Caissa Codex
B27

Sicilian Defense 1…c5 2. Nf3

Chess diagram: Sicilian Defense after 2. Nf3

Type a move and press Enter: e4, Nf3, O-O, or from and to squares like g1f3 (e7e8q to promote). The board is also played with the mouse.

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Statistics from Lichess

210,455,240 games: White 47.8% / Draw 5.0% / Black 47.2%

The moves played next. Pick one to see it on the board.
Next moveGamesWhite / Draw / BlackW / D / B
Old Sicilian 86,890,32086.9M
Modern Variations 69,239,13169.2M
French Variation 35,911,34535.9M
Hyperaccelerated Dragon 10,165,45310.2M
O'Kelly Variation 4,678,9314.7M
Nimzowitsch Variation 1,510,3541.5M
713,206713K
Katalimov Variation 653,042653K

Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Nov 6, 2026

Engine evaluation

+0.25 The position is about equal

Best play: 2... d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. f3 e5 7. Nb3

Stockfish 19, depth 30, after the line's last move. Scores are in pawns, from White's side.

By rating

Rating changes little here: White scores 51% both under 1400 and at 2200 and up, and 53% in master games (wins plus half the draws).

PlayersGamesWhite / Draw / BlackW / D / B
Under 1400 35.8M
1400–1799 115.6M
1800–2199 119.8M
2200 and up 21.6M
Masters, over the board 501K

Master games

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

Sicilian Defense (ECO B27, Semi-Open Games) is a variation of the Sicilian Defense, reached after 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 (2 moves).

In 210,455,240 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 47.8%, Black 47.2% and 5.0% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 2…Nc6, in 41% of those games.

It branches into 13 named variations; the most played are Sicilian Defense: Old Sicilian and Sicilian Defense: Modern Variations. In all, 294 named lines continue from it.

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How to answer 2. Nf3

2…e6 (French Variation) scores best for Black: 51.1%, with Black winning 48.6% and White 46.4% of 35.9M games. The most played answer, 2…Nc6, scores lowest: 49.0% in 86.9M games. Stockfish's first choice is 2…d6.

Main answers: those played in at least 5% of these games. Score: Black's wins plus half the draws, in rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500. How to play against other popular openings

Popularity by year

This line peaked in 2019 at 9.3% of Lichess games and has slipped since: 7.4% in 2025.

Numbers by year
YearShare of gamesGames
20168.1%2,902,941
20178.7%4,793,362
20189.1%7,160,036
20199.3%11,639,547
20209.3%27,174,172
20218.6%33,640,050
20228.0%30,080,549
20237.7%29,108,837
20247.6%27,115,463
20257.4%25,519,520
2026 (Jan–Apr)7.3%8,039,859

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

Variations (13)

Other lines from the same position

Instead of 2. Nf3, the position after Sicilian Defense also goes on to:

Transpositions

This position is also reached from these lines, by another move order:

From here, a move transposes into another named line:

All 294 named lines that continue from here

Loading sub-variations…

Cite this page

Caissa Codex. “Sicilian Defense (B27)”. Lichess data as of 6 Nov 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/sicilian-defense-2

https://chesscodex.org/openings/sicilian-defense-2