Tree path 9 levels King's Pawn Game › Sicilian Defense › Closed › Traditional › Sicilian Defense: Closed, Fianchetto Variation › Sicilian Defense: Closed › Sicilian Defense: Closed › Sicilian Defense: Closed › Sicilian Defense: Closed
Sicilian Defense: Closed
Overview
Sicilian Defense: Closed is a variation within the Semi-Open Games family, indexed as ECO B26.
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.
Play reaches this position via 1. e4 c5 2. Nc3 Nc6 3. g3 g6 4. Bg2 Bg7 5. d3 d6 6. Be3, after 11 plies of opening development.
It is a variation of Sicilian Defense: Closed, which itself descends from the root opening King's Pawn Game.
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
- B26
- Group
- Semi-Open Games (B)
- Plies
- 11
- Parent
- Sicilian Defense: Closed
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
287,306 games · White 50.8% / Draw 6.0% / Black 43.2%
| Moves | Games | W / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Nf6 | 111,901 | |
| e6 | 67,476 | |
| e5 | 44,495 | |
| Rb8 | 25,651 | |
| Nd4 | 11,301 | |
| Bd7 | 6,701 | |
| a6 | 5,082 | |
| h5 | 4,674 |
Source: Lichess Opening Explorer · cached 2026-09-26 02:24:57
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