Sicilian Defense: Flohr Variation
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Qc7
The Sicilian Defense: Flohr Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO B32, reached after 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Qc7. 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 681 times by this move order. White won 52%, 3% were drawn and Black won 45%. The most popular continuation is 5. Nc3 (53% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.45 (Stockfish, depth 44; best line 5. Nc3 e6 6. Be3 a6 7. Qf3 b5)
- ECO
- B32
- Moves
- 8 plies
- FEN
r1b1kbnr/ppqppppp/2n5/8/3NP3/8/PPP2PPP/RNBQKB1R w KQkq - 1 5- PGN
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Qc7
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 116 | |
| 1500-1999 | 463 | |
| 2000+ | 102 | |
| All | 681 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 5. Nc3 | 363 (53%) | |
| 5. Nxc6 | 130 (19%) | |
| 5. Be3 | 72 (11%) | |
| 5. c4 | 27 (4%) | |
| 5. Nb5 | 25 (4%) | |
| 5. Be2 | 18 (3%) | |
| 5. c3 | 13 (2%) | |
| 5. Bc4 | 10 (1%) |
Master games
849 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 34%, draw 25%, Black 41%). The strongest:
- GM Gata Kamsky (2666) – GM Dmitry Andreikin (2729) 0-1 · Titled Tue 22nd Nov Early · 2022-11-22
- GM Rinat Jumabayev (2602) – GM Hao Wang (2730) 1/2-1/2 · 17th Asian Continental · 2018-12-17
- GM Carlos Daniel Albornoz Cabrera (2573) – GM Dmitry Andreikin (2726) 0-1 · Titled Tuesday 7th July · 2020-07-07
- GM Michael Adams (2752) – GM Nikola Djukic (2543) 1-0 · 19th European Teams · 2013-11-11
- GM Zoltan Almasi (2702) – GM Viktor Erdos (2585) 1/2-1/2 · Bundesliga 2016-17 · 2016-10-16
Search all games of the Sicilian Defense: Flohr Variation and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- FSCC_1058 (2483) – The3Streets (2520) 1-0 · 2026-09-06 · 180 + 0s
- Iurii-66 (2434) – Papa_1960 (2531) 0-1 · 2026-09-01 · 180 + 2s
- Son_Goku7 (2439) – laviateur (2470) 0-1 · 2026-09-05 · 180 + 2s
Comes from
Sicilian Defense: Open (3… cxd4 4. Nxd4) 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4
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.