Sicilian Defense: Lasker-Pelikan Variation, Sveshnikov Variation
Also known as Sveshnikov Sicilian
This page covers the main line of the Sveshnikov Variation of the Sicilian Defense: 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 e5 6.Ndb5 d6 7.Bg5 a6 8.Na3 b5. Read the guide
Play any move on the board to explore from there, or step through the line with ‹ › and the arrow keys.
Statistics from Lichess
1,010,077 games: White 48.8% / Draw 7.2% / Black 44.0%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Chelyabinsk Variation | 763,826764K | |
| 227,009227K | ||
| 13,85514K | ||
| 2,3262,326 | ||
| 1,1481,148 | ||
| 871871 | ||
| 219219 | ||
| 152152 |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Nov 7, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.14 The position is about equal
Best play: 9. Nd5 Be7 10. Bxf6 Bxf6 11. c3 Rb8 12. Nc2 Bg5 13. a4 bxa4
Stockfish 19, depth 30, after the line's last move. Scores are in pawns, from White's side.
By rating
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 1,568 | |
| 1400–1799 | 64K | |
| 1800–2199 | 575K | |
| 2200 and up | 381K | |
| Masters, over the board | 24K |
Master games
- Nepomniachtchi, I. – Carlsen, M.
- Giri, A. – Carlsen, M.
- Dominguez Perez, L. – Carlsen, M.
- Nepomniachtchi, I. – Carlsen, M.
- Duda, J. – Carlsen, M.
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
Description
This page covers the main line of the Sveshnikov Variation of the Sicilian Defense: 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 e5 6.Ndb5 d6 7.Bg5 a6 8.Na3 b5. The whole line up to 8...b5 is also called the Chelyabinsk Variation. With 5...e5 Black drives the knight from d4 and accepts a backward d-pawn and a weak d5-square in return for a foothold in the centre, time gained on White's knight and dynamic play. The general overview is on the Lasker-Pelikan Variation page.
History
Before the 1970s the variation saw only occasional play: Emanuel Lasker played it once in his world championship match against Carl Schlechter, and Jorge Pelikan played it a few times in the 1950s. Evgeny Sveshnikov's treatment in the 1970s revitalised it, and today it is extremely popular among grandmasters and amateurs alike. Magnus Carlsen, Vladimir Kramnik and Veselin Topalov are among the top players who have used it.
The moves
6.Ndb5, threatening Nd6+, is the critical move; all other sixth moves are thought to give Black easy equality. 6...d6 stops Nd6+, 7.Bg5 prepares to remove the knight on f6, which guards d5, and 7...a6 drives White's knight back to a3. 8...b5 was Sveshnikov's innovation: it controls c4 and threatens ...b4, forking White's knights. Before it, Black played 8...Be6, the Bird Variation, which let the knight come back to life with 9.Nc4.
9.Bxf6 and 9.Nd5
White usually meets the threat of ...b4 with 9.Bxf6 or 9.Nd5.
- After 9.Bxf6 Black must recapture 9...gxf6, since 9...Qxf6 10.Nd5 Qd8 11.c4 favours White. After 10.Nd5 White's strong knight on d5 and Black's broken kingside are balanced by Black's bishop pair and White's offside knight on a3. Black can play 10...f5, or 10...Bg7 followed by ...Ne7 to trade off the knight on d5, the Novosibirsk Variation.
- 9.Nd5 tends to lead to quieter play, often 9...Be7 10.Bxf6 Bxf6 11.c3, after which the knight on a3 comes back into play via c2 and e3. A recent development is 11.c4 instead, which often leads to positions where White presses for a win at no risk.
The numbers
On Lichess White wins 48.8% of the 1 million games and Black 44.0%. From 2200 up White's lead is 49.4% against 42.0%. Masters draw most of their games: in 24,487 games over the board 58.7% were drawn, White won 24.1% and Black 17.2%.
Suggest an improvement or report a mistake
How to play against the Sicilian Defense: Lasker-Pelikan Variation, Sveshnikov Variation
9. Bxf6 scores best for White: 57.9%, with White winning 54.9% and Black 39.2% of 227K games. The most played answer, 9. Nd5, scores lowest: 50.9% in 764K games. Stockfish's first choice is 9. Nd5.
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: Lasker-Pelikan Variation, Sveshnikov Variation peaked in 2020 at 0.057% of Lichess games and has slipped since: 0.035% in 2025.
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.031% | 11,101 |
| 2017 | 0.034% | 18,537 |
| 2018 | 0.038% | 29,965 |
| 2019 | 0.052% | 64,790 |
| 2020 | 0.057% | 165,873 |
| 2021 | 0.041% | 159,943 |
| 2022 | 0.036% | 136,516 |
| 2023 | 0.035% | 132,188 |
| 2024 | 0.033% | 116,938 |
| 2025 | 0.035% | 119,734 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.036% | 39,674 |
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
Variations (3)
All 4 named lines that continue from here
Sources
- History and theory: adapted from the Wikipedia article Sicilian Defence, Sveshnikov Variation, version of 23 August 2026, under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Results: Lichess opening explorer, figures collected from September to November 2026.
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “Sicilian Defense: Lasker-Pelikan Variation, Sveshnikov Variation (B33)”. Lichess data as of 7 Nov 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/sicilian-defense-lasker-pelikan-variation-sveshnikov-variation