Sicilian Defense: Taimanov Variation, Modern Line
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nc6 5. Nb5 d6 6. c4 Nf6 7. N1c3 a6 8. Na3 Be7 9. Be2 O-O 10. O-O b6
The Sicilian Defense: Taimanov Variation, Modern Line is a chess opening classified as ECO B44, reached after 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nc6 5. Nb5 d6 6. c4 Nf6 7. N1c3 a6 8. Na3 Be7 9. Be2 O-O 10. O-O b6. 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 3 times by this move order. White won 33%, 0% were drawn and Black won 67%. The most popular continuation is 11. Be3 (67% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.29 (Stockfish, depth 38; best line 11. Be3 Bb7 12. Qb3 Ne5 13. f3 Nfd7)
- ECO
- B44
- Moves
- 20 plies
- FEN
r1bq1rk1/4bppp/ppnppn2/8/2P1P3/N1N5/PP2BPPP/R1BQ1RK1 w - - 0 11- PGN
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nc6 5. Nb5 d6 6. c4 Nf6 7. N1c3 a6 8. Na3 Be7 9. Be2 O-O 10. O-O b6
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 2000+ | 3 | |
| All | 3 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 11. Be3 | 2 (67%) | |
| 11. f4 | 1 (33%) |
Master games
238 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 31%, draw 35%, Black 34%). The strongest:
- GM Vasyl Ivanchuk (2733) – GM Yue Wang (2705) 1-0 · FIDE GP Beijing · 2013-07-09
- GM Rustam Kasimdzhanov (2706) – GM Teimour Radjabov (2726) 1/2-1/2 · Tashkent FIDE GP 2014 · 2014-11-01
- GM Vasyl Ivanchuk (2747) – GM Evgeniy Najer (2679) 1-0 · World Blitz 2016 · 2016-12-30
- GM A.R. Saleh Salem (2690) – GM Nodirbek Abdusattorov (2661) 0-1 · 5th Sharjah Masters 2022 · 2022-05-27
- GM A.R. Saleh Salem (2591) – GM Radoslaw Wojtaszek (2735) 0-1 · 41st Olympiad Open 2014 · 2014-08-06
Search all games of the Sicilian Defense: Taimanov Variation, Modern Line and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- Batman412 (2593) – ramsou (2582) 1-0 · 2026-09-03 · 180 + 0s
- checkmatetokarpov (2299) – guid77 (2290) 0-1 · 2026-09-05 · 180 + 2s
- arashlotfi2003 (2084) – bullo1969 (2042) 0-1 · 2026-09-06 · 300 + 0s
Comes from
Sicilian Defense: Taimanov Variation, Szén Variation 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nc6 5. Nb5
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.