Tree path 7 levels King's Pawn Game › Sicilian Defense › Sicilian Defense › French Variation › Open › Sicilian Defense: Taimanov Variation › Sicilian Defense: Taimanov Variation
- Chess Codex
- King's Pawn Game B00
- Sicilian Defense B20
- Sicilian Defense B27
- French Variation B40
- Open B40
- Sicilian Defense: Taimanov Variation B44
- Sicilian Defense: Taimanov Variation B45 you are here
Sicilian Defense: Taimanov Variation
Overview
Sicilian Defense: Taimanov Variation is a variation within the Semi-Open Games family, indexed as ECO B45.
The Semi-Open Games group covers semi-open games — replies to 1.e4 where Black declines the symmetrical 1…e5 in favour of an asymmetric pawn structure.
The line arises from 9 plies — specifically the moves 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nc6 5. Nc3.
It is a variation of Sicilian Defense: Taimanov Variation, which itself descends from the root opening King's Pawn Game.
It branches into 4 notable variations — Sicilian Defense: Four Knights Variation, Sicilian Defense: Scheveningen Variation, Modern Variation, Sicilian Defense: Taimanov Variation, and others.
Together the deeper variations number 14 across the full subtree.
Step through the moves on the interactive board below, review the live Lichess statistics, or play this position against Stockfish at one of six difficulty levels.
- ECO code
- B45
- Group
- Semi-Open Games (B)
- Plies
- 9
- Direct variations
- 4
- Total in subtree
- 14
This overview is generated automatically from the opening's metadata. Know this line well? Write a description — submissions are reviewed before publishing.
Statistics from Lichess
6,655,622 games · White 48.3% / Draw 4.9% / Black 46.9%
| Moves | Games | W / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Nf6 | 1,475,307 | |
| a6 | 1,467,591 | |
| Qc7 | 1,027,384 | |
| Bc5 | 745,956 | |
| Bb4 | 717,539 | |
| Nxd4 | 308,150 | |
| d6 | 178,051 | |
| d5 | 167,291 |
Source: Lichess Opening Explorer · cached 2026-09-26 02:00:42
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Variations (4)
Show all 14 sub-variations (full subtree)
- B45 Sicilian Defense: Four Knights Variation 10-ply
- B83 Sicilian Defense: Scheveningen Variation, Modern Variation 12-ply
- B46 Sicilian Defense: Taimanov Variation 10-ply
- B47 Bastrikov Variation 10-ply
- B45 American Attack 13-ply
- B45 Cobra Variation 12-ply
- B45 Exchange Variation 11-ply
- B45 Sveshnikov Transfer 12-ply
- B85 Sicilian Defense: Scheveningen Variation, Classical Main Line 20-ply
- B85 Sicilian Defense: Scheveningen Variation, Classical Variation, Paulsen Variation 17-ply
- B85 Sicilian Defense: Scheveningen Variation, Classical Variation, Paulsen Variation 19-ply
- B48 English Attack 11-ply
- B47 Ponomariov Gambit 15-ply
- B49 Sicilian Defense: Taimanov Variation, Bastrikov Variation 13-ply