
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 e6 5.Nc3 Qc7 6.Be3 a6 7.Bd3 Nf6 8.Qe2 Bb4 9.O-O Ne7 10.Bd2 Bc5 …
12 games · avg. Elo 2617 · W/D/L 0/8/4 · Model game: Zhu – Andreikin, 2025 (0-1)
Najdorf Variation, Poisoned Pawn Variation · ECO B97 · for Black
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Bg5 e6 7.f4 Qb6 8.Nb3 Nbd7 9.Qe2 Qc7 10.O-O-O b5 …
10 games · avg. Elo 2619 · W/D/L 2/3/5 · Model game: Pranav – Shankland, 2025 (0-1)
Learn every line move by move on an interactive board with Stockfish 19 evaluation, model games and spaced repetition. Also: every chess tournament worldwide and 4,100+ puzzles.
Try 7 days free →Other openings
Queen's Gambit DeclinedRuy LopezEnglish OpeningItalian GameIndian DefensePetrov's DefenseNimzo-Indian DefenseFrench DefenseZukertort OpeningCaro-Kann DefenseQueen's Pawn GameKing's Indian AttackFour Knights GameQueen's Gambit AcceptedCatalan OpeningScotch Game
Statistics from classical games of 2500+ rated players. Notation: K king, Q queen, R rook, B bishop, N knight.