Sicilian Defense: O'Kelly Variation, Normal System, Taimanov Line
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 a6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 e5
The Sicilian Defense: O'Kelly Variation, Normal System, Taimanov Line is a chess opening classified as ECO B28, reached after 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 a6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 e5. 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 1,194 times by this move order. White won 48%, 4% were drawn and Black won 48%. The most popular continuation is 5. Nf3 (51% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.32 (Stockfish, depth 44; best line 5. Nf3 Be7 6. Bc4 Nf6 7. Bg5 d6)
- ECO
- B28
- Moves
- 8 plies
- FEN
rnbqkbnr/1p1p1ppp/p7/4p3/3NP3/8/PPP2PPP/RNBQKB1R w KQkq - 0 5- PGN
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 a6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 e5
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 198 | |
| 1500-1999 | 741 | |
| 2000+ | 255 | |
| All | 1,194 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 5. Nf3 | 607 (51%) | |
| 5. Nb3 | 300 (25%) | |
| 5. Nf5 | 249 (21%) | |
| 5. Ne2 | 21 (2%) | |
| 5. Nc3 | 16 (1%) |
Master games
298 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 32%, draw 14%, Black 54%). The strongest:
- FM Konstantin Popov (2364) – GM Magnus Carlsen (2830) 1/2-1/2 · Titled Tue 6th Feb Early · 2024-02-06
- IM G.A. Stany (2399) – GM Sebastian Bogner (2602) 0-1 · 8th Leiden Open A 2014 · 2014-07-19
- FM Egor Bykov (2430) – GM Arman Mikaelyan (2508) 0-1 · Titled Tue 29th Oct Early · 2024-10-29
- GM Nihal Sarin (2694) – WFM Anna Shukhman (2232) 1-0 · Titled Tue 5th Sep Early · 2023-09-05
- IM Medina Warda Aulia (2377) – IM Yuanhe Zhao (2501) 0-1 · Asian Rapid Teams 2024 · 2024-08-23
Highest-rated Lichess games
- hncesur (2724) – viewerman (2554) 1-0 · 2026-09-06 · 180 + 2s
- TheChessPrince (2480) – KaptanPark (2583) 0-1 · 2026-09-07 · 180 + 0s
- Dynamovec (2517) – Servantik1979 (2537) 1-0 · 2026-09-06 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Sicilian Defense: O'Kelly Variation, Normal System 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 a6 3. d4
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.