Sicilian Defense: O'Kelly Variation, Quiet System
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 a6 3. d3
The Sicilian Defense: O'Kelly Variation, Quiet System is a chess opening classified as ECO B28, reached after 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 a6 3. d3. 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 244 times by this move order. White won 44%, 11% were drawn and Black won 45%. The most popular continuation is 3… Nc6 (38% of games).
Engine evaluation: 0.00 (Stockfish, depth 50; best line 3… d6 4. Nc3 e6 5. d4 cxd4 6. Nxd4)
- ECO
- B28
- Moves
- 5 plies
- FEN
rnbqkbnr/1p1ppppp/p7/2p5/4P3/3P1N2/PPP2PPP/RNBQKB1R b KQkq - 0 3- PGN
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 a6 3. d3
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 54 | |
| 1500-1999 | 123 | |
| 2000+ | 67 | |
| All | 244 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 3… Nc6 | 93 (38%) | |
| 3… e6 | 57 (23%) | |
| 3… b5 | 27 (11%) | |
| 3… d6 | 27 (11%) | |
| 3… g6 | 15 (6%) | |
| 3… d5 | 10 (4%) | |
| 3… Nf6 | 7 (3%) | |
| 3… h6 | 5 (2%) |
Master games
137 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 39%, draw 21%, Black 40%). The strongest:
- IM Ilamparthi A R (2461) – GM Naroditsky, D. (2619) 1/2-1/2 · Titled Tue 24th Dec Early · 2024-12-24
- GM Maksim Chigaev (2588) – IM Valery Kazakouski (2473) 1-0 · Titled Tuesday 26th May · 2020-05-26
- GM Krzysztof Jakubowski (2497) – IM David Gavrilescu (2476) 0-1 · Titled Tuesday 19th Jan · 2021-01-19
- GM Asghar Golizadeh (2455) – CM Konstantin Garagulya (2389) 1-0 · Titled Tuesday 30th Nov · 2021-11-30
- Thomas Stenzel (2216) – GM Sandipan Chanda (2609) 0-1 · Gibraltar Masters 2014 · 2014-01-28
Search all games of the Sicilian Defense: O'Kelly Variation, Quiet System and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- otb04 (2570) – WOW_PEDRO (2555) 1-0 · 2026-09-07 · 180 + 0s
- petrogeil2005 (2427) – CM GGTroubleshooter (2514) 0-1 · 2026-09-01 · 180 + 0s
- dasp33 (2492) – mauroisaza (2388) 1-0 · 2026-09-01 · 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.