Caissa Codex
B25

Sicilian Defense: Closed, Botvinnik Defense, with f4

Chess diagram: Sicilian Defense: Closed, Botvinnik Defense, with f4 after 6…e5

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

40,186 games: White 50.9% / Draw 6.7% / Black 42.4%

The moves played next. Pick one to see it on the board.
Next moveGamesWhite / Draw / BlackW / D / B
28,26528K
7,3857,385
1,5381,538
1,3491,349
627627
386386
202202
162162

Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 29, 2026

Engine evaluation

+0.12 The position is about equal

Best play: 7. Nf3 Nge7 8. O-O exf4 9. Bxf4 O-O 10. Qd2 Ne5 11. Bh6 f6

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

Overview

Sicilian Defense: Closed, Botvinnik Defense, with f4 (ECO B25, Semi-Open Games) is a variation of the Sicilian Defense: Closed, reached after 1. e4 c5 2. Nc3 Nc6 3. g3 g6 4. Bg2 Bg7 5. d3 d6 6. f4 e5 (6 moves).

In 40,186 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 50.9%, Black 42.4% and 6.7% were drawn. White's most played move here is 7. Nf3, in 70% of those games.

It continues into one named variation, Sicilian Defense: Closed, Botvinnik Defense, Edge Variation.

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How to play against the Sicilian Defense: Closed, Botvinnik Defense, with f4

7. Nh3 scores best for White: 62.9%, with White winning 60.0% and Black 34.3% of 7,385 games. The most played answer, 7. Nf3, scores lowest: 52.8% in 28K games. Stockfish's first choice is 7. Nf3.

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

Variations (1)

Cite this page

Caissa Codex. “Sicilian Defense: Closed, Botvinnik Defense, with f4 (B25)”. Lichess data as of 29 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/sicilian-defense-closed-botvinnik-defense-with-f4

https://chesscodex.org/openings/sicilian-defense-closed-botvinnik-defense-with-f4