Sicilian Defense: Open 4. Nxd4 Nf6
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Statistics from Lichess
8,634,647 games: White 46.2% / Draw 5.5% / Black 48.3%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 7,091,6507.1M | ||
| 1,156,1591.2M | ||
| 222,468222K | ||
| 29,39129K | ||
| 24,91425K | ||
| 21,58322K | ||
| 14,00714K | ||
| 13,76514K |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 30, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.28 The position is about equal
Best play: 5. Nc3 e5 6. Ndb5 d6 7. Bg5 a6 8. Na3 b5 9. Nd5 Be7
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, 49% at 2200 and up and 47% in master games (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 440K | |
| 1400–1799 | 2.9M | |
| 1800–2199 | 5.4M | |
| 2200 and up | 1.3M | |
| Masters, over the board | 45K |
Master games
- Caruana, F. – Carlsen, M.
- Caruana, F. – Carlsen, M.
- Caruana, F. – Carlsen, M.
- Caruana, F. – Carlsen, M.
- Caruana, F. – 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 26, 2026
Overview
Sicilian Defense: Open (ECO B33, Semi-Open Games) is a variation of the Sicilian Defense: Open, reached after 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 (4 moves).
In 8,634,647 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 46.2%, Black 48.3% and 5.5% were drawn. White's most played move here is 5. Nc3, in 82% of those games.
It branches into 14 named variations; the most played are Sicilian Defense: Lasker-Pelikan Variation and Sicilian Defense: Sozin Attack, Leonhardt Variation. In all, 29 named lines continue from it.
Written from the Lichess opening list and explorer. Know this line well? Write about it.
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How to answer 4…Nf6
The most played answer, 5. Nc3, also scores best for White: 49.7%, with White winning 46.9% and Black 47.6% of 7.1M games. Of the main answers, 5. Nxc6 scores lowest: 46.2%. Stockfish's first choice is also 5. Nc3.
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
This line peaked in 2019 at 0.48% of Lichess games and has slipped since: 0.28% in 2025.
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.31% | 109,033 |
| 2017 | 0.34% | 189,454 |
| 2018 | 0.38% | 294,973 |
| 2019 | 0.48% | 594,039 |
| 2020 | 0.45% | 1,325,278 |
| 2021 | 0.36% | 1,408,665 |
| 2022 | 0.32% | 1,197,034 |
| 2023 | 0.3% | 1,113,321 |
| 2024 | 0.28% | 1,002,258 |
| 2025 | 0.28% | 964,670 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.28% | 305,389 |
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 (14)
- B59 Boleslavsky Variation 5. Nc3 d6 6. Be2 e5 7. Nb3
- B58 Boleslavsky Variation, Louma Variation 5. Nc3 d6 6. Be2 e5 7. Nxc6
- B57 Classical Variation, Anti-Sozin Variation 5. Nc3 d6 6. Bc4 Qb6
- B72 Dragon Variation, Classical Variation, Amsterdam Variation 5. Nc3 d6 6. Be2 g6 7. Be3 Bg7 8. Qd2
- B33 Lasker-Pelikan Variation 5. Nc3 e5
- B57 Magnus Smith Trap 5. Nc3 d6 6. Bc4 g6 7. Nxc6 bxc6 8. e5
- B64 Richter-Rauzer Variation, Classical Variation 5. Nc3 d6 6. Bg5 e6 7. Qd2 Be7 8. O-O-O O-O 9. f4 e5
- B60 Richter-Rauzer Variation, Dragon Variation 5. Nc3 d6 6. Bg5 g6
- B61 Richter-Rauzer Variation, Modern Variation 5. Nc3 d6 6. Bg5 Bd7 7. Qd2
- B67 Richter-Rauzer Variation, Neo-Modern Variation 5. Nc3 d6 6. Bg5 e6 7. Qd2 a6 8. O-O-O Bd7
- B62 Richter-Rauzer Variation, Podebrady Variation 5. Nc3 d6 6. Bg5 e6 7. Nb3
- B88 Sozin Attack, Leonhardt Variation 5. Nc3 d6 6. Bc4 e6
- B56 Spielmann Variation 5. Nc3 d6 6. Nde2
- B56 Yates Variation 5. Nc3 d6 6. Bd3
All 29 named lines that continue from here
No line matches.
- B59 Sicilian Defense: Boleslavsky Variation 7 moves
- B58 Sicilian Defense: Boleslavsky Variation, Louma Variation 7 moves
- B57 Sicilian Defense: Classical Variation, Anti-Sozin Variation 6 moves
- B72 Sicilian Defense: Dragon Variation, Classical Variation, Amsterdam Variation 8 moves
- B33 Sicilian Defense: Lasker-Pelikan Variation 5 moves
- B57 Sicilian Defense: Magnus Smith Trap 8 moves
- B64 Sicilian Defense: Richter-Rauzer Variation, Classical Variation 9 moves
- B60 Sicilian Defense: Richter-Rauzer Variation, Dragon Variation 6 moves
- B61 Sicilian Defense: Richter-Rauzer Variation, Modern Variation 7 moves
- B67 Sicilian Defense: Richter-Rauzer Variation, Neo-Modern Variation 8 moves
- B62 Sicilian Defense: Richter-Rauzer Variation, Podebrady Variation 7 moves
- B88 Sicilian Defense: Sozin Attack, Leonhardt Variation 6 moves
- B56 Sicilian Defense: Spielmann Variation 6 moves
- B56 Sicilian Defense: Yates Variation 6 moves
- B72 Sicilian Defense: Dragon Variation, Classical Variation, Grigoriev Variation 9 moves
- B33 Bird Variation 8 moves
- B33 Exchange Variation 6 moves
- B33 Retreat Variation 6 moves
- B33 Schlechter Variation 6 moves
- B33 Sveshnikov Variation 8 moves
- B68 Neo-Modern Variation 9 moves
- B88 Sicilian Defense: Sozin Attack, Fischer Variation 9 moves
- B89 Sicilian Defense: Sozin Attack, Main Line 7 moves
- B33 Sveshnikov Variation 10 moves
- B33 Chelyabinsk Variation 9 moves
- B33 Novosibirsk Variation 10 moves
- B69 Nyezhmetdinov Attack 11 moves
- B89 Sicilian Defense: Velimirovic Attack 8 moves
- B33 Peresypkin's Sacrifice 11 moves
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “Sicilian Defense: Open (B33)”. Lichess data as of 30 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/sicilian-defense-open-4