Sicilian Defense: Staunton-Cochrane Variation
1. e4 c5 2. c4
The Sicilian Defense: Staunton-Cochrane Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO B20, reached after 1. e4 c5 2. c4. It is a line of the Sicilian Defense. Black is to move. 1 named line continues from this position.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 16,998 times by this move order. White won 46%, 5% were drawn and Black won 49%. The most popular continuation is 2… Nc6 (50% of games).
Engine evaluation: 0.00 (Stockfish, depth 55; best line 2… Nc6 3. Ne2 Nf6 4. Nbc3 e6 5. d4)
- ECO
- B20
- Moves
- 3 plies
- FEN
rnbqkbnr/pp1ppppp/8/2p5/2P1P3/8/PP1P1PPP/RNBQKBNR b KQkq - 0 2- PGN
1. e4 c5 2. c4
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 5,830 | |
| 1500-1999 | 8,803 | |
| 2000+ | 2,365 | |
| All | 16,998 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 2… Nc6 | 8,561 (50%) | |
| 2… e6 | 2,988 (18%) | |
| 2… d6 | 2,777 (16%) | |
| 2… g6 | 1,026 (6%) | |
| 2… e5 | 815 (5%) | |
| 2… Nf6 | 318 (2%) | |
| 2… a6 | 207 (1%) | |
| 2… b6 | 121 (1%) |
Master games
2,676 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 29%, draw 21%, Black 50%). The strongest:
- IM Pieter Claesen (2327) – FM Frederic Decoster (204269) 1/2-1/2 · TCh-BEL 2014-15 · 2014-09-28
- GM Leinier Dominguez Perez (2732) – GM Viswanathan Anand (2803) 1/2-1/2 · World Blitz 2015 · 2015-10-14
- GM Leinier Dominguez Perez (2726) – GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (2758) 1/2-1/2 · SportAccord Blitz 2014 · 2014-12-13
- GM Leinier Dominguez Perez (2726) – GM Radoslaw Wojtaszek (2744) 1-0 · SportAccord Basque 2014 · 2014-12-16
- GM Leinier Dominguez Perez (2726) – GM Boris Gelfand (2743) 0-1 · SportAccord Blitz 2014 · 2014-12-13
Search all games of the Sicilian Defense: Staunton-Cochrane Variation and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- oprahwindfury81 (2784) – uSeRnAmEnOtAvAiL (2746) 0-1 · 2026-09-05 · 180 + 0s
- novot (2491) – GM Ucitelot (2607) 0-1 · 2026-09-03 · 180 + 2s
- RealShuKurenai (2508) – Gertrude_Weichsel (2542) 0-1 · 2026-09-06 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Sicilian Defense (1. e4 c5) 1. e4 c5
Continuations
- Sicilian Defense: Gloria Variation B20 · 1. e4 c5 2. c4 d6 3. Nc3 Nc6 4. g3 h5
More Sicilian Defense lines (all)
- 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: Grob Variation B20
- Sicilian Defense: Keres Variation B20
- Sicilian Defense: King David's Opening B20
- Sicilian Defense: Kronberger Variation B20
- Sicilian Defense: Kronberger Variation, Nemeth Gambit 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.