Sicilian Defense: Closed (1… c5 2. Nc3)
1. e4 c5 2. Nc3
The Sicilian Defense: Closed is a chess opening classified as ECO B23, reached after 1. e4 c5 2. Nc3. It is a line of the Sicilian Defense. Black is to move. 4 named lines continue from this position.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 113,514 times by this move order. White won 49%, 4% were drawn and Black won 47%. The most popular continuation is 2… Nc6 (46% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.19 (Stockfish, depth 60; best line 2… Nc6 3. Nf3 g6 4. d4 cxd4 5. Nxd4)
- ECO
- B23
- Moves
- 3 plies
- FEN
rnbqkbnr/pp1ppppp/8/2p5/4P3/2N5/PPPP1PPP/R1BQKBNR b KQkq - 1 2- PGN
1. e4 c5 2. Nc3
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 24,171 | |
| 1500-1999 | 59,931 | |
| 2000+ | 29,412 | |
| All | 113,514 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 2… Nc6 Closed, Traditional | 52,027 (46%) | |
| 2… e6 Closed (2. Nc3 e6) | 23,136 (20%) | |
| 2… d6 | 22,710 (20%) | |
| 2… g6 | 6,950 (6%) | |
| 2… a6 | 5,104 (4%) | |
| 2… e5 | 1,542 (1%) | |
| 2… Nf6 | 1,026 (1%) | |
| 2… b6 | 417 (0%) |
Master games
23,606 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 42%, draw 17%, Black 41%). The strongest:
- Stockfish dev16_20221027 (3625) – LCZero 0.30-dag-9a9c42d_784968 (3599) 1-0 · TCEC 23 Superfinal 2022 · 2022-11-16
- LCZero 0.30-dag-9a9c42d_784968 (3599) – Stockfish dev16_20221027 (3625) 1/2-1/2 · TCEC 23 Superfinal 2022 · 2022-11-15
- Stockfish dev16_20221027 (3625) – LCZero 0.30-dag-9a9c42d_784968 (3599) 1/2-1/2 · TCEC 23 Superfinal 2022 · 2022-11-07
- LCZero 0.30-dag-9a9c42d_784968 (3599) – Stockfish dev16_20221027 (3625) 1/2-1/2 · TCEC 23 Superfinal 2022 · 2022-11-06
- GM Magnus Carlsen (2855) – GM Anish Giri (2782) 0-1 · GCT Blitz YourNextMove · 2016-06-20
Search all games of the Sicilian Defense: Closed and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- Drogono (2839) – KnightCheckShadow (3002) 1-0 · 2026-09-02 · 180 + 0s
- IM shuriks91 (2773) – winx_m (2941) 0-1 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 0s
- Drogono (2845) – FM Guary1 (2852) 1/2-1/2 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Sicilian Defense (1. e4 c5) 1. e4 c5
Continuations
- Sicilian Defense: Closed (2. Nc3 e6) B23 · 1. e4 c5 2. Nc3 e6
- Sicilian Defense: Closed, Traditional B23 · 1. e4 c5 2. Nc3 Nc6
- Sicilian Defense: Closed, Carlsen Variation B23 · 1. e4 c5 2. Nc3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Qxd4 Nc6 5. Qd2
- Sicilian Defense: Dragon Variation, Classical Variation, Stockholm Attack B74 · 1. e4 c5 2. Nc3 d6 3. f4 Nc6 4. Nf3 g6 5. d4 cxd4 6. Nxd4 Bg7 7. Be3 Nf6 8. Be2 O-O 9. Nb3 Be6 10. O-O Na5 11. f5 Bc4 12. Nxa5 Bxe2 13. Qxe2 Qxa5 14. g4
More Sicilian Defense lines (all)
- 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
- Sicilian Defense: Kronberger Variation 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.