Sicilian Defense: Closed (5. d3 d6)
1. e4 c5 2. Nc3 Nc6 3. g3 g6 4. Bg2 Bg7 5. d3 d6
The Sicilian Defense: Closed is a chess opening classified as ECO B25, reached after 1. e4 c5 2. Nc3 Nc6 3. g3 g6 4. Bg2 Bg7 5. d3 d6. It is a line of the Sicilian Defense. White is to move. 3 named lines continue from this position.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 608 times by this move order. White won 50%, 7% were drawn and Black won 43%. The most popular continuation is 6. Be3 (45% of games).
Engine evaluation: 0.00 (Stockfish, depth 55; best line 6. Nge2 e6 7. Be3 Nge7 8. d4 Qb6)
- ECO
- B25
- Moves
- 10 plies
- FEN
r1bqk1nr/pp2ppbp/2np2p1/2p5/4P3/2NP2P1/PPP2PBP/R1BQK1NR w KQkq - 0 6- PGN
1. e4 c5 2. Nc3 Nc6 3. g3 g6 4. Bg2 Bg7 5. d3 d6
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 7 | |
| 1500-1999 | 152 | |
| 2000+ | 449 | |
| All | 608 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 6. Be3 Closed (5… d6 6. Be3) | 271 (45%) | |
| 6. f4 Closed (5… d6 6. f4) | 213 (35%) | |
| 6. Nge2 | 80 (13%) | |
| 6. Nf3 | 12 (2%) | |
| 6. Nh3 | 12 (2%) | |
| 6. h3 | 10 (2%) | |
| 6. Bd2 | 5 (1%) | |
| 6. Bg5 | 3 (0%) |
Master games
558 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 28%, draw 27%, Black 45%). The strongest:
- GM Nigel D Short (2683) – GM Hikaru Nakamura (2786) 0-1 · 5th Classic KO 2013 · 2013-12-14
- GM Rauf Mamedov (2656) – GM Fabiano Caruana (2792) 0-1 · 7th Gashimov Mem Blitz · 2021-12-22
- GM Richard Rapport (2759) – GM Nijat Abasov (2668) 1/2-1/2 · TCh-AUT 2021 · 2021-03-14
- GM Daniil Dubov (2708) – GM B. Adhiban (2603) 1-0 · MrDodgy Inv 3 GpA · 2022-11-25
- GM Luke J McShane (2640) – GM A.R. Saleh Salem (2638) 1-0 · World Rapid 2017 · 2017-12-26
Search all games of the Sicilian Defense: Closed and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- IM shuriks91 (2774) – vwemby (2595) 1-0 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 0s
- Zenit-Champion (2694) – IM SpeedMonkey (2608) 1-0 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 0s
- FM fbf96 (2627) – Vnebo (2664) 0-1 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Sicilian Defense: Closed (4. Bg2 Bg7) 1. e4 c5 2. Nc3 Nc6 3. g3 g6 4. Bg2 Bg7
Continuations
- Sicilian Defense: Closed (5… d6 6. f4) B25 · 1. e4 c5 2. Nc3 Nc6 3. g3 g6 4. Bg2 Bg7 5. d3 d6 6. f4
- Sicilian Defense: Closed (5… d6 6. Be3) B26 · 1. e4 c5 2. Nc3 Nc6 3. g3 g6 4. Bg2 Bg7 5. d3 d6 6. Be3
- Sicilian Defense: Closed, Botvinnik Defense, with Nge2 B25 · 1. e4 c5 2. Nc3 Nc6 3. g3 g6 4. Bg2 Bg7 5. d3 d6 6. Nge2 e5
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.