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
The Sicilian Defense: Delayed Alapin Variation, Basman-Palatnik 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. It is a line of the Sicilian Defense. White is to move. 1 named line continues from this position.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 131 times by this move order. White won 62%, 3% were drawn and Black won 35%. The most popular continuation is 7. d5 (98% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.57 (Stockfish, depth 36; best line 7. d5 Qa5+ 8. Nc3 Nxc3 9. bxc3 Nd8)
- ECO
- B50
- Moves
- 12 plies
- FEN
r1bqkb1r/pp2pppp/2np4/8/3Pn3/5N2/PP2BPPP/RNBQK2R w KQkq - 0 7- PGN
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. c3 Nf6 4. Be2 Nc6 5. d4 cxd4 6. cxd4 Nxe4
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 2 | |
| 1500-1999 | 65 | |
| 2000+ | 64 | |
| All | 131 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 7. d5 | 128 (98%) | |
| 7. Qa4 | 1 (1%) | |
| 7. O-O | 1 (1%) | |
| 7. Nc3 | 1 (1%) |
Master games
30 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 57%, draw 13%, Black 30%). The strongest:
- GM Chithambaram VR. Aravindh (2677) – CM Georgijs Germanovs (2367) 1-0 · 1st 3-0 Thu 9th Jul 2026 · 2026-07-09
- GM Jose Eduardo Martinez Alcantara (2620) – IM Evgenios Ioannidis (2411) 1-0 · Titled Tuesday 20th Apr · 2021-04-20
- Antoni Kozak (2459) – IM Roman Vidonyak (2442) 1-0 · Titled Tue 21st Jun Early · 2022-06-21
- GM Aleksandra Goryachkina (2582) – CM Erick Zhao (2039) 1-0 · Titled Tue 4th Aug 2pm · 2020-08-04
- IM Yuri Korsunsky (2369) – Evan Ai (2202) 1-0 · Titled Tue 3rd Sep Early · 2024-09-03
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, with d6 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. c3
Continuations
- Sicilian Defense: Delayed Alapin Variation, Basman-Palatnik Double Gambit B50 · 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
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.