Sicilian Defense: Delayed Alapin Variation (6… Bd6 7. d4)
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. c3 d5 4. exd5 exd5 5. Bb5+ Nc6 6. O-O Bd6 7. d4
The Sicilian Defense: Delayed Alapin Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO B22, reached after 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. c3 d5 4. exd5 exd5 5. Bb5+ Nc6 6. O-O Bd6 7. d4. 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 3 times by this move order. White won 33%, 0% were drawn and Black won 67%. The most popular continuation is 7… Ne7 (67% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.21 (Stockfish, depth 42; best line 7… cxd4 8. Qxd4 Nf6 9. Re1+ Be6 10. Bg5)
- ECO
- B22
- Moves
- 13 plies
- FEN
r1bqk1nr/pp3ppp/2nb4/1Bpp4/3P4/2P2N2/PP3PPP/RNBQ1RK1 b kq - 0 7- PGN
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. c3 d5 4. exd5 exd5 5. Bb5+ Nc6 6. O-O Bd6 7. d4
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 1500-1999 | 2 | |
| 2000+ | 1 | |
| All | 3 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 7… Ne7 | 2 (67%) | |
| 7… cxd4 | 1 (33%) |
Master games
44 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 45%, draw 30%, Black 25%). The strongest:
- GM Hikaru Nakamura (2810) – GM Denis Lazavik (2605) 1-0 · SpeedChess Final 2025 · 2026-02-08
- GM Christopher Woojin Yoo (2567) – GM Dmitry Andreikin (2729) 1/2-1/2 · Chess.com RCC Wk24 Swiss · 2022-08-06
- GM Hikaru Nakamura (2810) – GM Emin Ohanyan (2481) 1-0 · 2nd 3-0 Thu 12th Feb 2026 · 2026-02-12
- GM Christopher Woojin Yoo (2588) – GM Javokhir Sindarov (2700) 1/2-1/2 · Titled Tue 18th Feb Late · 2025-02-18
- GM Christopher Woojin Yoo (2588) – GM Javokhir Sindarov (2692) 1-0 · Titled Tue 21st Jan Late · 2025-01-21
Search all games of the Sicilian Defense: Delayed Alapin Variation and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- Night-Forest (2410) – Doa79 (2561) 0-1 · 2026-09-07 · 180 + 2s
- Insertt (1783) – Dragon_Wex (1785) 1-0 · 2026-09-03 · 180 + 0s
- WegNach (1772) – frais420 (1717) 0-1 · 2026-09-01 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Sicilian Defense: Delayed Alapin Variation, with e6 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. c3
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.