Sicilian Defense: Alapin Variation, Barmen Defense (4… g6 5. Nf3)
1. e4 c5 2. c3 d5 3. exd5 Qxd5 4. d4 g6 5. Nf3
The Sicilian Defense: Alapin Variation, Barmen Defense is a chess opening classified as ECO B22, reached after 1. e4 c5 2. c3 d5 3. exd5 Qxd5 4. d4 g6 5. Nf3. It is a line of the Sicilian Defense. Black is to move.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 237 times by this move order. White won 43%, 9% were drawn and Black won 48%. The most popular continuation is 5… Bg7 (95% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.22 (Stockfish, depth 55; best line 5… Bg7 6. Nbd2 cxd4 7. Bc4 Qc5 8. Qa4+)
- ECO
- B22
- Moves
- 9 plies
- FEN
rnb1kbnr/pp2pp1p/6p1/2pq4/3P4/2P2N2/PP3PPP/RNBQKB1R b KQkq - 1 5- PGN
1. e4 c5 2. c3 d5 3. exd5 Qxd5 4. d4 g6 5. Nf3
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 3 | |
| 1500-1999 | 84 | |
| 2000+ | 150 | |
| All | 237 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 5… Bg7 | 224 (95%) | |
| 5… cxd4 | 5 (2%) | |
| 5… Nc6 | 4 (2%) | |
| 5… Bg4 | 2 (1%) | |
| 5… Nf6 | 1 (0%) | |
| 5… Qe4+ | 1 (0%) |
Master games
1,225 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 34%, draw 25%, Black 41%). The strongest:
- GM Magnus Carlsen (2862) – GM Anish Giri (2764) 1/2-1/2 · Skilling Open KO 2020 · 2020-11-26
- GM Naroditsky, D. (2619) – GM Hikaru Nakamura (2802) 0-1 · Titled Tue 21st Jan Early · 2025-01-21
- GM Naroditsky, D. (2619) – GM Hikaru Nakamura (2802) 0-1 · Titled Tue 17th Dec Early · 2024-12-17
- GM Raunak Sadhwani (2641) – GM Hikaru Nakamura (2780) 1/2-1/2 · FIDE Grand Swiss 2023 · 2023-10-26
- GM Sergei Zhigalko (2572) – GM Hikaru Nakamura (2804) 0-1 · Titled Tue 10th Jun Early · 2025-06-10
Search all games of the Sicilian Defense: Alapin Variation, Barmen Defense and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- RomChartres (2521) – FNENAD (2636) 0-1 · 2026-09-06 · 180 + 0s
- snow152 (2555) – CM SouthAfricanWolf (2554) 0-1 · 2026-09-07 · 180 + 0s
- terrorboy (2474) – aroundandabout (2599) 0-1 · 2026-09-07 · 180 + 2s
Comes from
Sicilian Defense: Alapin Variation, Barmen Defense (3. exd5 Qxd5) 1. e4 c5 2. c3 d5 3. exd5 Qxd5
More Sicilian Defense lines (all)
- Sicilian Defense (1. e4 c5) B20
- Sicilian Defense: Amazon Attack B20
- Sicilian Defense: Big Clamp Formation B20
- Sicilian Defense: Bowdler Attack B20
- Sicilian Defense: Brick Variation B20
- Sicilian Defense: Czerniak Attack B20
- Sicilian Defense: Czerniak Attack, Queen Fianchetto Variation B20
- Sicilian Defense: Euwe Attack, Prins Gambit B20
- Sicilian Defense: Gloria Variation B20
- Sicilian Defense: Grob Variation B20
- Sicilian Defense: Keres Variation B20
- Sicilian Defense: King David's Opening B20
Opening names and moves from the Lichess openings dataset; statistics from the Lichess open database, 2026-09 (CC0), sample of 12.6 million games, bots excluded; evaluations from Lichess cloud analysis (all CC0). Master games from The Week in Chess #920–#1664 by Mark Crowther, used with permission.