Sicilian Defense: Lasker-Pelikan Variation, Sveshnikov Variation, Novosibirsk Variation
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 e5 6. Ndb5 d6 7. Bg5 a6 8. Na3 b5 9. Bxf6 gxf6 10. Nd5 Bg7
The Sicilian Defense: Lasker-Pelikan Variation, Sveshnikov Variation, Novosibirsk Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO B33, reached after 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 e5 6. Ndb5 d6 7. Bg5 a6 8. Na3 b5 9. Bxf6 gxf6 10. Nd5 Bg7. 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 162 times by this move order. White won 55%, 10% were drawn and Black won 35%. The most popular continuation is 11. c3 (45% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.39 (Stockfish, depth 40; best line 11. Bd3 Ne7 12. Nxe7 Qxe7 13. c4 f5)
- ECO
- B33
- Moves
- 20 plies
- FEN
r1bqk2r/5pbp/p1np1p2/1p1Np3/4P3/N7/PPP2PPP/R2QKB1R w KQkq - 2 11- PGN
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 e5 6. Ndb5 d6 7. Bg5 a6 8. Na3 b5 9. Bxf6 gxf6 10. Nd5 Bg7
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 2 | |
| 1500-1999 | 14 | |
| 2000+ | 146 | |
| All | 162 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 11. c3 | 73 (45%) | |
| 11. Bd3 | 51 (31%) | |
| 11. g3 | 16 (10%) | |
| 11. c4 | 10 (6%) | |
| 11. Qh5 | 8 (5%) | |
| 11. Bxb5 | 2 (1%) | |
| 11. Qd2 | 1 (1%) | |
| 11. Ne3 | 1 (1%) |
Master games
1,023 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 46%, draw 22%, Black 32%). The strongest:
- GM Veselin Topalov (2740) – GM Magnus Carlsen (2861) 0-1 · Cote d'Ivoire Blitz 2019 · 2019-05-12
- GM Jan-Krzysztof Duda (2739) – GM Magnus Carlsen (2837) 1/2-1/2 · Titled Tue 15th Apr Late · 2025-04-15
- GM Jeffery Xiong (2709) – GM Magnus Carlsen (2863) 1/2-1/2 · Clutch Chess Showdown Int · 2020-06-08
- GM Alexey Sarana (2655) – GM Magnus Carlsen (2876) 1/2-1/2 · FIDE Chess.com Grand Swiss · 2019-10-11
- GM Fabiano Caruana (2817) – GM Gata Kamsky (2659) 1-0 · ch-USA 2017 · 2017-04-04
Highest-rated Lichess games
- Kruciatos (2743) – canc3111 (2774) 1-0 · 2026-09-05 · 180 + 0s
- IM liczner (2702) – Nut5105 (2730) 0-1 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 0s
- IM liczner (2701) – Cuentatorneos (2653) 0-1 · 2026-09-02 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Sicilian Defense: Lasker-Pelikan Variation, Sveshnikov Variation (8. Na3 b5) 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 e5 6. Ndb5 d6 7. Bg5 a6 8. Na3 b5
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.