Sicilian Defense: McDonnell Attack (4. Bb5 Bg7)
1. e4 c5 2. f4 Nc6 3. Nf3 g6 4. Bb5 Bg7
The Sicilian Defense: McDonnell Attack is a chess opening classified as ECO B21, reached after 1. e4 c5 2. f4 Nc6 3. Nf3 g6 4. Bb5 Bg7. It is a line of the Sicilian Defense. White is to move. 2 named lines continue from this position.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 554 times by this move order. White won 47%, 6% were drawn and Black won 47%. The most popular continuation is 5. Bxc6 (54% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.29 (Stockfish, depth 34; best line 5. O-O Nd4 6. Nxd4 cxd4 7. d3 Nf6)
- ECO
- B21
- Moves
- 8 plies
- FEN
r1bqk1nr/pp1pppbp/2n3p1/1Bp5/4PP2/5N2/PPPP2PP/RNBQK2R w KQkq - 2 5- PGN
1. e4 c5 2. f4 Nc6 3. Nf3 g6 4. Bb5 Bg7
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 59 | |
| 1500-1999 | 385 | |
| 2000+ | 110 | |
| All | 554 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 5. Bxc6 | 300 (54%) | |
| 5. O-O | 117 (21%) | |
| 5. c3 | 54 (10%) | |
| 5. d3 | 34 (6%) | |
| 5. Nc3 | 28 (5%) | |
| 5. e5 | 12 (2%) | |
| 5. c4 | 5 (1%) | |
| 5. a4 | 2 (0%) |
Master games
81 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 53%, draw 10%, Black 37%). The strongest:
- GM Nodirbek Abdusattorov (2627) – IM Aditya Mittal (2438) 1-0 · PNWCC Online Blitz JP 17 · 2020-07-18
- GM Sarunas Sulskis (2497) – GM Toms Kantans (2486) 0-1 · TCh-FIN 2024-25 · 2024-10-05
- GM Ori Kobo (2539) – IM Or Bronstein (2440) 1-0 · Dov Porat Blitz 2024 · 2024-11-01
- Vadim Moiseenko (2454) – IM Kamil Dragun (2465) 1-0 · EY Boys U18 2012 · 2012-08-21
- GM Sveshnikov, E. (2509) – IM Danner, G. (2338) 1-0 · World Senior Teams +65 · 2016-07-02
Search all games of the Sicilian Defense: McDonnell Attack and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- Poblesk (2562) – ana_7azeen (2477) 1-0 · 2026-09-01 · 180 + 0s
- Poblesk (2537) – iKun123 (2465) 1-0 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 0s
- Kotletka_94 (2438) – LUCENA-H (2433) 0-1 · 2026-09-06 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Sicilian Defense: McDonnell Attack (1… c5 2. f4) 1. e4 c5 2. f4
Continuations
- Sicilian Defense: McDonnell Attack (5. c3 Nf6) B21 · 1. e4 c5 2. f4 Nc6 3. Nf3 g6 4. Bb5 Bg7 5. c3 Nf6
- Sicilian Defense: McDonnell Attack (7. d3 Nf6) B21 · 1. e4 c5 2. f4 Nc6 3. Nf3 g6 4. Bb5 Bg7 5. Bxc6 bxc6 6. O-O d6 7. d3 Nf6
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.