Sicilian Defense: Kan Variation, Swiss Cheese Variation
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 a6 5. Bd3 g6
The Sicilian Defense: Kan Variation, Swiss Cheese Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO B42, reached after 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 a6 5. Bd3 g6. 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 30 times by this move order. White won 53%, 10% were drawn and Black won 37%. The most popular continuation is 6. O-O (53% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.65 (Stockfish, depth 40; best line 6. O-O Bg7 7. Be3 Ne7 8. c4 d5)
- ECO
- B42
- Moves
- 10 plies
- FEN
rnbqkbnr/1p1p1p1p/p3p1p1/8/3NP3/3B4/PPP2PPP/RNBQK2R w KQkq - 0 6- PGN
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 a6 5. Bd3 g6
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 2 | |
| 1500-1999 | 13 | |
| 2000+ | 15 | |
| All | 30 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 6. O-O | 16 (53%) | |
| 6. Nc3 | 5 (17%) | |
| 6. c4 | 3 (10%) | |
| 6. Be3 | 3 (10%) | |
| 6. c3 | 2 (7%) | |
| 6. Qe2 | 1 (3%) |
Master games
516 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 36%, draw 23%, Black 41%). The strongest:
- LCZero 0.33-dev-f6ec55c-BT4-6147500-it332 (3749) – Berserk 20250622 (3667) 1-0 · TCEC 29 Premier 2026 · 2026-03-20
- Berserk 20250622 (3667) – LCZero 0.33-dev-f6ec55c-BT4-6147500-it332 (3749) 1-0 · TCEC 29 Premier 2026 · 2026-03-18
- Berserk 20250622 (3667) – Torch 20260128-7136070b (3716) 1/2-1/2 · TCEC 29 Premier 2026 · 2026-03-07
- Torch 20260128-7136070b (3716) – Berserk 20250622 (3667) 1-0 · TCEC 29 Premier 2026 · 2026-03-04
- Obsidiandev-16.14 (3645) – Ethereal14.40 (3618) 1-0 · TCEC 28 Premier 2025 · 2025-08-23
Highest-rated Lichess games
- HighQualityO (2700) – IM shuriks91 (2845) 0-1 · 2026-09-07 · 180 + 0s
- Yakamuzosan (2677) – puziko52 (2823) 1/2-1/2 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 0s
- Cucumberos (2456) – giantgooga2 (2472) 1-0 · 2026-09-07 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Sicilian Defense: Kan Variation, Modern Variation 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 a6 5. Bd3
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.