Caissa Codex
B45

Sicilian Defense: Taimanov Variation 4…Nc6 5. Nc3

Chess diagram: Sicilian Defense: Taimanov Variation after 5. Nc3

Type a move and press Enter: e4, Nf3, O-O, or from and to squares like g1f3 (e7e8q to promote). The board is also played with the mouse.

Play any move on the board to explore from there, or step through the line with ‹ › and the arrow keys.

Statistics from Lichess

6,655,622 games: White 48.3% / Draw 4.9% / Black 46.9%

The moves played next. Pick one to see it on the board.
Next moveGamesWhite / Draw / BlackW / D / B
Sicilian Defense: Four Knights Variation 1,475,3071.5M
B46 1,467,5911.5M
Bastrikov Variation 1,027,3841M
745,956746K
717,539718K
308,150308K
178,051178K
167,291167K

Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 31, 2026

Engine evaluation

+0.39 White is slightly better

Best play: 5... Nf6 6. Nxc6 bxc6 7. e5 Nd5 8. Ne4 Bb7 9. Be2 c5 10. O-O

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, 52% at 2200 and up and 54% in master games (wins plus half the draws).

PlayersGamesWhite / Draw / BlackW / D / B
Under 1400 478K
1400–1799 3.2M
1800–2199 3.9M
2200 and up 699K
Masters, over the board 35K

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 26, 2026

Overview

Sicilian Defense: Taimanov Variation (ECO B45, Semi-Open Games) is a variation of the Sicilian Defense: Taimanov Variation, reached after 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nc6 5. Nc3 (5 moves).

In 6,655,622 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 48.3%, Black 46.9% and 4.9% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 5…Nf6, in 22% of those games.

It branches into 4 named variations; the most played are Sicilian Defense: Four Knights Variation and Sicilian Defense: Taimanov Variation, Bastrikov Variation. In all, 14 named lines continue from it.

Written from the Lichess opening list and explorer. Know this line well? Write about it.

Write a description or report a mistake
What would you like to send?

Markdown supported (headings ###, bold, lists, links). Submissions are reviewed before publishing.

How to answer 5. Nc3

5…Qc7 (Bastrikov Variation) scores best for Black: 52.8%, with Black winning 50.0% and White 44.4% of 1M games. The most played, 5…Nf6, scores 51.6% in 1.5M games, and 5…Bc5 scores lowest: 48.1%. Stockfish's first choice is 5…Nf6.

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

This line peaked in 2019 at 0.3% of Lichess games and has slipped since: 0.24% in 2025.

Numbers by year
YearShare of gamesGames
20160.25%89,987
20170.27%148,345
20180.3%233,083
20190.3%371,930
20200.28%827,802
20210.26%1,027,569
20220.25%945,055
20230.25%931,178
20240.25%882,079
20250.24%826,449
2026 (Jan–Apr)0.24%262,920

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 (4)

Other lines from the same position

Instead of 5. Nc3, the position after Sicilian Defense: Taimanov Variation also goes on to:

All 14 named lines that continue from here

Cite this page

Caissa Codex. “Sicilian Defense: Taimanov Variation (B45)”. Lichess data as of 31 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/sicilian-defense-taimanov-variation-2

https://chesscodex.org/openings/sicilian-defense-taimanov-variation-2