Sicilian Defense: Classical Variation, Sozin Attack
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 Nc6 6. Bc4
The Sicilian Defense: Classical Variation, Sozin Attack is a chess opening classified as ECO B57, reached after 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 Nc6 6. Bc4. 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 580 times by this move order. White won 46%, 7% were drawn and Black won 47%. The most popular continuation is 6… e6 (43% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.26 (Stockfish, depth 52; best line 6… e5 7. Nde2 Be6 8. Bb3 Be7 9. O-O)
- ECO
- B57
- Moves
- 11 plies
- FEN
r1bqkb1r/pp2pppp/2np1n2/8/2BNP3/2N5/PPP2PPP/R1BQK2R b KQkq - 4 6- PGN
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 Nc6 6. Bc4
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 13 | |
| 1500-1999 | 172 | |
| 2000+ | 395 | |
| All | 580 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 6… e6 | 248 (43%) | |
| 6… Qb6 | 144 (25%) | |
| 6… g6 | 56 (10%) | |
| 6… Bd7 | 49 (8%) | |
| 6… e5 | 33 (6%) | |
| 6… a6 | 26 (4%) | |
| 6… Na5 | 7 (1%) | |
| 6… Nxd4 | 6 (1%) |
Master games
2,769 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 38%, draw 19%, Black 43%). The strongest:
- GM Anish Giri (2764) – GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (2784) 1-0 · Airthings Masters Prelim · 2020-12-28
- GM Santosh Gujrathi Vidit (2727) – GM Alireza Firouzja (2760) 1-0 · FIDE Candidates 2024 · 2024-04-10
- GM Nodirbek Abdusattorov (2767) – GM Richard Rapport (2714) 1-0 · 2nd UzChess Cup Masters · 2025-06-21
- GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (2750) – GM Veselin Topalov (2730) 0-1 · 10th Norway Blitz 2022 · 2022-05-30
- GM So, W. (2753) – GM Chithambaram VR. Aravindh (2700) 1-0 · Tata Steel India Blitz · 2026-01-10
Search all games of the Sicilian Defense: Classical Variation, Sozin Attack and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- Yakamuzosan (2700) – RiseP (2736) 1-0 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 0s
- Juplt3rLlk3 (2740) – atsaynm (2643) 0-1 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 0s
- twirpx (2802) – SouthWind06 (2580) 1-0 · 2026-09-07 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Sicilian Defense: Classical Variation (5. Nc3 Nc6) 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 Nc6
Continuations
- Sicilian Defense: Sozin Attack, Main Line, Sherbakov Variation B89 · 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 Nc6 6. Bc4 e6 7. Be3 Be7 8. Bb3 O-O 9. O-O Na5 10. f4 b6
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.