B28

Sicilian Defense: O'Kelly Variation, Maróczy Bind

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Statistics from Lichess

263,630 games: White 50.6% / Draw 6.5% / Black 42.9%

The moves played next. Pick one to see it on the board.
Next move	Games	White / Draw / BlackW / D / B
	124,271124K
Paulsen Line	63,96564K
Robatsch Line	42,53943K
	12,62313K
	9,8059,805
	2,4582,458
	2,4122,412
	2,0962,096

Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 29, 2026

Engine evaluation

+0.60 White is slightly better

Best play: 3... Nc6 4. d4 cxd4 5. Nxd4 Nf6 6. Nc3 d6 7. Be2 Nxd4 8. Qxd4

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 51% under 1400, 53% at 2200 and up and 52% in master games (wins plus half the draws).

Players	Games	White / Draw / BlackW / D / B
Under 1400	24K
1400–1799	64K
1800–2199	142K
2200 and up	85K
Masters, over the board	1,410

Master games

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: O'Kelly Variation, Maróczy Bind (ECO B28, Semi-Open Games) is a variation of the Sicilian Defense: O'Kelly Variation, reached after 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 a6 3. c4 (3 moves).

In 263,630 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 50.6%, Black 42.9% and 6.5% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 3…Nc6, in 47% of those games.

It branches into 2 named variations; the most played are Sicilian Defense: O'Kelly Variation, Maróczy Bind, Paulsen Line and Sicilian Defense: O'Kelly Variation, Maróczy Bind, Robatsch Line.

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Description

How to play against the Sicilian Defense: O'Kelly Variation, Maróczy Bind

3…d6 (Robatsch Line) scores best for Black: 46.6%, with Black winning 43.3% and White 50.2% of 43K games. The most played, 3…Nc6, scores 46.6% in 124K games, and 3…e6 scores lowest: 46.2%. Stockfish's first choice is 3…Nc6.

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: O'Kelly Variation, Maróczy Bind has gained ground since 2016: 0.012% of Lichess games in 2025, up from 0.0091%.

0.0091%0.012%

Numbers by year

Year	Share of games	Games
2016	0.0091%	3,249
2017	0.01%	5,509
2018	0.01%	7,917
2019	0.0094%	11,749
2020	0.0095%	27,692
2021	0.0087%	34,203
2022	0.0094%	35,356
2023	0.0099%	37,406
2024	0.011%	38,885
2025	0.012%	41,737
2026 (Jan–Apr)	0.013%	14,696

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 (2)

Cite this page

Caissa Codex. “Sicilian Defense: O'Kelly Variation, Maróczy Bind (B28)”. Lichess data as of 29 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/sicilian-defense-okelly-variation-maroczy-bind