Sicilian Defense: Delayed Alapin Variation (5. d4 Nf6)
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. c3 d5 4. exd5 Qxd5 5. d4 Nf6
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 Qxd5 5. d4 Nf6. It is a line of the Sicilian Defense. White is to move.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 616 times by this move order. White won 45%, 9% were drawn and Black won 46%. The most popular continuation is 6. Be2 (29% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.09 (Stockfish, depth 50; best line 6. Na3 Nc6 7. Be3 cxd4 8. Nb5 Qd7)
- ECO
- B22
- Moves
- 10 plies
- FEN
rnb1kb1r/pp3ppp/4pn2/2pq4/3P4/2P2N2/PP3PPP/RNBQKB1R w KQkq - 1 6- PGN
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. c3 d5 4. exd5 Qxd5 5. d4 Nf6
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 6 | |
| 1500-1999 | 218 | |
| 2000+ | 392 | |
| All | 616 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 6. Be2 | 178 (29%) | |
| 6. Be3 | 126 (20%) | |
| 6. Bb5+ | 98 (16%) | |
| 6. Na3 | 79 (13%) | |
| 6. Bd3 | 41 (7%) | |
| 6. c4 | 38 (6%) | |
| 6. Nbd2 | 16 (3%) | |
| 6. Bg5 | 15 (2%) |
Master games
2,034 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 35%, draw 30%, Black 35%). The strongest:
- GM Magnus Carlsen (2839) – GM Ian Nepomniachtchi (2771) 1-0 · chess.com SpeedChess 2023 · 2023-09-15
- GM Hikaru Nakamura (2816) – GM Fabiano Caruana (2789) 0-1 · Clutch Chess: Champions · 2025-10-29
- GM Levon Aronian (2767) – GM Fabiano Caruana (2828) 0-1 · 8th Norway Chess 2020 · 2020-10-11
- GM Hikaru Nakamura (2804) – GM Erigaisi Arjun (2782) 1/2-1/2 · 13th Norway Chess 2025 · 2025-06-05
- GM Anish Giri (2776) – GM Ian Nepomniachtchi (2789) 1/2-1/2 · Magnus Carlsen Inv KO · 2021-03-20
Search all games of the Sicilian Defense: Delayed Alapin Variation and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- FM Guary1 (2856) – Fide_MaSk (2672) 1-0 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 0s
- FM Guary1 (2789) – Tempstream (2720) 1-0 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 0s
- TigerSiberian (2840) – FM enclasesUNI (2638) 1-0 · 2026-09-03 · 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.