Tree path 5 levels King's Pawn Game › Sicilian Defense › Sicilian Defense › Modern Variations › Sicilian Defense: Moscow Variation
- Chess Codex
- King's Pawn Game B00
- Sicilian Defense B20
- Sicilian Defense B27
- Modern Variations B50
- Sicilian Defense: Moscow Variation B51 you are here
Sicilian Defense: Moscow Variation
Overview
Sicilian Defense: Moscow Variation is a variation within the Semi-Open Games family, indexed as ECO B51.
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.
It begins with 5 plies and takes 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. Bb5+ to reach the canonical position.
It is a variation of Sicilian Defense: Modern Variations, which itself descends from the root opening King's Pawn Game.
It branches into 3 notable variations — Dorfman Gambit, Main Line, Moscow Gambit.
Together the deeper variations number 5 across the full subtree.
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
- B51
- Group
- Semi-Open Games (B)
- Plies
- 5
- Direct variations
- 3
- Total in subtree
- 5
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
5,031,382 games · White 48.6% / Draw 6.5% / Black 44.9%
| Moves | Games | W / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Bd7 | 2,939,359 | |
| Nd7 | 1,283,726 | |
| Nc6 | 803,597 | |
| Qd7 | 4,700 |
Source: Lichess Opening Explorer · cached 2026-09-26 01:09:05
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