Sicilian Defense: Delayed Alapin Variation, Basman-Palatnik Double Gambit
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. c3 Nf6 4. Be2 Nc6 5. d4 cxd4 6. cxd4 Nxe4 7. d5 Qa5+ 8. Nc3 Nxc3 9. bxc3
The Sicilian Defense: Delayed Alapin Variation, Basman-Palatnik Double Gambit is a chess opening classified as ECO B50, reached after 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. c3 Nf6 4. Be2 Nc6 5. d4 cxd4 6. cxd4 Nxe4 7. d5 Qa5+ 8. Nc3 Nxc3 9. bxc3. 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 93 times by this move order. White won 55%, 3% were drawn and Black won 42%. The most popular continuation is 9… Ne5 (43% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.43 (Stockfish, depth 37; best line 9… Nd8 10. O-O e5 11. dxe6 Nxe6 12. Nd4)
- ECO
- B50
- Moves
- 17 plies
- FEN
r1b1kb1r/pp2pppp/2np4/q2P4/8/2P2N2/P3BPPP/R1BQK2R b KQkq - 0 9- PGN
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. c3 Nf6 4. Be2 Nc6 5. d4 cxd4 6. cxd4 Nxe4 7. d5 Qa5+ 8. Nc3 Nxc3 9. bxc3
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 1500-1999 | 38 | |
| 2000+ | 55 | |
| All | 93 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 9… Ne5 | 40 (43%) | |
| 9… Nb8 | 38 (41%) | |
| 9… Nd8 | 9 (10%) | |
| 9… Qxc3+ | 6 (6%) |
Master games
185 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 56%, draw 13%, Black 31%). The strongest:
- GM Etienne Bacrot (2640) – GM Fabiano Caruana (2803) 0-1 · Titled Tue 4th Feb Late · 2025-02-04
- GM Levon Aronian (2782) – GM Erigaisi Arjun (2627) 0-1 · Lindores Abbey Tal Mem · 2021-11-08
- GM V Pranav (2661) – GM Samvel Ter-Sahakyan (2613) 1-0 · 1st 3-0 Thu 2nd Jul 2026 · 2026-07-02
- GM Federico Perez Ponsa (2564) – GM Rinat Jumabayev (2630) 0-1 · Chess24 Banter Blitz Cup · 2019-09-29
- GM V Pranav (2666) – GM Steven Zierk (2489) 1-0 · Titled Tue 28th Jul 2026 · 2026-07-28
Highest-rated Lichess games
- DailyTornado (2588) – FM SubtleMind (2462) 0-1 · 2026-09-05 · 180 + 0s
- Bagii_Bagii (2497) – The_Estoico (2542) 0-1 · 2026-09-07 · 180 + 0s
- axelb99 (2444) – IACHESSISQ (2504) 0-1 · 2026-09-01 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Sicilian Defense: Delayed Alapin Variation, Basman-Palatnik Gambit 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. c3 Nf6 4. Be2 Nc6 5. d4 cxd4 6. cxd4 Nxe4
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.