Sicilian Defense: Scheveningen Variation, Classical Main Line
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nc6 5. Nc3 Qc7 6. Be2 a6 7. O-O Nf6 8. Be3 Be7 9. f4 d6 10. Qe1 O-O
The Sicilian Defense: Scheveningen Variation, Classical Main Line is a chess opening classified as ECO B85, reached after 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nc6 5. Nc3 Qc7 6. Be2 a6 7. O-O Nf6 8. Be3 Be7 9. f4 d6 10. Qe1 O-O. 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 4 times by this move order. White won 75%, 0% were drawn and Black won 25%. The most popular continuation is 11. Qg3 (100% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.22 (Stockfish, depth 38; best line 11. Kh1 Nxd4 12. Bxd4 b5 13. Qg3 Bb7)
- ECO
- B85
- Moves
- 20 plies
- FEN
r1b2rk1/1pq1bppp/p1nppn2/8/3NPP2/2N1B3/PPP1B1PP/R3QRK1 w - - 2 11- PGN
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nc6 5. Nc3 Qc7 6. Be2 a6 7. O-O Nf6 8. Be3 Be7 9. f4 d6 10. Qe1 O-O
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 2000+ | 4 | |
| All | 4 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 11. Qg3 | 4 (100%) |
Master games
208 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 35%, draw 37%, Black 28%). The strongest:
- GM Kirill Alekseenko (2698) – GM Fabiano Caruana (2781) 0-1 · Titled Tue 12th Apr Late · 2022-04-12
- GM Peter Leko (2723) – GM Yue Wang (2720) 1/2-1/2 · SportAccord Rapid 2014 · 2014-12-12
- GM Gata Kamsky (2741) – GM Sergei Movsesian (2699) 1/2-1/2 · FIDE World Rapid 2013 · 2013-06-07
- GM David Navara (2734) – GM Sergei Movsesian (2653) 1-0 · IMSA Rapid 2016 · 2016-02-27
- GM Anish Giri (2750) – GM Yifan Hou (2629) 1/2-1/2 · Hans Suri Mem 2014 · 2014-07-19
Highest-rated Lichess games
- danylo03 (2599) – Anandsen (2537) 0-1 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 2s
- behrooz10000 (2534) – Anandsen (2535) 1-0 · 2026-09-06 · 180 + 2s
- david23232323 (2298) – Flash_Slothmore (2428) 1-0 · 2026-09-03 · 600 + 0s
Comes from
Sicilian Defense: Taimanov Variation, Bastrikov Variation (5. Nc3 Qc7) 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nc6 5. Nc3 Qc7
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.