Sicilian Defense: Open (4. Nxd4 Nf6)

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6

The Sicilian Defense: Open is a chess opening classified as ECO B33, reached after 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6. It is a line of the Sicilian Defense. White is to move. 13 named lines continue from this position.

In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 18,675 times by this move order. White won 47%, 5% were drawn and Black won 48%. The most popular continuation is 5. Nc3 (78% of games).

Engine evaluation: +0.19 (Stockfish, depth 55; best line 5. Nc3 e5 6. Ndb5 d6 7. Nd5 Nxd5)

ECO: B33
Moves: 8 plies
FEN: r1bqkb1r/pp1ppppp/2n2n2/8/3NP3/8/PPP2PPP/RNBQKB1R w KQkq - 1 5
PGN: 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6

Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess

Results by rating

Average rating	Games	White / draw / Black
0-1499	1,686	47%50%
1500-1999	9,937	46%49%
2000+	7,052	49%45%
All	18,675	47%48%

Most played moves

Move	Games	White / draw / Black
5. Nc3	14,579 (78%)	48%47%
5. Nxc6	3,224 (17%)	46%49%
5. f3	466 (2%)	46%50%
5. e5	76 (0%)	39%59%
5. Bc4	57 (0%)	39%58%
5. Be3	48 (0%)	50%46%
5. Bb5	30 (0%)	37%57%
5. Nf5	29 (0%)	52%48%

Master games

9,986 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 38%, draw 20%, Black 42%). The strongest:

Ethereal 12.01 (3810) – LCZero v0.24-sv-t60-3010 (3958) 1/2-1/2 · TCEC 20 Premier 2020 · 2020-03-30
LCZero v0.24-sv-t60-3010 (3958) – Ethereal 12.01 (3810) 1/2-1/2 · TCEC 20 Premier 2020 · 2020-03-26
Reckless 0.10.0-dev-b5462f11 (3763) – Stockfish dev-20260318-d173a06 (3807) 1/2-1/2 · TCEC 29 Superfinal 2026 · 2026-04-08
Stockfish dev-20260318-d173a06 (3807) – Reckless 0.10.0-dev-b5462f11 (3763) 1-0 · TCEC 29 Superfinal 2026 · 2026-04-08
LCZero 0.31-dag-c93c6a8-BT4-61 (3652) – Stockfish dev-20250118-8e3e22b (3683) 1/2-1/2 · TCEC 27 Theory Bonus · 2025-01-22

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
IM liczner (2753) – FM Guary1 (2871) 0-1 · 2026-09-05 · 180 + 0s

Comes from

Sicilian Defense: Open (3… cxd4 4. Nxd4) 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4

Continuations

Sicilian Defense: Lasker-Pelikan Variation B33 · 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 e5
Sicilian Defense: Spielmann Variation B56 · 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 d6 6. Nde2
Sicilian Defense: Classical Variation, Anti-Sozin Variation B57 · 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 d6 6. Bc4 Qb6
Sicilian Defense: Richter-Rauzer Variation, Dragon Variation B60 · 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 d6 6. Bg5 g6
Sicilian Defense: Sozin Attack, Leonhardt Variation B88 · 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 d6 6. Bc4 e6
Sicilian Defense: Boleslavsky Variation (6… e5 7. Nb3) B59 · 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 d6 6. Be2 e5 7. Nb3
Sicilian Defense: Boleslavsky Variation, Louma Variation B58 · 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 d6 6. Be2 e5 7. Nxc6
Sicilian Defense: Richter-Rauzer Variation, Modern Variation (6… Bd7 7. Qd2) B61 · 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 d6 6. Bg5 Bd7 7. Qd2
Sicilian Defense: Richter-Rauzer Variation, Podebrady Variation B62 · 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 d6 6. Bg5 e6 7. Nb3
Sicilian Defense: Dragon Variation, Classical Variation, Amsterdam Variation B72 · 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 d6 6. Be2 g6 7. Be3 Bg7 8. Qd2
Sicilian Defense: Magnus Smith Trap B57 · 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 d6 6. Bc4 g6 7. Nxc6 bxc6 8. e5
Sicilian Defense: Richter-Rauzer Variation, Neo-Modern Variation (8. O-O-O Bd7) B67 · 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 d6 6. Bg5 e6 7. Qd2 a6 8. O-O-O Bd7
Sicilian Defense: Richter-Rauzer Variation, Classical Variation (9. f4 e5) B64 · 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 d6 6. Bg5 e6 7. Qd2 Be7 8. O-O-O O-O 9. f4 e5

More Sicilian Defense lines (all)

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.