Sicilian Defense 2…d6 3. d4
Play any move on the board to explore from there, or step through the line with ‹ › and the arrow keys.
Statistics from Lichess
40,102,058 games: White 48.3% / Draw 5.0% / Black 46.7%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 38,910,52438.9M | ||
| Modern Variations, Anti-Qxd4 Move Order | 462,231462K | |
| 235,244235K | ||
| 111,428111K | ||
| 81,80482K | ||
| 71,16571K | ||
| 51,52252K | ||
| 48,38248K |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Nov 7, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.27 The position is about equal
Best play: 3... Nf6 4. Nc3 cxd4 5. Nxd4 a6 6. Be3 e5 7. Nb3 Be6 8. Qd2
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% under 1400, 52% at 2200 and up and 53% in master games (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 3.8M | |
| 1400–1799 | 17M | |
| 1800–2199 | 23.7M | |
| 2200 and up | 5.7M | |
| Masters, over the board | 186K |
Master games
- Carlsen, M. – Grischuk, A.
- Ding, L. – Carlsen, M.
- Carlsen, M. – Ding, L.
- Ding, L. – Carlsen, M.
- Carlsen, M. – Vachier Lagrave, M.
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 B50, Semi-Open Games) is a variation of the Sicilian Defense: Modern Variations, reached after 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 (3 moves).
In 40,102,058 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 48.3%, Black 46.7% and 5.0% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 3…cxd4, in 97% of those games.
It branches into 2 named variations; the most played is Sicilian Defense: Modern Variations, Anti-Qxd4 Move Order. In all, 102 named lines continue from it.
Written from the Lichess opening list and explorer. Know this line well? Write about it.
Write a description or report a mistake
Popularity by year
This line has lost ground since 2016: 1.2% of Lichess games in 2025, down from 1.7% (its peak: 2.0% in 2018).
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 1.7% | 606,141 |
| 2017 | 1.9% | 1,040,358 |
| 2018 | 2.0% | 1,563,182 |
| 2019 | 1.9% | 2,341,833 |
| 2020 | 1.9% | 5,675,957 |
| 2021 | 1.7% | 6,833,367 |
| 2022 | 1.5% | 5,775,518 |
| 2023 | 1.4% | 5,269,662 |
| 2024 | 1.3% | 4,776,723 |
| 2025 | 1.2% | 4,309,986 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 1.2% | 1,324,456 |
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 (2)
All 102 named lines that continue from here
No line matches.
Loading sub-variations…
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “Sicilian Defense (B50)”. Lichess data as of 7 Nov 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/sicilian-defense-3