Sicilian Defense
Black meets 1. e4 with c5 and fights for d4 from the flank. White often follows with d4, trading the c-pawn for a central pawn. Black accepts an asymmetrical position: White has a central pawn majority, and Black has the half-open c-file and a central pawn majority of two against one. The named lines below, including the Najdorf and the Dragon, are the book continuations of that idea.
Play the main line
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
a1
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
Sicilian Defense
Play the next move in the line.
- e4
- c5
Move by move
- White pawn moves from e2 to e4.
- Black pawn moves from c7 to c5.
Variations
Amazon Attack1 lines · B20Big Clamp Formation1 lines · B20Bowdler Attack1 lines · B20Brick Variation1 lines · B20Czerniak Attack2 lines · B20Euwe Attack1 lines · B20Gloria Variation1 lines · B20Grob Variation1 lines · B20Keres Variation1 lines · B20King David's Opening1 lines · B20Kronberger Variation2 lines · B20Lasker-Dunne Attack1 lines · B20Mengarini Variation1 lines · B20Myers Attack2 lines · B20Staunton-Cochrane Variation1 lines · B20Wing Gambit9 lines · B20 to B50Coles Sicilian Gambit1 lines · B21Halasz Gambit1 lines · B21McDonnell Attack8 lines · B21Morphy Gambit2 lines · B21Smith-Morra Gambit2 lines · B21Smith-Morra Gambit Accepted21 lines · B21Smith-Morra Gambit Declined6 lines · B21Alapin Variation13 lines · B22 to B40Delayed Alapin Variation6 lines · B22 to B50Heidenfeld Variation1 lines · B22Closed26 lines · B23 to B30Grand Prix Attack2 lines · B23Acton Extension1 lines · B27Brussels Gambit1 lines · B27Bücker Variation1 lines · B27Double-Dutch Gambit1 lines · B27Frederico Variation1 lines · B27Hyperaccelerated Dragon2 lines · B27Hyperaccelerated Pterodactyl2 lines · B27Jalalabad Variation1 lines · B27Katalimov Variation1 lines · B27Mongoose Variation1 lines · B27Polish Gambit1 lines · B27Quinteros Variation1 lines · B27O'Kelly Variation21 lines · B28 to B32Nimzowitsch Variation5 lines · B29Nyezhmetdinov-Rossolimo Attack8 lines · B30 to B31Old Sicilian1 lines · B30Portsmouth Gambit1 lines · B30Accelerated Dragon10 lines · B32 to B39Flohr Variation1 lines · B32Franco-Sicilian Variation1 lines · B32Godiva Variation1 lines · B32Kalashnikov Variation1 lines · B32Löwenthal Variation1 lines · B32Nimzo-American Variation1 lines · B32Open4 lines · B32 to B33Lasker-Pelikan Variation10 lines · B33Dragon Variation43 lines · B35 to B79Drazic Variation1 lines · B40French Variation4 lines · B40Gaw-Paw Variation1 lines · B40Kan Variation15 lines · B40 to B43Kramnik Variation1 lines · B40Kveinis Variation1 lines · B40Marshall Counterattack1 lines · B40Paulsen-Basman Defense1 lines · B40Pin Variation3 lines · B40Smith-Morra Gambit Deferred1 lines · B40Wing Gambit Deferred1 lines · B40Taimanov Variation10 lines · B44 to B49Four Knights Variation5 lines · B45Kopec System1 lines · B50Kotov Gambit1 lines · B50Modern Variations6 lines · B50 to B54Moscow Variation6 lines · B51 to B52Chekhover Variation2 lines · B53Prins Variation2 lines · B54 to B55Classical Variation6 lines · B56 to B58Kupreichik Variation1 lines · B56Spielmann Variation1 lines · B56Venice Attack1 lines · B56Magnus Smith Trap1 lines · B57Boleslavsky Variation3 lines · B58 to B59Richter-Rauzer Variation21 lines · B60 to B69Scheveningen Variation20 lines · B80 to B90Najdorf Variation33 lines · B84 to B99Sozin Attack6 lines · B86 to B89Velimirovic Attack1 lines · B89
Named gambits and traps
71 lines in this family have "gambit" or "trap" in the name. The list shows 24.
- Sicilian Defense: Euwe Attack, Prins Gambit (B20)
- Sicilian Defense: Kronberger Variation, Nemeth Gambit (B20)
- Sicilian Defense: Wing Gambit (B20)
- Sicilian Defense: Wing Gambit, Abrahams Variation (B20)
- Sicilian Defense: Wing Gambit, Carlsbad Variation (B20)
- Sicilian Defense: Wing Gambit, Marienbad Variation (B20)
- Sicilian Defense: Wing Gambit, Marshall Variation (B20)
- Sicilian Defense: Wing Gambit, Nanu Gambit (B20)
- Sicilian Defense: Wing Gambit, Romanian Defense (B20)
- Sicilian Defense: Wing Gambit, Santasiere Variation (B20)
- Sicilian Defense: Wing Gambit, Deferred Variation (B50)
- Sicilian Defense: Coles Sicilian Gambit (B21)
- Sicilian Defense: Halasz Gambit (B21)
- Sicilian Defense: McDonnell Attack, Tal Gambit (B21)
- Sicilian Defense: Morphy Gambit (B21)
- Sicilian Defense: Morphy Gambit, Andreaschek Gambit (B21)
- Sicilian Defense: Smith-Morra Gambit (B21)
- Sicilian Defense: Smith-Morra Gambit (B21)
- Sicilian Defense: Smith-Morra Gambit Accepted (B21)
- Sicilian Defense: Smith-Morra Gambit Accepted, Chicago Defense (B21)
- Sicilian Defense: Smith-Morra Gambit Accepted, Chicago Defense (B21)
- Sicilian Defense: Smith-Morra Gambit Accepted, Classical Formation (B21)
- Sicilian Defense: Smith-Morra Gambit Accepted, Danish Variation (B21)
- Sicilian Defense: Smith-Morra Gambit Accepted, Fianchetto Defense (B21)
Puzzles from this opening
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
h8
g
f
e
d
c
b
a
Find the move.