B23

Sicilian Defense: Closed, Korchnoi Defense

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Statistics from Lichess

308,174 games: White 49.5% / Draw 6.3% / Black 44.2%

The moves played next. Pick one to see it on the board.
Next move	Games	White / Draw / BlackW / D / B
	151,220151K
	124,648125K
	23,65624K
	6,1316,131
	883883
	502502
	341341
	201201

Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Nov 1, 2026

Engine evaluation

0.00 The position is about equal

Best play: 4. exd5 exd5 5. d4 cxd4 6. Qxd4 Nf6 7. Bg5 Nc6 8. Qa4 Bb4

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

By rating

Rating changes little here: Black scores 51% under 1400, 49% at 2200 and up and 54% in master games (wins plus half the draws).

Players	Games	White / Draw / BlackW / D / B
Under 1400	9,413
1400–1799	49K
1800–2199	196K
2200 and up	77K
Masters, over the board	833

Master games

Jobava, B. – Vachier Lagrave, M. ½–½, 2010
Short, N. D. – Topalov, V. ½–½, 1999
Andreikin, D. – Potkin, V. 1–0, 2013
Mamedov, R. – Grandelius, N. 1–0, 2016
Motylev, A. – Grandelius, N. ½–½, 2016

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: Closed, Korchnoi Defense (ECO B23, Semi-Open Games) is a variation of the Sicilian Defense: Closed, reached after 1. e4 c5 2. Nc3 e6 3. g3 d5 (3 moves).

In 308,174 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 49.5%, Black 44.2% and 6.3% were drawn. White's most played move here is 4. exd5, in 49% of those games.

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Description

How to play against the Sicilian Defense: Closed, Korchnoi Defense

4. Bg2 scores best for White: 53.1%, with White winning 50.2% and Black 44.1% of 125K games. The most played, 4. exd5, scores 52.6% in 151K games, and 4. d3 scores lowest: 52.3%. Stockfish's first choice is 4. exd5.

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: Closed, Korchnoi Defense peaked in 2020 at 0.014% of Lichess games and has slipped since: 0.011% in 2025.

0.012%0.011%0.014%

Numbers by year

Year	Share of games	Games
2016	0.012%	4,273
2017	0.013%	7,118
2018	0.014%	11,243
2019	0.014%	17,761
2020	0.014%	42,236
2021	0.012%	46,453
2022	0.011%	41,852
2023	0.011%	41,875
2024	0.011%	38,542
2025	0.011%	39,246
2026 (Jan–Apr)	0.012%	12,674

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: Closed, Korchnoi Defense (B23)”. Lichess data as of 1 Nov 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/sicilian-defense-closed-korchnoi-defense