Sicilian Defense: Open
Chess opening · ECO B32 · 5 half-moves
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4
The Sicilian Defense: Open is reached after 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4. It is Black's move in the position shown.
It branches from the Sicilian Defense: Old Sicilian with 3. d4.
How often it is played
The Sicilian Defense: Open and its variations appeared in 0.94% of games — 28,262 of 3,000,000 rated games sampled from Lichess in September 2026. That makes it number 55 of the openings listed here.
Results
White won 49%, 4.0% were drawn and Black won 47%. 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 +0.36 — 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: Nyezhmetdinov-Rossolimo Attack | 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 | 0.27% |
| 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: Accelerated Dragon | 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 g6 | 0.26% |
| Sicilian Defense: Löwenthal Variation | 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 e5 | 0.20% |
| Sicilian Defense: Lasker-Pelikan Variation | 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 e5 | 0.09% |
| Sicilian Defense: Franco-Sicilian Variation | 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 e6 | 0.05% |
| Sicilian Defense: Godiva Variation | 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Qb6 | 0.01% |
| Sicilian Defense: Sozin Attack, Leonhardt Variation | 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 d6 6. Bc4 e6 | 0.01% |
| Sicilian Defense: Nimzo-American Variation | 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 d5 | 0.01% |
| Sicilian Defense: Flohr Variation | 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Qc7 | 0.00% |
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