Sicilian Defense: Closed, Traditional
Chess opening · ECO B23 · 4 half-moves
1. e4 c5 2. Nc3 Nc6
The Sicilian Defense: Closed, Traditional is reached after 1. e4 c5 2. Nc3 Nc6. It is White's move in the position shown.
It branches from the Sicilian Defense: Closed with 2… Nc6.
How often it is played
The Sicilian Defense: Closed, Traditional and its variations appeared in 0.42% of games — 12,605 of 3,000,000 rated games sampled from Lichess in September 2026. That makes it number 107 of the openings listed here.
Results
White won 50%, 3.5% were drawn and Black won 46%. These are games between players of every strength and time control, so they say how the opening does in practice rather than how sound it is.
What the engine thinks
Stockfish, at depth 18, evaluates the position at +0.25 — a small edge for White. Positive numbers favour White; see reading the evaluation bar.
Similar openings
The most-played alternatives — what else could have been chosen around the move where this opening begins.
| Opening | Moves | Share of games |
|---|---|---|
| Sicilian Defense: Old Sicilian | 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 | 2.1% |
| Sicilian Defense: French Variation | 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 | 1.3% |
| Sicilian Defense: Modern Variations | 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 | 1.2% |
Main continuations
| Variation | Moves | Share of games |
|---|---|---|
| Sicilian Defense: Grand Prix Attack | 1. e4 c5 2. Nc3 Nc6 3. f4 | 0.10% |
| Sicilian Defense: Closed, Fianchetto Variation | 1. e4 c5 2. Nc3 Nc6 3. g3 | 0.03% |
| Sicilian Defense: Closed, Chameleon Variation | 1. e4 c5 2. Nc3 Nc6 3. Nge2 | 0.01% |
| Sicilian Defense: Closed, Grob Attack | 1. e4 c5 2. Nc3 Nc6 3. g4 | 0.00% |
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