Sicilian Defense: Open (3… cxd4 4. Nxd4)
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4
The Sicilian Defense: Open is a chess opening classified as ECO B32, reached after 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4. It is a line of the Sicilian Defense. Black is to move. 7 named lines continue from this position.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 101,748 times by this move order. White won 49%, 5% were drawn and Black won 46%. The most popular continuation is 4… e5 (27% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.21 (Stockfish, depth 60; best line 4… Nf6 5. Nc3 e5 6. Ndb5 d6 7. Nd5)
- ECO
- B32
- Moves
- 7 plies
- FEN
r1bqkbnr/pp1ppppp/2n5/8/3NP3/8/PPP2PPP/RNBQKB1R b KQkq - 0 4- PGN
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 14,583 | |
| 1500-1999 | 64,435 | |
| 2000+ | 22,730 | |
| All | 101,748 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 4… e5 Löwenthal Variation | 27,091 (27%) | |
| 4… g6 Accelerated Dragon | 23,755 (23%) | |
| 4… Nf6 Open (4. Nxd4 Nf6) | 18,675 (18%) | |
| 4… e6 | 10,417 (10%) | |
| 4… d6 | 8,039 (8%) | |
| 4… Nxd4 | 7,250 (7%) | |
| 4… a6 | 2,591 (3%) | |
| 4… Qb6 Godiva Variation | 1,744 (2%) |
Master games
4,384 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 40%, draw 22%, Black 38%). The strongest:
- Fire 021819 (3752) – Stockfish 202003092246 (3936) 1/2-1/2 · TCEC 20 Premier 2020 · 2020-03-20
- Stockfish 202003092246 (3936) – Fire 021819 (3752) 1/2-1/2 · TCEC 20 Premier 2020 · 2020-03-18
- rofChade 2.217 (3660) – Xiphos 0.6.1 (3717) 1/2-1/2 · 5th TCEC Cup 2020 · 2020-04-25
- Xiphos 0.6.1 (3717) – rofChade 2.217 (3660) 1/2-1/2 · 5th TCEC Cup 2020 · 2020-04-25
- LCZero 0.31-dag-e429eeb-BT3-2790000 (3642) – Stockfish dev-20231010-00263636 (3673) 1/2-1/2 · TCEC 25 Superfinal 2023 · 2023-10-12
Search all games of the Sicilian Defense: Open and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- kuhmft (2890) – FM CombativeEnemy (2826) 1/2-1/2 · 2026-09-01 · 180 + 0s
- kuhmft (2839) – FM Squoznyak (2849) 1/2-1/2 · 2026-09-06 · 180 + 0s
- Sunrise34 (2850) – Lifvix01 (2799) 0-1 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Sicilian Defense: Open (3. d4 cxd4) 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4
Continuations
- Sicilian Defense: Accelerated Dragon B32 · 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 g6
- Sicilian Defense: Flohr Variation B32 · 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Qc7
- Sicilian Defense: Godiva Variation B32 · 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Qb6
- Sicilian Defense: Löwenthal Variation B32 · 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 e5
- Sicilian Defense: Nimzo-American Variation B32 · 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 d5
- Sicilian Defense: Open (4. Nxd4 Nf6) B33 · 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6
- Sicilian Defense: O'Kelly Variation, Maróczy Bind, Geller Line B32 · 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 a6 5. c4 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.