Sicilian Defense: Closed (4. Nf3 d5)
1. e4 c5 2. Nc3 e6 3. f4 Nc6 4. Nf3 d5
The Sicilian Defense: Closed is a chess opening classified as ECO B23, reached after 1. e4 c5 2. Nc3 e6 3. f4 Nc6 4. Nf3 d5. It is a line of the Sicilian Defense. White is to move. 1 named line continues from this position.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 288 times by this move order. White won 50%, 6% were drawn and Black won 44%. The most popular continuation is 5. Bb5 (53% of games).
Engine evaluation: 0.00 (Stockfish, depth 54; best line 5. Bb5 Ne7 6. exd5 Nxd5 7. Ne5 Bd7)
- ECO
- B23
- Moves
- 8 plies
- FEN
r1bqkbnr/pp3ppp/2n1p3/2pp4/4PP2/2N2N2/PPPP2PP/R1BQKB1R w KQkq - 0 5- PGN
1. e4 c5 2. Nc3 e6 3. f4 Nc6 4. Nf3 d5
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 19 | |
| 1500-1999 | 147 | |
| 2000+ | 122 | |
| All | 288 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 5. Bb5 Closed (4… d5 5. Bb5) | 152 (53%) | |
| 5. exd5 | 51 (18%) | |
| 5. e5 | 50 (17%) | |
| 5. d3 | 23 (8%) | |
| 5. Be2 | 5 (2%) | |
| 5. d4 | 3 (1%) | |
| 5. Bd3 | 1 (0%) | |
| 5. g3 | 1 (0%) |
Master games
57 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 33%, draw 13%, Black 54%). The strongest:
- Arjun Tiwari (2218) – GM M.R. Venkatesh (2528) 0-1 · 56th ch-IND 2018 · 2018-12-11
- FM Erik Van den Dikkenberg (2116) – GM Loek Van Wely (2622) 0-1 · 79th Noteboom Open · 2019-02-22
- WGM Barbara Hund (2174) – GM Normunds Miezis (2549) 0-1 · 113th ch-SUI 2013 · 2013-07-11
- Julian Van Overdam (2351) – FM Ivo Maris (2338) 1/2-1/2 · Dutch League 2016-17 · 2017-02-04
- FM Martin Zvarik (2220) – GM Petr Haba (2394) 1-0 · TCh-CZE 1 Liga Vychod · 2026-04-12
Search all games of the Sicilian Defense: Closed and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- Dmitry_Kornilovich (2552) – reallylovezerk (2673) 0-1 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 0s
- quicksilver2 (2433) – clasicreturns (2466) 0-1 · 2026-09-06 · 180 + 0s
- damithk (2487) – ThRevenanT (2373) 1-0 · 2026-09-02 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Sicilian Defense: Closed (2. Nc3 e6) 1. e4 c5 2. Nc3 e6
Continuations
- Sicilian Defense: Closed (4… d5 5. Bb5) B23 · 1. e4 c5 2. Nc3 e6 3. f4 Nc6 4. Nf3 d5 5. Bb5
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.