Sicilian Defense: Grob Variation
1. e4 c5 2. g4
The Sicilian Defense: Grob Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO B20, reached after 1. e4 c5 2. g4. It is a line of the Sicilian Defense. Black is to move.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 161 times by this move order. White won 46%, 4% were drawn and Black won 50%. The most popular continuation is 2… Nc6 (38% of games).
Engine evaluation: −0.71 (Stockfish, depth 47; best line 2… d5 3. h3 h5 4. g5 e6 5. d3)
- ECO
- B20
- Moves
- 3 plies
- FEN
rnbqkbnr/pp1ppppp/8/2p5/4P1P1/8/PPPP1P1P/RNBQKBNR b KQkq - 0 2- PGN
1. e4 c5 2. g4
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 89 | |
| 1500-1999 | 62 | |
| 2000+ | 10 | |
| All | 161 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 2… Nc6 | 61 (38%) | |
| 2… d6 | 34 (21%) | |
| 2… e6 | 20 (12%) | |
| 2… d5 | 10 (6%) | |
| 2… e5 | 8 (5%) | |
| 2… a6 | 7 (4%) | |
| 2… g6 | 6 (4%) | |
| 2… Nf6 | 5 (3%) |
Master games
8 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 63%, draw 12%, Black 25%). The strongest:
- IM Guillermo Vazquez (2527) – David Levine (2068) 1-0 · PNWCC Opening Bl Sicilian · 2020-12-12
- CM Damian Sliwicki (2168) – IM Gianmarco Leiva (2405) 1-0 · Titled Tue 5th Apr Late · 2022-04-05
- FM Orest Vovk (2315) – CM Ilya Gruzman (2149) 1-0 · Titled Tue 9th Jul Early · 2024-07-09
- CM Roman Shogdzhiev (2060) – Giovanni B Tavares Da Silva (2095) 1-0 · Titled Tue 11th Jun Early · 2024-06-11
- Vladislav Onufrienko (2032) – Shawn Martinez (1869) 0-1 · Titled Tue 9th Jan Early · 2024-01-09
Search all games of the Sicilian Defense: Grob Variation and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- Sposiatis (2221) – KG77 (2230) 0-1 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 0s
- Gnejak (2217) – REMIT_01 (2214) 0-1 · 2026-09-02 · 180 + 0s
- MachinaGearframe (2198) – Natte_haring (2227) 0-1 · 2026-09-07 · 180 + 2s
Comes from
Sicilian Defense (1. e4 c5) 1. e4 c5
More Sicilian Defense lines (all)
- 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: Keres Variation B20
- Sicilian Defense: King David's Opening B20
- Sicilian Defense: Kronberger Variation B20
- Sicilian Defense: Kronberger Variation, Nemeth Gambit 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.