Sicilian Defense: Alapin Variation, Sherzer Variation
Play any move on the board to explore from there, or step through the line with ‹ › and the arrow keys.
Statistics from Lichess
185,348 games: White 53.7% / Draw 4.1% / Black 42.1%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 52,74253K | ||
| 48,48648K | ||
| 22,86423K | ||
| 18,21818K | ||
| 17,92018K | ||
| 8,0798,079 | ||
| 5,1035,103 | ||
| 4,6654,665 |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 28, 2026
Engine evaluation
+1.38 White is better
Best play: 6. c4 Nde7 7. d5 Nd4 8. d6 Nec6 9. Nc3 a6 10. Bf4 g6
Stockfish 19, depth 30, after the line's last move. Scores are in pawns, from White's side.
By rating
The stronger the players, the worse this line does for Black: Black scores 48% under 1400, 41% at 2200 and up (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 30K | |
| 1400–1799 | 108K | |
| 1800–2199 | 107K | |
| 2200 and up | 16K | |
| Masters, over the board | 19 |
Master games
- Deviatkin, A. – Zezulkin, J.
- Totsky, L. – Losev, D.
- Smagin, S. – Bojkovic, S.
- Shirazi, K. G. – Sherzer, A.
- Sotnikov, A. – Moiseev, V.
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 27, 2026
Overview
Sicilian Defense: Alapin Variation, Sherzer Variation (ECO B40, Semi-Open Games) is a variation of the Sicilian Defense: Delayed Alapin Variation, with e6, reached after 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. c3 Nf6 4. e5 Nd5 5. d4 Nc6 (5 moves).
In 185,348 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 53.7%, Black 42.1% and 4.1% were drawn. White's most played move here is 6. Bc4, in 28% of those games.
Written from the Lichess opening list and explorer. Know this line well? Write about it.
Write a description or report a mistake
How to play against the Sicilian Defense: Alapin Variation, Sherzer Variation
6. c4 scores best for White: 65.7%, with White winning 64.3% and Black 32.8% of 48K games. The most played, 6. Bc4, scores 54.5% in 53K games, and 6. Bb5 scores lowest: 45.1%. Stockfish's first choice is also 6. c4.
Main answers: those played in at least 5% of these games. Score: White'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
The Sicilian Defense: Alapin Variation, Sherzer Variation peaked in 2018 at 0.0081% of Lichess games and has slipped since: 0.0069% in 2025.
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.0077% | 2,739 |
| 2017 | 0.0078% | 4,304 |
| 2018 | 0.0081% | 6,356 |
| 2019 | 0.0078% | 9,733 |
| 2020 | 0.0073% | 21,299 |
| 2021 | 0.0071% | 27,956 |
| 2022 | 0.007% | 26,438 |
| 2023 | 0.0072% | 27,154 |
| 2024 | 0.0069% | 24,842 |
| 2025 | 0.0069% | 24,000 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.0069% | 7,559 |
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
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “Sicilian Defense: Alapin Variation, Sherzer Variation (B40)”. Lichess data as of 28 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/sicilian-defense-alapin-variation-sherzer-variation