Sicilian Defense: Scheveningen Variation, Classical Variation (6. Be2 e6)
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Be2 e6
The Sicilian Defense: Scheveningen Variation, Classical Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO B84, reached after 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Be2 e6. It is a line of the Sicilian Defense. White is to move. 2 named lines continue from this position.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 948 times by this move order. White won 48%, 6% were drawn and Black won 46%. The most popular continuation is 7. O-O (43% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.43 (Stockfish, depth 40; best line 7. f4 Be7 8. Be3 Qc7 9. g4 d5)
- ECO
- B84
- Moves
- 12 plies
- FEN
rnbqkb1r/1p3ppp/p2ppn2/8/3NP3/2N5/PPP1BPPP/R1BQK2R w KQkq - 0 7- PGN
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Be2 e6
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 20 | |
| 1500-1999 | 510 | |
| 2000+ | 418 | |
| All | 948 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 7. O-O | 404 (43%) | |
| 7. Be3 | 360 (38%) | |
| 7. g4 | 62 (7%) | |
| 7. Bg5 | 39 (4%) | |
| 7. f4 | 24 (3%) | |
| 7. Bf3 | 18 (2%) | |
| 7. a4 | 14 (1%) | |
| 7. f3 | 10 (1%) |
Master games
2,357 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 38%, draw 22%, Black 40%). The strongest:
- Ethereal 12.01 (3810) – Stockfish 202003092246 (3936) 1/2-1/2 · TCEC 20 Premier 2020 · 2020-03-19
- Stockfish 202003092246 (3936) – Ethereal 12.01 (3810) 1-0 · TCEC 20 Premier 2020 · 2020-03-17
- Stockfish dev-20241208-cf10644 (3683) – LCZero 0.31-dag-f7fb268-BT4-61 (3652) 1-0 · TCEC 27 Superfinal 2024 · 2025-01-02
- LCZero 0.31-dag-f7fb268-BT4-61 (3652) – Stockfish dev-20241208-cf10644 (3683) 1/2-1/2 · TCEC 27 Superfinal 2024 · 2025-01-01
- Integral7.0.0-dev-0d55bc02 (3576) – LCZero0.31-dag-4d98c58-BT5-3700000 (3692) 1/2-1/2 · TCEC 28 Premier 2025 · 2025-08-23
Highest-rated Lichess games
- Meatloaf927 (2719) – Ali_valizadeh (2597) 1-0 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 0s
- NeuroChess-Academie (2689) – FM The_Fawkes (2619) 1-0 · 2026-09-06 · 180 + 0s
- IM liczner (2746) – IM Angelicanmade (2529) 1-0 · 2026-09-05 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Sicilian Defense: Najdorf Variation, Opocensky Variation (5… a6 6. Be2) 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Be2
Continuations
- Sicilian Defense: Najdorf Variation, Scheveningen Variation B84 · 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Be2 e6 7. O-O Nbd7
- Sicilian Defense: Scheveningen Variation, Classical Variation (7. O-O Qc7) B84 · 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Be2 e6 7. O-O 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.