Sicilian Defense: Closed (4. Bg2 Bg7)
1. e4 c5 2. Nc3 Nc6 3. g3 g6 4. Bg2 Bg7
The Sicilian Defense: Closed is a chess opening classified as ECO B24, reached after 1. e4 c5 2. Nc3 Nc6 3. g3 g6 4. Bg2 Bg7. It is a line of the Sicilian Defense. White is to move. 2 named lines continue from this position.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 2,655 times by this move order. White won 50%, 7% were drawn and Black won 43%. The most popular continuation is 5. d3 (55% of games).
Engine evaluation: 0.00 (Stockfish, depth 50; best line 5. Nge2 d6 6. d3 e6 7. Be3 Nge7)
- ECO
- B24
- Moves
- 8 plies
- FEN
r1bqk1nr/pp1pppbp/2n3p1/2p5/4P3/2N3P1/PPPP1PBP/R1BQK1NR w KQkq - 2 5- PGN
1. e4 c5 2. Nc3 Nc6 3. g3 g6 4. Bg2 Bg7
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 90 | |
| 1500-1999 | 886 | |
| 2000+ | 1,679 | |
| All | 2,655 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 5. d3 | 1,464 (55%) | |
| 5. Nge2 | 960 (36%) | |
| 5. f4 | 132 (5%) | |
| 5. Nf3 | 51 (2%) | |
| 5. h4 | 12 (0%) | |
| 5. Nh3 | 8 (0%) | |
| 5. h3 | 7 (0%) | |
| 5. Nce2 | 7 (0%) |
Master games
3,523 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 36%, draw 17%, Black 47%). The strongest:
- GM Ian Nepomniachtchi (2784) – GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (2778) 1/2-1/2 · Carlsen Inv Prelim · 2020-04-21
- GM Daniil Dubov (2708) – GM Alireza Firouzja (2785) 1/2-1/2 · Titled Tue 29th Nov Early · 2022-11-29
- GM Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (2765) – GM Yue Wang (2720) 1-0 · SportAccord Blitz 2014 · 2014-12-13
- GM Nigel D Short (2592) – GM Nodirbek Abdusattorov (2725) 1/2-1/2 · World Rapid Team 2023 · 2023-08-26
- GM Aleksander Mista (2589) – GM Jan-Krzysztof Duda (2724) 0-1 · TCh-POL Rapid 2018 · 2018-03-03
Search all games of the Sicilian Defense: Closed and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- NathanDerSchwarze (2862) – SmoovE1258502 (2674) 0-1 · 2026-09-06 · 180 + 0s
- IM shuriks91 (2769) – Juplt3rLlk3 (2741) 1-0 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 0s
- IM shuriks91 (2774) – vwemby (2595) 1-0 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Sicilian Defense: Closed (3. g3 g6) 1. e4 c5 2. Nc3 Nc6 3. g3 g6
Continuations
- Sicilian Defense: Closed (5. d3 d6) B25 · 1. e4 c5 2. Nc3 Nc6 3. g3 g6 4. Bg2 Bg7 5. d3 d6
- Sicilian Defense: Closed, Smyslov Variation B24 · 1. e4 c5 2. Nc3 Nc6 3. g3 g6 4. Bg2 Bg7 5. d3 e6 6. Be3 Nd4 7. Nce2
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.