Sicilian Defense: Closed (4… d5 5. Bb5)
1. e4 c5 2. Nc3 e6 3. f4 Nc6 4. Nf3 d5 5. Bb5
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 5. Bb5. It is a line of the Sicilian Defense. Black is to move.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 152 times by this move order. White won 53%, 6% were drawn and Black won 41%. The most popular continuation is 5… d4 (38% of games).
Engine evaluation: −0.10 (Stockfish, depth 55; best line 5… Ne7 6. exd5 Nxd5 7. Bxc6+ bxc6 8. Ne5)
- ECO
- B23
- Moves
- 9 plies
- FEN
r1bqkbnr/pp3ppp/2n1p3/1Bpp4/4PP2/2N2N2/PPPP2PP/R1BQK2R b KQkq - 1 5- PGN
1. e4 c5 2. Nc3 e6 3. f4 Nc6 4. Nf3 d5 5. Bb5
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 6 | |
| 1500-1999 | 69 | |
| 2000+ | 77 | |
| All | 152 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 5… d4 | 58 (38%) | |
| 5… Bd7 | 21 (14%) | |
| 5… Ne7 | 19 (13%) | |
| 5… a6 | 18 (12%) | |
| 5… Nf6 | 16 (11%) | |
| 5… dxe4 | 14 (9%) | |
| 5… Qb6 | 3 (2%) | |
| 5… Nh6 | 1 (1%) |
Master games
219 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 37%, draw 19%, Black 44%). The strongest:
- GM Hikaru Nakamura (2794) – GM Naroditsky, D. (2619) 1-0 · Bullet Chess Winners 2024 · 2024-06-12
- GM Hikaru Nakamura (2787) – GM Naroditsky, D. (2619) 1/2-1/2 · Bullet Chess Winners 2023 · 2023-07-19
- GM Gawain C B Maroroa Jones (2640) – GM Loek Van Wely (2656) 0-1 · PRO League Group Stage · 2018-02-07
- GM Al Modiahki, M. (2549) – GM Yangyi Yu (2675) 0-1 · FIDE World Blitz 2014 · 2014-06-19
- GM Al Modiahki, M. (2549) – GM Pavel Maletin (2588) 1-0 · FIDE World Blitz 2014 · 2014-06-19
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
- goodvibes10 (2384) – gtomov (2457) 1-0 · 2026-09-01 · 180 + 2s
Comes from
Sicilian Defense: Closed (4. Nf3 d5) 1. e4 c5 2. Nc3 e6 3. f4 Nc6 4. Nf3 d5
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.