Sicilian Defense: McDonnell Attack (5. c3 Nf6)
1. e4 c5 2. f4 Nc6 3. Nf3 g6 4. Bb5 Bg7 5. c3 Nf6
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 5. c3 Nf6. 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 10 times by this move order. White won 40%, 0% were drawn and Black won 60%. The most popular continuation is 6. d3 (70% of games).
Engine evaluation: −0.13 (Stockfish, depth 34; best line 6. d3 O-O 7. O-O d6 8. Bxc6 bxc6)
- ECO
- B21
- Moves
- 10 plies
- FEN
r1bqk2r/pp1pppbp/2n2np1/1Bp5/4PP2/2P2N2/PP1P2PP/RNBQK2R w KQkq - 1 6- PGN
1. e4 c5 2. f4 Nc6 3. Nf3 g6 4. Bb5 Bg7 5. c3 Nf6
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 1500-1999 | 7 | |
| 2000+ | 3 | |
| All | 10 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 6. d3 | 7 (70%) | |
| 6. e5 | 2 (20%) | |
| 6. Qe2 | 1 (10%) |
Master games
1 over-the-board game is classified under this line (White 100%, draw 0%, Black 0%). The strongest:
- GM Alexander Bagrationi (2405) – Felix Gerlach (2140) 1-0 · 3rd Amsterdam Chess Open · 2025-10-24
Search all games of the Sicilian Defense: McDonnell Attack and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- nilske (2211) – wanderameise (2295) 0-1 · 2026-09-03 · 300 + 0s
- Lemrahat (2040) – Go-Is-Way-Better (2097) 0-1 · 2026-09-03 · 300 + 0s
- Smic (2085) – MK-1989 (2045) 0-1 · 2026-09-02 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Sicilian Defense: McDonnell Attack (4. Bb5 Bg7) 1. e4 c5 2. f4 Nc6 3. Nf3 g6 4. Bb5 Bg7
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.