Sicilian Defense: Scheveningen Variation, English Attack, with f3
Play any move on the board to explore from there, or step through the line with ‹ › and the arrow keys.
Statistics from Lichess
758,008 games: White 51.0% / Draw 4.3% / Black 44.7%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 448,308448K | ||
| 160,147160K | ||
| 65,96366K | ||
| 37,48037K | ||
| 21,60222K | ||
| 8,1708,170 | ||
| 5,8865,886 | ||
| 2,8542,854 |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 29, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.31 White is slightly better
Best play: 7... h5 8. a3 b5 9. Qd2 Nbd7 10. O-O-O Bb7 11. Kb1 Be7 12. Rg1
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 White: White scores 57% under 1400, 51% at 2200 and up and 56% in master games (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 6,526 | |
| 1400–1799 | 164K | |
| 1800–2199 | 522K | |
| 2200 and up | 106K | |
| Masters, over the board | 6,131 |
Master games
- Ding, L. – Carlsen, M.
- Ding, L. – Carlsen, M.
- Anand, V. – Kasparov, G.
- Anand, V. – Kasparov, G.
- Anand, V. – Topalov, V.
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, English Attack, with f3 (ECO B90, Semi-Open Games) is a variation of the Sicilian Defense: Najdorf Variation, English Attack, reached after 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Be3 e6 7. f3 (7 moves).
In 758,008 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 51.0%, Black 44.7% and 4.3% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 7…Be7, in 59% of those games.
Written from the Lichess opening list and explorer. Know this line well? Write about it.
Write a description or report a mistake
How to play against the Sicilian Defense: Scheveningen Variation, English Attack, with f3
7…b5 scores best for Black: 52.9%, with Black winning 50.7% and White 44.9% of 160K games. The most played answer, 7…Be7, scores lowest: 44.4% in 448K games. Stockfish's first choice is 7…h5.
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: Scheveningen Variation, English Attack, with f3 has lost ground since 2016: 0.022% of Lichess games in 2025, down from 0.038% (its peak: 0.043% in 2018).
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.038% | 13,434 |
| 2017 | 0.04% | 21,869 |
| 2018 | 0.043% | 34,084 |
| 2019 | 0.037% | 46,428 |
| 2020 | 0.038% | 110,651 |
| 2021 | 0.031% | 119,899 |
| 2022 | 0.029% | 107,697 |
| 2023 | 0.028% | 103,540 |
| 2024 | 0.025% | 88,489 |
| 2025 | 0.022% | 76,549 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.021% | 23,439 |
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
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “Sicilian Defense: Scheveningen Variation, English Attack, with f3 (B90)”. Lichess data as of 29 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/sicilian-defense-scheveningen-variation-english-attack-with-f3