Sicilian Defense: Scheveningen Variation, Tal Variation
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 d6 6. f4 Nc6 7. Be3 Be7 8. Qf3
The Sicilian Defense: Scheveningen Variation, Tal Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO B82, reached after 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 d6 6. f4 Nc6 7. Be3 Be7 8. Qf3. 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 2 times by this move order. White won 0%, 0% were drawn and Black won 100%. The most popular continuation is 8… Qc7 (50% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.68 (Stockfish, depth 36; best line 8… Nxd4 9. Bxd4 e5 10. Bb5+ Bd7 11. Bxd7+)
- ECO
- B82
- Moves
- 15 plies
- FEN
r1bqk2r/pp2bppp/2nppn2/8/3NPP2/2N1BQ2/PPP3PP/R3KB1R b KQkq - 4 8- PGN
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 d6 6. f4 Nc6 7. Be3 Be7 8. Qf3
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 2000+ | 2 | |
| All | 2 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 8… Qc7 | 1 (50%) | |
| 8… e5 | 1 (50%) |
Master games
17 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 35%, draw 24%, Black 41%). The strongest:
- IM Miklos Nemeth (2467) – GM Ioannis Papaioannou (2619) 0-1 · 41st TCh-GRE · 2013-07-03
- GM David Arenas (2454) – IM Cesar Hidemitsu Umetsubo (2403) 1-0 · 12th Sabadell Open 2019 · 2019-09-08
- FM Alex Villa Tornero (2329) – GM Oskar Wieczorek (2491) 0-1 · Titled Tue 30th Apr Late · 2024-04-30
- WGM Anna Rudolf (2308) – IM Emilio Moreno Tejera (2394) 1/2-1/2 · TCh-ESP CECLUB Honor 2013 · 2013-09-12
- GM Alexander Shabalov (2467) – WIM Jorcerys Montilla Reyes (2147) 1-0 · 17th American Continental · 2024-05-31
Highest-rated Lichess games
- kokerzoki (2300) – eric_cat_31 (2299) 0-1 · 2026-09-01 · 180 + 2s
- keithb2 (2072) – mateusz195 (2148) 0-1 · 2026-09-06 · 900 + 10s
Comes from
Sicilian Defense: Scheveningen Variation, Matanovic Attack 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 d6 6. f4
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.