Sicilian Defense: Closed, Smyslov Variation
1. e4 c5 2. Nc3 Nc6 3. g3 g6 4. Bg2 Bg7 5. d3 e6 6. Be3 Nd4 7. Nce2
The Sicilian Defense: Closed, Smyslov Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO B24, reached after 1. e4 c5 2. Nc3 Nc6 3. g3 g6 4. Bg2 Bg7 5. d3 e6 6. Be3 Nd4 7. Nce2. 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 12 times by this move order. White won 67%, 16% were drawn and Black won 17%. The most popular continuation is 7… Nxe2 (50% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.22 (Stockfish, depth 40; best line 7… Nc6 8. c3 b6 9. f4 Bb7 10. Nf3)
- ECO
- B24
- Moves
- 13 plies
- FEN
r1bqk1nr/pp1p1pbp/4p1p1/2p5/3nP3/3PB1P1/PPP1NPBP/R2QK1NR b KQkq - 3 7- PGN
1. e4 c5 2. Nc3 Nc6 3. g3 g6 4. Bg2 Bg7 5. d3 e6 6. Be3 Nd4 7. Nce2
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 1500-1999 | 2 | |
| 2000+ | 10 | |
| All | 12 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 7… Nxe2 | 6 (50%) | |
| 7… d6 | 4 (33%) | |
| 7… Ne7 | 2 (17%) |
Master games
52 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 38%, draw 16%, Black 46%). The strongest:
- GM Qun Ma (2630) – GM Shanglei Lu (2615) 1/2-1/2 · SCO National Chess Online · 2020-09-26
- GM David Larino Nieto (2451) – GM Julio E Granda Zuniga (2628) 1-0 · Legends and Prodigies · 2025-09-19
- Azamat Utegaliyev (2432) – GM Rinat Jumabayev (2590) 1/2-1/2 · 20th Asian Continental · 2023-06-09
- IM Ruifeng Li (2529) – IM Steven Zierk (2488) 1-0 · St Louis Inv GM 2016 · 2016-06-12
- GM Marc Narciso Dublan (2517) – FM Alejandro Pablo Mari (2379) 1/2-1/2 · TCh-CAT Gp2 2015 · 2015-01-24
Search all games of the Sicilian Defense: Closed, Smyslov Variation and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- FastCavalier (2564) – milyutinroman (2520) 1-0 · 2026-09-02 · 180 + 0s
- NM ToyTiko (2532) – trening33 (2360) 1-0 · 2026-09-07 · 600 + 0s
- KingPin-Inc (2338) – dan910712 (2326) 1-0 · 2026-09-06 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Sicilian Defense: Closed (4. Bg2 Bg7) 1. e4 c5 2. Nc3 Nc6 3. g3 g6 4. Bg2 Bg7
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.