Sicilian Defense: Wing Gambit, Deferred Variation
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. b4
The Sicilian Defense: Wing Gambit, Deferred Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO B50, reached after 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. b4. 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 545 times by this move order. White won 42%, 6% were drawn and Black won 52%. The most popular continuation is 3… cxb4 (64% of games).
Engine evaluation: −0.26 (Stockfish, depth 39; best line 3… cxb4 4. d4 Nf6 5. Nbd2 Qc7 6. a3)
- ECO
- B50
- Moves
- 5 plies
- FEN
rnbqkbnr/pp2pppp/3p4/2p5/1P2P3/5N2/P1PP1PPP/RNBQKB1R b KQkq - 0 3- PGN
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. b4
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 52 | |
| 1500-1999 | 272 | |
| 2000+ | 221 | |
| All | 545 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 3… cxb4 | 351 (64%) | |
| 3… b6 | 97 (18%) | |
| 3… Nf6 | 48 (9%) | |
| 3… Nc6 | 14 (3%) | |
| 3… Nd7 | 10 (2%) | |
| 3… e6 | 6 (1%) | |
| 3… a6 | 5 (1%) | |
| 3… g6 | 4 (1%) |
Master games
202 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 45%, draw 11%, Black 44%). The strongest:
- GM Magnus Carlsen (2875) – GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (2779) 0-1 · 7th Norway Blitz 2019 · 2019-06-03
- GM Levon Aronian (2729) – GM Anish Giri (2745) 0-1 · SuperUnited CRO Blitz 2024 · 2024-07-14
- GM Ian Nepomniachtchi (2770) – GM Ivan Saric (2690) 1-0 · SuperUnited CRO Blitz 2024 · 2024-07-14
- GM Jan-Krzysztof Duda (2732) – GM Rodrigo Vasquez Schroeder (2457) 1-0 · Julius Baer Gen Cup Pl/In · 2024-09-25
- GM Mikhail Al. Antipov (2597) – GM Xu, Yi. (2507) 1/2-1/2 · Chess.com RCC Wk20 Swiss · 2022-07-09
Search all games of the Sicilian Defense: Wing Gambit, Deferred Variation and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- FM The_Fawkes (2686) – Juplt3rLlk3 (2717) 0-1 · 2026-09-05 · 180 + 0s
- Hiddenpawnmove (2581) – LesleyUgochukwu (2507) 0-1 · 2026-09-07 · 180 + 0s
- NM IgnacioCavadini (2384) – antonbao2008 (2464) 1-0 · 2026-09-06 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Sicilian Defense: Modern Variations 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6
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.