Sicilian Defense: Franco-Sicilian Variation
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 e6
The Sicilian Defense: Franco-Sicilian Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO B32, reached after 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 e6. 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 3,238 times by this move order. White won 56%, 3% were drawn and Black won 41%. The most popular continuation is 4. d5 (51% of games).
Engine evaluation: +1.49 (Stockfish, depth 34; best line 4. d5 Na5 5. d6 a6 6. e5 Nc6)
- ECO
- B32
- Moves
- 6 plies
- FEN
r1bqkbnr/pp1p1ppp/2n1p3/2p5/3PP3/5N2/PPP2PPP/RNBQKB1R w KQkq - 0 4- PGN
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 e6
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 1,499 | |
| 1500-1999 | 1,636 | |
| 2000+ | 103 | |
| All | 3,238 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 4. d5 | 1,642 (51%) | |
| 4. dxc5 | 493 (15%) | |
| 4. Nc3 | 346 (11%) | |
| 4. Bb5 | 175 (5%) | |
| 4. Be3 | 165 (5%) | |
| 4. c3 | 147 (5%) | |
| 4. Bc4 | 97 (3%) | |
| 4. c4 | 48 (1%) |
Master games
72 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 78%, draw 5%, Black 17%). The strongest:
- IM Alain Genzling (2376) – GM Maxime Lagarde (2615) 0-1 · 5th ch-Francophonie Blitz · 2018-07-13
- GM A Jonathan Mestel (2449) – Stjepan Novak (1671) 1-0 · TCh-EUR Senior +65 2025 · 2025-04-09
- Anna Lukasiewicz (2094) – Josef Ludvicek (1872) 1-0 · Stare Mesto Open 2015 · 2015-08-20
- FM Luis Marcos Medarde Santiago (2285) – Luis Barros (1628) 1-0 · 13th Figueira da Foz Open · 2019-10-27
- Artur Tsydendambaev (2070) – Yuri Klenin (1843) 1-0 · 17th Petr Izmailov · 2013-06-12
Search all games of the Sicilian Defense: Franco-Sicilian Variation and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- songsololevel (2558) – KARSENIY (2557) 1-0 · 2026-09-07 · 180 + 0s
- Rookie1243 (2534) – bingo95 (2491) 0-1 · 2026-09-01 · 180 + 0s
- aava30 (2234) – la_rint (2457) 1-0 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Sicilian Defense: Open (2… Nc6 3. d4) 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4
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.