Sicilian Defense: O'Kelly Variation, Venice System, Barcza Line
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 a6 3. c3 Nf6
The Sicilian Defense: O'Kelly Variation, Venice System, Barcza Line is a chess opening classified as ECO B28, reached after 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 a6 3. 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 139 times by this move order. White won 53%, 5% were drawn and Black won 42%. The most popular continuation is 4. e5 (65% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.39 (Stockfish, depth 42; best line 4. e5 Nd5 5. d4 cxd4 6. Bc4 e6)
- ECO
- B28
- Moves
- 6 plies
- FEN
rnbqkb1r/1p1ppppp/p4n2/2p5/4P3/2P2N2/PP1P1PPP/RNBQKB1R w KQkq - 1 4- PGN
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 a6 3. c3 Nf6
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 6 | |
| 1500-1999 | 67 | |
| 2000+ | 66 | |
| All | 139 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 4. e5 | 91 (65%) | |
| 4. Bd3 | 18 (13%) | |
| 4. d3 | 12 (9%) | |
| 4. d4 | 7 (5%) | |
| 4. Qc2 | 4 (3%) | |
| 4. Be2 | 3 (2%) | |
| 4. Qe2 | 2 (1%) | |
| 4. Qa4 | 1 (1%) |
Master games
247 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 47%, draw 15%, Black 38%). The strongest:
- GM Sergei Zhigalko (2572) – GM Ediz Gurel (2636) 1-0 · Titled Tue 29th Apr Early · 2025-04-29
- GM Alexander Grischuk (2777) – IM David Kalashian (2398) 1/2-1/2 · Titled Tuesday 1st Sept · 2020-09-01
- GM Sergey Karjakin (2752) – IM David Kalashian (2398) 1-0 · Titled Tuesday 23rd June · 2020-06-23
- GM Dmitrij Kollars (2598) – GM Pa Iniyan (2506) 1-0 · Titled Tuesday 20th Apr · 2021-04-20
- GM Dragan Solak (2598) – IM Davit Benidze (2495) 1/2-1/2 · IsBank TCh-TUR 2013 · 2013-06-29
Highest-rated Lichess games
- kasparik_garik (2663) – IM hyperreal (2642) 0-1 · 2026-09-05 · 180 + 0s
- FM FlySooHigh (2604) – viewerman (2568) 0-1 · 2026-09-03 · 180 + 0s
- jerryfabian2005 (2452) – IM IgorG69 (2524) 0-1 · 2026-09-03 · 180 + 2s
Comes from
Sicilian Defense: O'Kelly Variation, Venice System 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 a6 3. c3
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.