Sicilian Defense: Old Sicilian
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6
The Sicilian Defense: Old Sicilian is a chess opening classified as ECO B30, reached after 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6. It is a line of the Sicilian Defense. White is to move. 4 named lines continue from this position.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 282,652 times by this move order. White won 49%, 4% were drawn and Black won 47%. The most popular continuation is 3. d4 (41% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.30 (Stockfish, depth 60; best line 3. Bb5 e6 4. O-O Nge7 5. Re1 a6)
- ECO
- B30
- Moves
- 4 plies
- FEN
r1bqkbnr/pp1ppppp/2n5/2p5/4P3/5N2/PPPP1PPP/RNBQKB1R w KQkq - 2 3- PGN
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 65,914 | |
| 1500-1999 | 167,723 | |
| 2000+ | 49,015 | |
| All | 282,652 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 3. d4 Open (2… Nc6 3. d4) | 115,451 (41%) | |
| 3. Bc4 | 54,323 (19%) | |
| 3. Bb5 Nyezhmetdinov-Rossolimo Attack | 39,449 (14%) | |
| 3. c3 | 31,466 (11%) | |
| 3. Nc3 | 22,312 (8%) | |
| 3. d3 | 4,823 (2%) | |
| 3. c4 | 2,563 (1%) | |
| 3. b4 Portsmouth Gambit | 2,298 (1%) |
Master games
18,323 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 42%, draw 20%, Black 38%). The strongest:
- Stoofvlees II a14 (3746) – Arasan 22.0_c5b58e5 (3620) 1-0 · 5th TCEC Cup 2020 · 2020-04-25
- Arasan 22.0_c5b58e5 (3620) – Stoofvlees II a14 (3746) 0-1 · 5th TCEC Cup 2020 · 2020-04-25
- GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (2778) – GM Magnus Carlsen (2882) 1/2-1/2 · Saint Louis Blitz 2019 · 2019-08-14
- GM Ian Nepomniachtchi (2784) – GM Magnus Carlsen (2862) 1/2-1/2 · Skilling Open KO 2020 · 2020-11-27
- GM So, W. (2770) – GM Magnus Carlsen (2863) 1/2-1/2 · Chess24 Banter Final 2020 · 2020-09-29
Search all games of the Sicilian Defense: Old Sicilian and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- Nana_jede_cevape (2880) – GM gmbrewchess (2990) 0-1 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 0s
- Nana_jede_cevape (2891) – GM gmbrewchess (2975) 1/2-1/2 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 0s
- winx_m (2941) – GM Chewbacca18 (2799) 1-0 · 2026-09-02 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Sicilian Defense (1… c5 2. Nf3) 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3
Continuations
- Sicilian Defense: Nyezhmetdinov-Rossolimo Attack B30 · 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5
- Sicilian Defense: Open (2… Nc6 3. d4) B32 · 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4
- Sicilian Defense: Portsmouth Gambit B30 · 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. b4
- Sicilian Defense: Closed, Anti-Sveshnikov Variation B30 · 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Nc3 e5
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.