Sicilian Defense: Prins Variation, Venice Attack
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. f3 e5 6. Bb5+
The Sicilian Defense: Prins Variation, Venice Attack is a chess opening classified as ECO B55, reached after 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. f3 e5 6. Bb5+. 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 69 times by this move order. White won 59%, 9% were drawn and Black won 32%. The most popular continuation is 6… Bd7 (61% of games).
Engine evaluation: 0.00 (Stockfish, depth 54; best line 6… Nbd7 7. Nb3 a6 8. Bxd7+ Nxd7 9. Nc3)
- ECO
- B55
- Moves
- 11 plies
- FEN
rnbqkb1r/pp3ppp/3p1n2/1B2p3/3NP3/5P2/PPP3PP/RNBQK2R b KQkq - 1 6- PGN
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. f3 e5 6. Bb5+
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 5 | |
| 1500-1999 | 14 | |
| 2000+ | 50 | |
| All | 69 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 6… Bd7 | 42 (61%) | |
| 6… Nbd7 | 26 (38%) | |
| 6… Nc6 | 1 (1%) |
Master games
506 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 42%, draw 19%, Black 39%). The strongest:
- GM So, W. (2754) – GM Hikaru Nakamura (2810) 1-0 · Titled Tue 21st Apr 2026 · 2026-04-21
- GM Bilel Bellahcene (2521) – GM Jules Moussard (2599) 0-1 · Titled Tue 28th Jan Late · 2025-01-28
- IM Lucas Liascovich (2433) – GM Alexander Donchenko (2646) 0-1 · Titled Tuesday 28th Apr · 2020-04-28
- GM Andreas Heimann (2581) – GM Marcel Kanarek (2484) 0-1 · World Blitz 2021 · 2021-12-30
- GM Brian Escalante Ramirez (2476) – GM Jianchao Zhou (2581) 1/2-1/2 · US Chess Masters 2024 · 2024-11-30
Search all games of the Sicilian Defense: Prins Variation, Venice Attack and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- Artur_Arustamyan (2573) – JAGMM (2628) 0-1 · 2026-09-03 · 180 + 2s
- Artur_Arustamyan (2596) – Vadim43 (2524) 1-0 · 2026-09-02 · 180 + 2s
- Artur_Arustamyan (2592) – BlitzRoadTo2600 (2528) 1-0 · 2026-09-02 · 180 + 2s
Comes from
Sicilian Defense: Prins Variation 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. f3
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.