Sicilian Defense: Alapin Variation, Barmen Defense, Modern Line
1. e4 c5 2. c3 d5 3. exd5 Qxd5 4. d4 Nf6 5. Nf3 Bg4
The Sicilian Defense: Alapin Variation, Barmen Defense, Modern Line is a chess opening classified as ECO B22, reached after 1. e4 c5 2. c3 d5 3. exd5 Qxd5 4. d4 Nf6 5. Nf3 Bg4. 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 755 times by this move order. White won 47%, 10% were drawn and Black won 43%. The most popular continuation is 6. Be2 (74% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.27 (Stockfish, depth 51; best line 6. dxc5 Qxc5 7. h3 Bf5 8. Be3 Qc7)
- ECO
- B22
- Moves
- 10 plies
- FEN
rn2kb1r/pp2pppp/5n2/2pq4/3P2b1/2P2N2/PP3PPP/RNBQKB1R w KQkq - 3 6- PGN
1. e4 c5 2. c3 d5 3. exd5 Qxd5 4. d4 Nf6 5. Nf3 Bg4
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 12 | |
| 1500-1999 | 345 | |
| 2000+ | 398 | |
| All | 755 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 6. Be2 | 562 (74%) | |
| 6. dxc5 | 76 (10%) | |
| 6. Nbd2 | 39 (5%) | |
| 6. Be3 | 29 (4%) | |
| 6. Qa4+ | 15 (2%) | |
| 6. c4 | 13 (2%) | |
| 6. Bb5+ | 10 (1%) | |
| 6. Na3 | 6 (1%) |
Master games
1,733 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 42%, draw 26%, Black 32%). The strongest:
- GM Sergei Zhigalko (2656) – GM Veselin Topalov (2816) 1/2-1/2 · FIDE World Cup 2015 · 2015-09-14
- GM Aleksandr Shimanov (2581) – GM Ian Nepomniachtchi (2793) 0-1 · World Rapid 2022 · 2022-12-27
- GM Sergei Zhigalko (2667) – GM Parimarjan Negi (2658) 1-0 · Baku Open 2012 · 2012-09-29
- GM Artyom Timofeev (2594) – GM Vladislav Artemiev (2709) 0-1 · Titled Tuesday 23rd Feb · 2021-02-23
- GM Kacper Piorun (2660) – GM Jacek Tomczak (2628) 1/2-1/2 · TCh-POL Ekstraliga 2019 · 2019-09-05
Highest-rated Lichess games
- Kingkennytv (2645) – Meatloaf927 (2715) 0-1 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 0s
- TheorySpeedrun (2690) – Kesha05 (2609) 1-0 · 2026-09-07 · 180 + 0s
- RoryMcCann (2671) – mitimeiti (2593) 1-0 · 2026-09-03 · 180 + 0s
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.