Sicilian Defense: Taimanov Variation

Chess opening · ECO B44 · 8 half-moves

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nc6

The Sicilian Defense: Taimanov Variation is reached after 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nc6. It is White's move in the position shown.

It branches from the Sicilian Defense: French Variation, Open with 4. Nxd4 Nc6.

How often it is played

The Sicilian Defense: Taimanov Variation and its variations appeared in 0.34% of games — 10,225 of 3,000,000 rated games sampled from Lichess in September 2026. That makes it number 127 of the openings listed here.

Results

White won 47%, 4.5% were drawn and Black won 48%. 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 +0.38 — 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.

Main continuations

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