Sicilian Defense: Najdorf Variation, Opocensky Variation
The Opočenský Variation, also called the Classical Variation of the Najdorf, is 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Be2. 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
2,153,837 games: White 47.0% / Draw 5.4% / Black 47.6%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 1,143,1791.1M | ||
| Sicilian Defense: Scheveningen Variation, Classical Variation | 606,797607K | |
| 118,470118K | ||
| 109,909110K | ||
| 86,97487K | ||
| 37,39437K | ||
| 31,03031K | ||
| 11,07011K |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Nov 8, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.23 The position is about equal
Best play: 6... e5 7. Nb3 Be7 8. O-O O-O 9. Be3 Be6 10. Nd5 Nbd7 11. Qd3
Stockfish 19, depth 30, after the line's last move. Scores are in pawns, from White's side.
By rating
Rating changes little here: White scores 49% under 1400, 51% at 2200 and up and 52% in master games (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 45K | |
| 1400–1799 | 537K | |
| 1800–2199 | 1.4M | |
| 2200 and up | 330K | |
| Masters, over the board | 16K |
Master games
- Carlsen, M. – Vachier Lagrave, M.
- Carlsen, M. – Aronian, L.
- Carlsen, M. – Vachier Lagrave, M.
- Carlsen, M. – Vachier Lagrave, M.
- Carlsen, M. – Grischuk, A.
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
Description
The Opočenský Variation, also called the Classical Variation of the Najdorf, is 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Be2. White prepares to castle kingside and goes for a quieter, more positional game. Efim Geller was an early proponent of the move.
Black's choices
- 6...e5 keeps the game in "pure" Najdorf territory.
- 6...e6 transposes to the Scheveningen Variation.
- 6...Nbd7 is another option.
Among White's sixth moves
The Najdorf allows White a wide choice: grandmasters have played 22 different replies to 5...a6. 6.Be2 is the quieter alternative to the English Attack 6.Be3 and the old main line 6.Bg5. Other sixth moves include 6.Bc4, the Fischer–Sozin Attack, 6.f4, the Amsterdam Variation, 6.f3, 6.g3 and 6.h3, the Adams Attack.
The numbers
On Lichess the results are level: Black wins 47.6% of the 2.2 million games and White 47.0%. Masters draw almost half the time: in 16,301 games over the board 46.1% were drawn, White won 28.7% and Black 25.3%.
Suggest an improvement or report a mistake
How to play against the Sicilian Defense: Najdorf Variation, Opocensky Variation
6…e6 (Sicilian Defense: Scheveningen Variation, Classical Variation) scores best for Black: 50.9%, with Black winning 48.3% and White 46.6% of 607K games. The most played, 6…e5, scores 50.9% in 1.1M games, and 6…g6 scores lowest: 46.9%. Stockfish's first choice is 6…e5.
Main answers: those played in at least 5% of these games. Score: Black'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: Najdorf Variation, Opocensky Variation has lost ground since 2016: 0.063% of Lichess games in 2025, down from 0.11% (its peak: 0.13% in 2018).
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.11% | 39,654 |
| 2017 | 0.13% | 70,177 |
| 2018 | 0.13% | 101,226 |
| 2019 | 0.11% | 139,171 |
| 2020 | 0.11% | 311,401 |
| 2021 | 0.091% | 357,456 |
| 2022 | 0.08% | 299,859 |
| 2023 | 0.072% | 271,181 |
| 2024 | 0.067% | 240,460 |
| 2025 | 0.063% | 219,236 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.062% | 68,274 |
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)
Sources
- History and theory: adapted from the Wikipedia article Sicilian Defence, Najdorf Variation, version of 3 November 2026, under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- White's sixth moves: adapted from the Wikipedia article Sicilian Defence, version of 27 October 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: Najdorf Variation, Opocensky Variation (B92)”. Lichess data as of 8 Nov 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/sicilian-defense-najdorf-variation-opocensky-variation