Sicilian Defense: Halasz Gambit
1. e4 c5 2. d4 cxd4 3. f4
The Sicilian Defense: Halasz Gambit is a chess opening classified as ECO B21, reached after 1. e4 c5 2. d4 cxd4 3. f4. 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 685 times by this move order. White won 48%, 4% were drawn and Black won 48%. The most popular continuation is 3… Nc6 (61% of games).
Engine evaluation: −0.40 (Stockfish, depth 40; best line 3… Nc6 4. Nf3 d5 5. Nxd4 dxe4 6. Be3)
- ECO
- B21
- Moves
- 5 plies
- FEN
rnbqkbnr/pp1ppppp/8/8/3pPP2/8/PPP3PP/RNBQKBNR b KQkq - 0 3- PGN
1. e4 c5 2. d4 cxd4 3. f4
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 84 | |
| 1500-1999 | 491 | |
| 2000+ | 110 | |
| All | 685 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 3… Nc6 | 416 (61%) | |
| 3… e6 | 65 (9%) | |
| 3… d6 | 65 (9%) | |
| 3… d5 | 60 (9%) | |
| 3… g6 | 24 (4%) | |
| 3… e5 | 23 (3%) | |
| 3… Nf6 | 17 (2%) | |
| 3… a6 | 5 (1%) |
Master games
12 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 42%, draw 16%, Black 42%). The strongest:
- IM Shamil Arslanov (2410) – WFM Sofia Blokhin (2009) 1-0 · Titled Tue 9th Apr Early · 2024-04-09
- Daniel Marais (1850) – FM Florian Mesaros (2321) 0-1 · World Youth Open U16 2016 · 2016-09-23
- CM Alvaro Isaac Padilla Morales (1965) – CM Alex Antonio Delgado Rosas (2191) 0-1 · 5th Panama Open 2026 · 2026-08-27
- Jef Verwoert (1998) – Bao Anh Le Bui (2159) 1-0 · 24th HZ Open 2022 · 2022-08-10
- FM Josef Ask (2113) – Gustav Dingertz (1986) 1-0 · Halmstad Open 2025 · 2025-05-31
Search all games of the Sicilian Defense: Halasz Gambit and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- OstavaisaSoboi (2515) – royer1 (2431) 1-0 · 2026-09-06 · 180 + 0s
- OstavaisaSoboi (2531) – AndreyKashinPerm (2300) 1-0 · 2026-09-01 · 180 + 0s
- Frolov_75 (2212) – sosiuke (2327) 0-1 · 2026-09-05 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Sicilian Defense: Smith-Morra Gambit (1… c5 2. d4) 1. e4 c5 2. 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.