Sicilian Defense: Alapin Variation, Sherzer Variation
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. c3 Nf6 4. e5 Nd5 5. d4 Nc6
The Sicilian Defense: Alapin Variation, Sherzer Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO B40, reached after 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. c3 Nf6 4. e5 Nd5 5. d4 Nc6. 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 77 times by this move order. White won 53%, 5% were drawn and Black won 42%. The most popular continuation is 6. Bc4 (42% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.87 (Stockfish, depth 32; best line 6. c4 Nde7 7. d5 Nd4 8. d6 Nec6)
- ECO
- B40
- Moves
- 10 plies
- FEN
r1bqkb1r/pp1p1ppp/2n1p3/2pnP3/3P4/2P2N2/PP3PPP/RNBQKB1R w KQkq - 1 6- PGN
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. c3 Nf6 4. e5 Nd5 5. d4 Nc6
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 3 | |
| 1500-1999 | 52 | |
| 2000+ | 22 | |
| All | 77 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 6. Bc4 | 32 (42%) | |
| 6. c4 | 19 (25%) | |
| 6. Bb5 | 9 (12%) | |
| 6. Bd3 | 7 (9%) | |
| 6. Be2 | 5 (6%) | |
| 6. a3 | 2 (3%) | |
| 6. dxc5 | 2 (3%) | |
| 6. Be3 | 1 (1%) |
Master games
43 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 53%, draw 12%, Black 35%). The strongest:
- GM Aleksandra Goryachkina (2533) – FM Andrei Olhovik (2282) 0-1 · Titled Tue 10th Sep Early · 2024-09-10
- GM Aleksandar Indjic (2598) – FM Miroslav Baturin-Vinogradov (2212) 0-1 · Titled Tue 8th Sep 2026 · 2026-09-08
- GM Eduardas Rozentalis (2535) – FM Trygve Dahl (2241) 1-0 · Hell International 2019 · 2019-08-04
- Joseph F. Bellissimo (2203) – IM Nderim Saraci (2488) 0-1 · Titled Tue 1st Mar Late · 2022-03-01
- GM Gennadi Gutman (2445) – CM Leonardo Vincenti (2221) 0-1 · Titled Tue 26th Aug Early · 2025-08-26
Search all games of the Sicilian Defense: Alapin Variation, Sherzer Variation and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- Nana_jede_cevape (2826) – sec_acc (2679) 1-0 · 2026-09-01 · 180 + 0s
- thansen5 (2389) – simple_tactic (2305) 1-0 · 2026-09-01 · 180 + 2s
- NotAnAlt1240 (2392) – Error817 (2292) 1-0 · 2026-09-06 · 600 + 0s
Comes from
Sicilian Defense: Delayed Alapin Variation, with e6 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. c3
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.