Sicilian Defense: Keres Variation
1. e4 c5 2. Ne2
The Sicilian Defense: Keres Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO B20, reached after 1. e4 c5 2. Ne2. 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 3,358 times by this move order. White won 50%, 5% were drawn and Black won 45%. The most popular continuation is 2… Nc6 (46% of games).
Engine evaluation: 0.00 (Stockfish, depth 50; best line 2… Nf6 3. Nbc3 d5 4. exd5 Nxd5 5. Nxd5)
- ECO
- B20
- Moves
- 3 plies
- FEN
rnbqkbnr/pp1ppppp/8/2p5/4P3/8/PPPPNPPP/RNBQKB1R b KQkq - 1 2- PGN
1. e4 c5 2. Ne2
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 314 | |
| 1500-1999 | 1,865 | |
| 2000+ | 1,179 | |
| All | 3,358 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 2… Nc6 | 1,551 (46%) | |
| 2… d6 | 715 (21%) | |
| 2… e6 | 568 (17%) | |
| 2… g6 | 207 (6%) | |
| 2… e5 | 93 (3%) | |
| 2… d5 | 84 (3%) | |
| 2… a6 | 60 (2%) | |
| 2… Nf6 | 57 (2%) |
Master games
4,237 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 46%, draw 19%, Black 35%). The strongest:
- KomodoDragon3.3 (3620) – Berserk20250622 (3650) 1/2-1/2 · TCEC 28 Premier 2025 · 2025-08-03
- Berserk20250622 (3650) – KomodoDragon3.3 (3620) 1/2-1/2 · TCEC 28 Premier 2025 · 2025-08-03
- Seer2.8.0 (3499) – Berserk13 (3540) 1/2-1/2 · TCEC 26 Premier 2024 · 2024-04-29
- Berserk13 (3540) – Seer2.8.0 (3499) 1/2-1/2 · TCEC 26 Premier 2024 · 2024-04-27
- Fire 8_beta (3457) – ScorpioNN 3.0.8.3 (3448) 1-0 · TCEC 19 Premier 2020 · 2020-09-25
Search all games of the Sicilian Defense: Keres Variation and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- kasparik_garik (2660) – GM Niksss2023 (2831) 0-1 · 2026-09-05 · 180 + 0s
- Lifvix01 (2792) – FM The_Fawkes (2688) 1-0 · 2026-09-01 · 180 + 0s
- Lifvix01 (2808) – quantumcorrection (2649) 0-1 · 2026-09-01 · 180 + 0s
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: Grob 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.