Sicilian Defense: Chekhover Variation
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Qxd4
The Sicilian Defense: Chekhover Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO B53, reached after 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Qxd4. It is a line of the Sicilian Defense. Black is to move. 1 named line continues from this position.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 5,754 times by this move order. White won 49%, 6% were drawn and Black won 45%. The most popular continuation is 4… Nc6 (55% of games).
Engine evaluation: 0.00 (Stockfish, depth 60; best line 4… Nf6 5. Bg5 Nc6 6. Bb5 Bd7 7. Qd3)
- ECO
- B53
- Moves
- 7 plies
- FEN
rnbqkbnr/pp2pppp/3p4/8/3QP3/5N2/PPP2PPP/RNB1KB1R b KQkq - 0 4- PGN
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Qxd4
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 1,106 | |
| 1500-1999 | 2,765 | |
| 2000+ | 1,883 | |
| All | 5,754 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 4… Nc6 | 3,153 (55%) | |
| 4… Nf6 | 1,563 (27%) | |
| 4… a6 | 526 (9%) | |
| 4… e5 | 257 (4%) | |
| 4… Bd7 | 118 (2%) | |
| 4… e6 | 87 (2%) | |
| 4… Nd7 | 17 (0%) | |
| 4… Bg4 | 12 (0%) |
Master games
12,050 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 45%, draw 21%, Black 34%). The strongest:
- rofChade 2.303 (3661) – LCZero v0.25.1-sv-t60-3010 (3809) 1/2-1/2 · TCEC 18 Premier 2020 · 2020-06-11
- LCZero v0.25.1-sv-t60-3010 (3809) – rofChade 2.303 (3661) 1/2-1/2 · TCEC 18 Premier 2020 · 2020-06-08
- Stoofvlees II a14 (3504) – AllieStein v0.8-120f959_net-15.0 (3536) 1/2-1/2 · TCEC 19 Premier 2020 · 2020-09-12
- AllieStein v0.8-120f959_net-15.0 (3536) – Stoofvlees II a14 (3504) 1/2-1/2 · TCEC 19 Premier 2020 · 2020-09-09
- GM Magnus Carlsen (2862) – GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (2784) 1/2-1/2 · chess.com Speed 2020 · 2020-12-12
Search all games of the Sicilian Defense: Chekhover Variation and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- Sunrise34 (2905) – LuckyStar2011 (2826) 1-0 · 2026-09-07 · 180 + 0s
- MightActuallyTry (2684) – winx_m (2941) 0-1 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 0s
- TryhardTrainingTiger (2870) – TimeBombMan (2746) 1-0 · 2026-09-02 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Sicilian Defense (3. d4 cxd4) 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4
Continuations
- Sicilian Defense: Chekhover Variation, Zaitsev Defense B53 · 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Qxd4 Nc6 5. Bb5 Qd7
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.