Sicilian Defense: Wing Gambit, Marienbad Variation
1. e4 c5 2. b4 cxb4 3. a3 d5 4. exd5 Qxd5 5. Bb2
The Sicilian Defense: Wing Gambit, Marienbad Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO B20, reached after 1. e4 c5 2. b4 cxb4 3. a3 d5 4. exd5 Qxd5 5. Bb2. 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 10 times by this move order. White won 60%, 10% were drawn and Black won 30%. The most popular continuation is 5… Nc6 (40% of games).
Engine evaluation: −0.58 (Stockfish, depth 36; best line 5… Qe4+ 6. Ne2 e5 7. axb4 Bxb4 8. Nc3)
- ECO
- B20
- Moves
- 9 plies
- FEN
rnb1kbnr/pp2pppp/8/3q4/1p6/P7/1BPP1PPP/RN1QKBNR b KQkq - 1 5- PGN
1. e4 c5 2. b4 cxb4 3. a3 d5 4. exd5 Qxd5 5. Bb2
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 1500-1999 | 5 | |
| 2000+ | 5 | |
| All | 10 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 5… Nc6 | 4 (40%) | |
| 5… e5 | 3 (30%) | |
| 5… e6 | 1 (10%) | |
| 5… bxa3 | 1 (10%) | |
| 5… Bf5 | 1 (10%) |
Master games
27 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 19%, draw 14%, Black 67%). The strongest:
- GM Vladimir Fedoseev (2674) – GM Visakh N R (2516) 1-0 · Titled Tuesday 27th Oct · 2020-10-27
- GM Andres Rodriguez Vila (2419) – FM Diego Carbone (2278) 1/2-1/2 · 94th ch-URU 2024 · 2024-03-25
- IM Volodymyr Grabinsky (2219) – IM Ilja Sirosh (2400) 0-1 · Titled Tuesday 9th Mar · 2021-03-09
- IM Volodymyr Grabinsky (2219) – IM Karina Ambartsumova (2371) 0-1 · Titled Tuesday 7th July · 2020-07-07
- IM Timofey Iljin (2242) – FM Rustam Rustamov (2310) 1-0 · Titled Tue 26th Aug Early · 2025-08-26
Search all games of the Sicilian Defense: Wing Gambit, Marienbad Variation and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- MadMisha (2204) – Viktoriya_P_2602 (2146) 1-0 · 2026-09-07 · 300 + 0s
- faraonrances (2115) – hitmanif (2130) 1-0 · 2026-09-05 · 180 + 0s
- bismonth (2066) – AsinoVolantee (2103) 1-0 · 2026-09-05 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Sicilian Defense: Wing Gambit, Marshall Variation 1. e4 c5 2. b4 cxb4 3. a3
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.