B20

Sicilian Defense: Wing Gambit, Marshall Variation

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Statistics from Lichess

1,476,088 games: White 48.7% / Draw 4.2% / Black 47.1%

The moves played next. Pick one to see it on the board.
Next move	Games	White / Draw / BlackW / D / B
Sicilian Defense: Wing Gambit, Carlsbad Variation	784,052784K
	212,785213K
	172,658173K
	114,562115K
	88,05388K
	36,02836K
	25,61226K
	16,18316K

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

Engine evaluation

−0.36 Black is slightly better

Best play: 3... d5 4. exd5 Qxd5 5. Nf3 e6 6. Be2 Nc6 7. O-O Nf6 8. Bb2

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 49% under 1400, 50% at 2200 and up and 44% in master games (wins plus half the draws).

Players	Games	White / Draw / BlackW / D / B
Under 1400	48K
1400–1799	409K
1800–2199	986K
2200 and up	202K
Masters, over the board	478

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 27, 2026

Overview

Sicilian Defense: Wing Gambit, Marshall Variation (ECO B20, Semi-Open Games) is a gambit in the Sicilian Defense: Wing Gambit, reached after 1. e4 c5 2. b4 cxb4 3. a3 (3 moves).

In 1,476,088 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 48.7%, Black 47.1% and 4.2% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 3…bxa3, in 53% of those games.

It branches into 4 named variations; the most played are Sicilian Defense: Wing Gambit, Carlsbad Variation and Sicilian Defense: Wing Gambit, Marienbad Variation.

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Description

How to play against the Sicilian Defense: Wing Gambit, Marshall Variation

3…d5 scores best for Black: 53.5%, with Black winning 51.0% and White 44.1% of 173K games. The most played, 3…bxa3, scores 48.2% in 784K games, and 3…Nc6 scores lowest: 46.9%. Stockfish's first choice is also 3…d5.

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: Wing Gambit, Marshall Variation has stayed between 0.052% and 0.064% of Lichess games a year since 2016 (0.059% in 2025).

0.052%0.059%0.064%

Numbers by year

Year	Share of games	Games
2016	0.052%	18,658
2017	0.057%	31,591
2018	0.064%	50,048
2019	0.064%	80,212
2020	0.06%	175,636
2021	0.056%	218,692
2022	0.057%	212,907
2023	0.053%	199,699
2024	0.053%	191,439
2025	0.059%	203,123
2026 (Jan–Apr)	0.061%	67,086

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)

Cite this page

Caissa Codex. “Sicilian Defense: Wing Gambit, Marshall Variation (B20)”. Lichess data as of 31 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/sicilian-defense-wing-gambit-marshall-variation