Sicilian Defense: Sozin Attack, Flank Variation
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Bc4 e6 7. Bb3 b5
The Sicilian Defense: Sozin Attack, Flank Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO B87, reached after 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Bc4 e6 7. Bb3 b5. 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 253 times by this move order. White won 50%, 6% were drawn and Black won 44%. The most popular continuation is 8. O-O (32% of games).
Engine evaluation: 0.00 (Stockfish, depth 55; best line 8. a3 Be7 9. Be3 O-O 10. f3 Bb7)
- ECO
- B87
- Moves
- 14 plies
- FEN
rnbqkb1r/5ppp/p2ppn2/1p6/3NP3/1BN5/PPP2PPP/R1BQK2R w KQkq - 0 8- PGN
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Bc4 e6 7. Bb3 b5
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 4 | |
| 1500-1999 | 64 | |
| 2000+ | 185 | |
| All | 253 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 8. O-O | 82 (32%) | |
| 8. a3 | 55 (22%) | |
| 8. Bg5 | 29 (11%) | |
| 8. f3 | 27 (11%) | |
| 8. f4 | 21 (8%) | |
| 8. Be3 | 18 (7%) | |
| 8. Qf3 | 8 (3%) | |
| 8. Qe2 | 7 (3%) |
Master games
1,256 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 40%, draw 17%, Black 43%). The strongest:
- Stockfish 202003092246 (3936) – KomodoMCTS 2503.05 (3809) 1/2-1/2 · TCEC 20 Premier 2020 · 2020-03-20
- KomodoMCTS 2503.05 (3809) – Stockfish 202003092246 (3936) 1/2-1/2 · TCEC 20 Premier 2020 · 2020-03-18
- LCZero0.31-dag-5350a2e-BT4-6147500 (3634) – Stockfishdev-20240513-e608eab8 (3662) 1/2-1/2 · TCEC 26 Superfinal 2024 · 2024-05-15
- Stockfishdev-20240513-e608eab8 (3662) – LCZero0.31-dag-5350a2e-BT4-6147500 (3634) 1/2-1/2 · TCEC 26 Superfinal 2024 · 2024-05-15
- GM Praggnanandhaa R (2758) – GM Anish Giri (2760) 1/2-1/2 · 88th Tata Steel Masters · 2026-01-21
Search all games of the Sicilian Defense: Sozin Attack, Flank Variation and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- Washington91 (2596) – SackOnTheKing930 (2697) 0-1 · 2026-09-07 · 180 + 0s
- Washington91 (2596) – SackOnTheKing930 (2697) 0-1 · 2026-09-06 · 180 + 0s
- Sotoca62 (2563) – apollothedog (2683) 0-1 · 2026-09-03 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Sicilian Defense: Najdorf Variation, Lipnitsky Attack 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Bc4
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.