Sicilian Defense: Godiva Variation
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Qb6
The Sicilian Defense: Godiva Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO B32, reached after 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Qb6. 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 1,744 times by this move order. White won 48%, 4% were drawn and Black won 48%. The most popular continuation is 5. Nxc6 (44% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.51 (Stockfish, depth 55; best line 5. Nb3 e6 6. a3 Qc7 7. Be3 a6)
- ECO
- B32
- Moves
- 8 plies
- FEN
r1b1kbnr/pp1ppppp/1qn5/8/3NP3/8/PPP2PPP/RNBQKB1R w KQkq - 1 5- PGN
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Qb6
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 229 | |
| 1500-1999 | 1,133 | |
| 2000+ | 382 | |
| All | 1,744 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 5. Nxc6 | 760 (44%) | |
| 5. Nb3 | 513 (29%) | |
| 5. c3 | 229 (13%) | |
| 5. Be3 | 108 (6%) | |
| 5. Nc3 | 45 (3%) | |
| 5. Nb5 | 41 (2%) | |
| 5. Nf3 | 32 (2%) | |
| 5. Nf5 | 10 (1%) |
Master games
3,542 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 30%, draw 21%, Black 49%). The strongest:
- Stockfish 202003092246 (3936) – AllieStein v0.5_timefix-n14.0 (3936) 1/2-1/2 · TCEC 20 Premier 2020 · 2020-04-07
- AllieStein v0.5_timefix-n14.0 (3936) – Stockfish 202003092246 (3936) 1/2-1/2 · TCEC 20 Premier 2020 · 2020-04-03
- Stockfish 202004181536 (3851) – Komodo 2522.05 (3794) 1-0 · 5th TCEC Cup 2020 · 2020-04-27
- Komodo 2522.05 (3794) – Stockfish 202004181536 (3851) 1/2-1/2 · 5th TCEC Cup 2020 · 2020-04-27
- Fire 8_beta (3457) – ScorpioNN 3.0.8.3 (3448) 1/2-1/2 · TCEC 19 Premier 2020 · 2020-09-11
Search all games of the Sicilian Defense: Godiva Variation and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- Sunrise34 (2850) – Lifvix01 (2799) 0-1 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 0s
- FM The_Fawkes (2694) – Lifvix01 (2787) 0-1 · 2026-09-01 · 180 + 0s
- Alpha_777 (2780) – IM SpeedMonkey (2614) 1-0 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 0s
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.