Sicilian Defense: Alapin Variation, Barmen Defense, Endgame Variation
1. e4 c5 2. c3 d5 3. exd5 Qxd5 4. d4 cxd4 5. cxd4 Nc6 6. Nf3 Bg4 7. Nc3 Bxf3 8. gxf3 Qxd4 9. Qxd4 Nxd4
The Sicilian Defense: Alapin Variation, Barmen Defense, Endgame Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO B22, reached after 1. e4 c5 2. c3 d5 3. exd5 Qxd5 4. d4 cxd4 5. cxd4 Nc6 6. Nf3 Bg4 7. Nc3 Bxf3 8. gxf3 Qxd4 9. Qxd4 Nxd4. It is a line of the Sicilian Defense. White is to move.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 20 times by this move order. White won 45%, 15% were drawn and Black won 40%. The most popular continuation is 10. Nb5 (90% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.44 (Stockfish, depth 38; best line 10. Nb5 O-O-O 11. Nxd4 Rxd4 12. Be3 Rd6)
- ECO
- B22
- Moves
- 18 plies
- FEN
r3kbnr/pp2pppp/8/8/3n4/2N2P2/PP3P1P/R1B1KB1R w KQkq - 0 10- PGN
1. e4 c5 2. c3 d5 3. exd5 Qxd5 4. d4 cxd4 5. cxd4 Nc6 6. Nf3 Bg4 7. Nc3 Bxf3 8. gxf3 Qxd4 9. Qxd4 Nxd4
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 1500-1999 | 7 | |
| 2000+ | 13 | |
| All | 20 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 10. Nb5 | 18 (90%) | |
| 10. Be3 | 1 (5%) | |
| 10. Bb5+ | 1 (5%) |
Master games
22 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 59%, draw 23%, Black 18%). The strongest:
- GM Levente Vajda (2558) – IM Raja Panjwani (2459) 0-1 · BSSZ Aranytiz GM 2018 · 2018-08-22
- IM Nikolai Vlassov (2283) – FM Juan David Becerra (2383) 0-1 · Titled Tue 7th Feb Late · 2023-02-07
- IM Jake Kleiman (2399) – FM Andrey Khromkin (2191) 1-0 · Titled Tue 9th May Early · 2023-05-09
- IM Nikolai Vlassov (2294) – CM Michal Kopczynski (2225) 1-0 · Titled Tue 22nd Feb Late · 2022-02-22
- IM Nikolai Vlassov (2283) – CM Michal Kopczynski (2225) 1-0 · Titled Tue 4th Apr Early · 2023-04-04
Highest-rated Lichess games
- Daniil2250 (2388) – shabashabdullatef (2397) 1-0 · 2026-09-05 · 600 + 0s
- Rygsr (2295) – elregresodelaestaka (2422) 0-1 · 2026-09-02 · 180 + 0s
- Hchess_97 (2307) – YuriKing (2340) 1-0 · 2026-09-07 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Sicilian Defense: Alapin Variation, Barmen Defense, Central Exchange 1. e4 c5 2. c3 d5 3. exd5 Qxd5 4. d4 cxd4 5. cxd4 Nc6 6. Nf3 Bg4
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.