Sicilian Defense: O'Kelly Variation, Maróczy Bind, Paulsen Line
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 a6 3. c4 e6
The Sicilian Defense: O'Kelly Variation, Maróczy Bind, Paulsen Line is a chess opening classified as ECO B28, reached after 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 a6 3. c4 e6. 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 171 times by this move order. White won 54%, 6% were drawn and Black won 40%. The most popular continuation is 4. Nc3 (51% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.52 (Stockfish, depth 46; best line 4. Nc3 Nf6 5. e5 Ng8 6. d4 cxd4)
- ECO
- B28
- Moves
- 6 plies
- FEN
rnbqkbnr/1p1p1ppp/p3p3/2p5/2P1P3/5N2/PP1P1PPP/RNBQKB1R w KQkq - 0 4- PGN
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 a6 3. c4 e6
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 20 | |
| 1500-1999 | 69 | |
| 2000+ | 82 | |
| All | 171 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 4. Nc3 | 87 (51%) | |
| 4. d4 | 61 (36%) | |
| 4. d3 | 8 (5%) | |
| 4. Bd3 | 4 (2%) | |
| 4. b3 | 3 (2%) | |
| 4. Be2 | 2 (1%) | |
| 4. h3 | 1 (1%) | |
| 4. g3 | 1 (1%) |
Master games
795 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 40%, draw 19%, Black 41%). The strongest:
- Komodo 2522.05 (3794) – Stoofvlees II a14 (3746) 1-0 · 5th TCEC Cup 2020 · 2020-04-26
- Stoofvlees II a14 (3746) – Komodo 2522.05 (3794) 1/2-1/2 · 5th TCEC Cup 2020 · 2020-04-26
- AllieStein v0.7_dev-net_14.3 (3761) – Fire 8_beta (3729) 1-0 · TCEC 18 Premier 2020 · 2020-05-29
- Fire 8_beta (3729) – AllieStein v0.7_dev-net_14.3 (3761) 1/2-1/2 · TCEC 18 Premier 2020 · 2020-05-26
- GM So, W. (2767) – GM Vladislav Artemiev (2746) 1-0 · chess.com Speed 2019 · 2019-12-05
Highest-rated Lichess games
- Kruciatos (2739) – Juan_Delasala (2731) 1-0 · 2026-09-06 · 180 + 0s
- DikiyDjo (2655) – WOW_PEDRO (2570) 1-0 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 0s
- iuhailopol (2526) – kumaranbalaji98 (2654) 1-0 · 2026-09-02 · 180 + 2s
Comes from
Sicilian Defense: O'Kelly Variation, Maróczy Bind 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 a6 3. c4
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.