B84

Sicilian Defense: Scheveningen Variation, Classical Variation 6. Be2 e6

Chess diagram: Sicilian Defense: Scheveningen Variation, Classical Variation after 6…e6

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Statistics from Lichess

729,283 games: White 46.5% / Draw 5.1% / Black 48.5%

The moves played next. Pick one to see it on the board.
Next move	Games	White / Draw / BlackW / D / B
	338,162338K
	235,910236K
	46,83047K
	41,96642K
	16,99817K
	16,38516K
	10,04910K
	7,2537,253

Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 30, 2026

Engine evaluation

+0.48 White is slightly better

Best play: 7. Be3 Be7 8. f4 Qc7 9. g4 d5 10. e5 Ne4 11. Nxe4 dxe4

Stockfish 19, depth 30, after the line's last move. Scores are in pawns, from White's side.

By rating

Rating changes little here: Black scores 52% under 1400, 50% at 2200 and up and 48% in master games (wins plus half the draws).

Players	Games	White / Draw / BlackW / D / B
Under 1400	13K
1400–1799	190K
1800–2199	492K
2200 and up	94K
Masters, over the board	5,636

Master games

Nakamura, H. – Topalov, V. ½–½, 2013
Shirov, A. – Kasparov, G. ½–½, 2001
Ivanchuk, V. – Kasparov, G. ½–½, 2001
Nepomniachtchi, I. – Kasparov, G. ½–½, 2017
Kramnik, V. – Anand, V. ½–½, 2003

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: Scheveningen Variation, Classical Variation (ECO B84, Semi-Open Games) is a variation of the Sicilian Defense: Najdorf Variation, Opocensky Variation, reached after 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Be2 e6 (6 moves).

In 729,283 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 46.5%, Black 48.5% and 5.1% were drawn. White's most played move here is 7. O-O, in 46% of those games.

It branches into 2 named variations; the most played is Sicilian Defense: Najdorf Variation, Scheveningen Variation.

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Description

How to answer 6…e6

7. g4 scores best for White: 55.8%, with White winning 53.5% and Black 42.0% of 42K games. The most played, 7. O-O, scores 48.0% in 338K games, and 7. Bg5 scores lowest: 45.0%. Stockfish's first choice is 7. Be3.

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 is played less than half as often as in 2016: 0.02% of Lichess games in 2025, down from 0.044% (its peak: 0.049% in 2017).

0.044%0.02%

Numbers by year

Year	Share of games	Games
2016	0.044%	15,612
2017	0.049%	27,154
2018	0.048%	37,639
2019	0.04%	49,368
2020	0.037%	107,641
2021	0.031%	119,678
2022	0.026%	99,231
2023	0.024%	89,590
2024	0.022%	77,708
2025	0.02%	70,276
2026 (Jan–Apr)	0.02%	21,940

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)

Transpositions

B83 Sicilian Defense: Scheveningen Variation, Classical Variation then 6…a6

Cite this page

Caissa Codex. “Sicilian Defense: Scheveningen Variation, Classical Variation (B84)”. Lichess data as of 30 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/sicilian-defense-scheveningen-variation-classical-variation-2