Sicilian Defense: O'Kelly Variation, Aronin System
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 a6 3. Be2
The Sicilian Defense: O'Kelly Variation, Aronin System is a chess opening classified as ECO B28, reached after 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 a6 3. Be2. 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 232 times by this move order. White won 56%, 6% were drawn and Black won 38%. The most popular continuation is 3… Nc6 (39% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.27 (Stockfish, depth 39; best line 3… d6 4. d4 cxd4 5. Qxd4 Nc6 6. Qe3)
- ECO
- B28
- Moves
- 5 plies
- FEN
rnbqkbnr/1p1ppppp/p7/2p5/4P3/5N2/PPPPBPPP/RNBQK2R b KQkq - 1 3- PGN
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 a6 3. Be2
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 50 | |
| 1500-1999 | 149 | |
| 2000+ | 33 | |
| All | 232 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 3… Nc6 | 91 (39%) | |
| 3… e6 | 50 (22%) | |
| 3… b5 | 32 (14%) | |
| 3… d6 | 29 (13%) | |
| 3… g6 | 10 (4%) | |
| 3… h6 | 6 (3%) | |
| 3… Nf6 | 5 (2%) | |
| 3… d5 | 4 (2%) |
Master games
84 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 48%, draw 19%, Black 33%). The strongest:
- GM So, W. (2752) – GM Magnus Carlsen (2830) 0-1 · CCT Final KO 2023 · 2023-12-15
- GM Evgeniy Najer (2674) – GM Vladislav Artemiev (2676) 1/2-1/2 · Nutcracker Rapid 2015 · 2015-12-25
- GM Yaroslav Zherebukh (2605) – GM Gata Kamsky (2659) 1/2-1/2 · ch-USA 2017 · 2017-03-29
- GM David Paravyan (2608) – GM Alvar Alonso Rosell (2550) 1-0 · CrunchLabs Masters PlayIn · 2024-07-17
- GM Vadim Zvjaginsev (2627) – IM Valery Kazakouski (2485) 1/2-1/2 · World Blitz 2019 · 2019-12-29
Search all games of the Sicilian Defense: O'Kelly Variation, Aronin System and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- fatima1364 (2393) – Lerno1957 (2379) 1-0 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 0s
- Diamantgeist (2290) – theyoungsniper (2350) 0-1 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 2s
- HelpHelpMeRhonda (2282) – SwarmIOS (2301) 0-1 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Sicilian Defense: O'Kelly Variation 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 a6
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.