B23

Sicilian Defense: Closed, Traditional

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Statistics from Lichess

14,706,495 games: White 49.3% / Draw 4.9% / Black 45.8%

The moves played next. Pick one to see it on the board.
Next move	Games	White / Draw / BlackW / D / B
Sicilian Defense: Grand Prix Attack	3,758,8373.8M
	3,350,1753.4M
Sicilian Defense: Closed, Fianchetto Variation	2,430,4412.4M
	2,034,9992M
	1,527,9141.5M
	780,745781K
Sicilian Defense: Closed, Chameleon Variation	342,954343K
	180,161180K

Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Nov 7, 2026

Engine evaluation

+0.21 The position is about equal

Best play: 3. Nf3 e5 4. Bc4 Be7 5. d3 d6 6. Nd2 Nf6 7. Nf1 Bg4

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 52% under 1400, 47% at 2200 and up and 49% in master games (wins plus half the draws).

Players	Games	White / Draw / BlackW / D / B
Under 1400	2.9M
1400–1799	6.9M
1800–2199	8.7M
2200 and up	1.9M
Masters, over the board	26K

Master games

Carlsen, M. – Vachier Lagrave, M. ½–½, 2014
Rapport, R. – Carlsen, M. 0–1, 2022
Carlsen, M. – Giri, A. ½–½, 2021
Nakamura, H. – Carlsen, M. ½–½, 2018
Caruana, F. – Vachier Lagrave, M. 1–0, 2017

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 26, 2026

Overview

Sicilian Defense: Closed, Traditional (ECO B23, Semi-Open Games) is a variation of the Sicilian Defense: Closed, reached after 1. e4 c5 2. Nc3 Nc6 (2 moves).

In 14,706,495 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 49.3%, Black 45.8% and 4.9% were drawn. White's most played move here is 3. f4, in 26% of those games.

It branches into 5 named variations; the most played are Sicilian Defense: Grand Prix Attack and Sicilian Defense: Closed, Fianchetto Variation. In all, 15 named lines continue from it.

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Description

How to play against the Sicilian Defense: Closed, Traditional

3. g3 (Sicilian Defense: Closed, Fianchetto Variation) scores best for White: 54.3%, with White winning 51.5% and Black 42.9% of 2.4M games. The most played, 3. f4, scores 52.7% in 3.8M games, and 3. Nf3 scores lowest: 49.2%. Stockfish's first choice is 3. 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

Popularity by year

The Sicilian Defense: Closed, Traditional has gained ground since 2016: 0.59% of Lichess games in 2025, up from 0.48%.

0.48%0.59%

Numbers by year

Year	Share of games	Games
2016	0.48%	170,282
2017	0.52%	286,024
2018	0.55%	434,396
2019	0.61%	757,405
2020	0.6%	1,763,042
2021	0.56%	2,178,785
2022	0.54%	2,037,839
2023	0.56%	2,097,226
2024	0.57%	2,037,551
2025	0.59%	2,035,815
2026 (Jan–Apr)	0.61%	670,102

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

Variations (5)

All 15 named lines that continue from here

Cite this page

Caissa Codex. “Sicilian Defense: Closed, Traditional (B23)”. Lichess data as of 7 Nov 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/sicilian-defense-closed-traditional