Tree path 5 levels King's Pawn Game › Sicilian Defense › Closed › Sicilian Defense: Closed › Sicilian Defense: Closed
- Caissa Codex
- King's Pawn Game B00
- Sicilian Defense B20
- Closed B23
- Sicilian Defense: Closed B23
- Sicilian Defense: Closed B23 you are here
Sicilian Defense: Closed
Overview
Sicilian Defense: Closed is a variation within the Semi-Open Games family, indexed as ECO B23.
The Semi-Open Games group covers semi-open games — replies to 1.e4 where Black declines the symmetrical 1…e5 in favour of an asymmetric pawn structure.
It is reached after 5 plies of play, with the move sequence 1. e4 c5 2. Nc3 e6 3. g3.
It is a variation of Sicilian Defense: Closed, which itself descends from the root opening King's Pawn Game.
It continues primarily into one named line, Korchnoi Defense.
Step through the moves on the interactive board below, review the live Lichess statistics, or play this position against Stockfish at one of six difficulty levels.
- ECO code
- B23
- Group
- Semi-Open Games (B)
- Plies
- 5
- Parent
- Sicilian Defense: Closed
- Direct variations
- 1
This overview is generated automatically from the opening's metadata. Know this line well? Write a description — submissions are reviewed before publishing.
Statistics from Lichess
1,233,466 games · White 50.9% / Draw 5.7% / Black 43.5%
| Moves | Games | W / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Nc6 | 395,617 | |
| a6 | 332,103 | |
| d5 | 299,832 | |
| Nf6 | 51,195 | |
| d6 | 43,485 | |
| g6 | 36,476 | |
| b6 | 32,248 | |
| Ne7 | 14,946 |
Source: Lichess Opening Explorer · cached 2026-09-26 01:07:41
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