Hungarian Opening: Sicilian Invitation
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Statistics from Lichess
2,000,873 games: White 48.0% / Draw 5.0% / Black 47.0%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 1,813,5811.8M | ||
| 30,93131K | ||
| 30,11330K | ||
| 29,88930K | ||
| 23,16723K | ||
| 11,45411K | ||
| 11,42811K | ||
| 8,6678,667 |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Nov 7, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.11 The position is about equal
Best play: 2. Bg2 Nc6 3. c4 g6 4. Nc3 Bg7 5. Nf3 d6 6. O-O Nh6
Stockfish 19, depth 30, after the line's last move. Scores are in pawns, from White's side.
By rating
Rating changes little here: Black scores 49% under 1400, 47% at 2200 and up and 46% in master games (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 652K | |
| 1400–1799 | 1.5M | |
| 1800–2199 | 1M | |
| 2200 and up | 135K | |
| Masters, over the board | 2,181 |
Master games
- Carlsen, M. – Dominguez Perez, L.
- Caruana, F. – So, W.
- Giri, A. – Karjakin, S.
- Morozevich, A. – Leko, P.
- Svidler, P. – Karjakin, S.
Rated blitz, rapid and classical Lichess games by rating band, and over-the-board games of players rated 2200+ from the Lichess masters database, updated Sep 26, 2026
Overview
Hungarian Opening: Sicilian Invitation (ECO A00, Flank Openings) is a variation of the Hungarian Opening, reached after 1. g3 c5 (1 move).
In 2,000,873 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 48.0%, Black 47.0% and 5.0% were drawn. White's most played move here is 2. Bg2, in 91% of those games.
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Popularity by year
The Hungarian Opening: Sicilian Invitation has gained ground since 2016: 0.08% of Lichess games in 2025, up from 0.066%.
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.066% | 23,520 |
| 2017 | 0.065% | 35,995 |
| 2018 | 0.069% | 53,925 |
| 2019 | 0.074% | 92,068 |
| 2020 | 0.076% | 223,835 |
| 2021 | 0.078% | 306,585 |
| 2022 | 0.077% | 290,833 |
| 2023 | 0.077% | 288,934 |
| 2024 | 0.08% | 288,235 |
| 2025 | 0.08% | 277,018 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.08% | 87,957 |
Share of rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500 (blitz, rapid and classical) that reach this position, by year; 2026: January to April. Which openings are rising and falling
Transpositions
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “Hungarian Opening: Sicilian Invitation (A00)”. Lichess data as of 7 Nov 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/hungarian-opening-sicilian-invitation