Sicilian Defense: Closed, Grob Attack
1. e4 c5 2. Nc3 Nc6 3. g4
The Sicilian Defense: Closed, Grob Attack is a chess opening classified as ECO B23, reached after 1. e4 c5 2. Nc3 Nc6 3. g4. 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 49 times by this move order. White won 63%, 0% were drawn and Black won 37%. The most popular continuation is 3… d6 (39% of games).
Engine evaluation: −0.58 (Stockfish, depth 44; best line 3… e6 4. Bg2 Nge7 5. h4 d5 6. d3)
- ECO
- B23
- Moves
- 5 plies
- FEN
r1bqkbnr/pp1ppppp/2n5/2p5/4P1P1/2N5/PPPP1P1P/R1BQKBNR b KQkq - 0 3- PGN
1. e4 c5 2. Nc3 Nc6 3. g4
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 5 | |
| 1500-1999 | 21 | |
| 2000+ | 23 | |
| All | 49 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 3… d6 | 19 (39%) | |
| 3… g6 | 15 (31%) | |
| 3… e6 | 7 (14%) | |
| 3… e5 | 4 (8%) | |
| 3… Nd4 | 1 (2%) | |
| 3… h5 | 1 (2%) | |
| 3… a6 | 1 (2%) | |
| 3… Nf6 | 1 (2%) |
Master games
49 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 22%, draw 25%, Black 53%). The strongest:
- GM Nigel D Short (2597) – GM Raunak Sadhwani (2627) 1/2-1/2 · Short-Sadhwani Blitz 2023 · 2023-06-06
- GM Vokac, M. (2471) – IM Jan Bernasek (2506) 1/2-1/2 · TCh-CZE Div1 Zapad 2012-13 · 2013-04-07
- FM Oganisjn, R. (2245) – GM Jeffery Xiong (2659) 0-1 · Titled Tue 30th Jan Early · 2024-01-30
- FM Oganisjn, R. (2245) – GM Eric Hansen (2609) 0-1 · Titled Tue 28th Mar Early · 2023-03-28
- IM Jonathan Alonso Moyano (2402) – IM Alejandro Bofill Mas (2344) 1/2-1/2 · TCh-CAT 2014 · 2014-03-15
Search all games of the Sicilian Defense: Closed, Grob Attack and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- Future_Star_Chess (2523) – electricgold (2412) 0-1 · 2026-09-06 · 180 + 0s
- Mettigel (2493) – aandres44 (2336) 1-0 · 2026-09-02 · 180 + 0s
- CAS-2024 (2302) – Darthweber (2478) 0-1 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 2s
Comes from
Sicilian Defense: Closed, Traditional 1. e4 c5 2. Nc3 Nc6
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.