B22 · Semi-Open · a defense for Black
Sicilian Defense: Alapin Variation, Barmen Defense, Milner-Barry Attack
15/15
1.e4c52.c3d53.exd5Qxd54.d4Nc65.Nf3cxd46.cxd4e57.Nc3Bb48.Be2
Live databaseLichess 1600–2000 · blitz + rapid
Sicilian Defense: Alapin Variation, Barmen Defense, Milner-Barry Attack9.6k games · Black to move
MoveWhite / draw / BlackPlayedGamesScore
61%5.9k44%
18%1.7k46%
8.8%84251%
4.2%40549%
4.1%39741%
1.7%16641%
1.5%14437%
0.1%1145%
0.1%825%
0.1%625%
Famous games in this line83 master games
Vysochin, Spartak (2573) – Shishkin, Vadim (2507)Har Zvi, Ronen (2500) – Sutovsky, Emil (2530)Khamrakulov, Ibragim S (2592) – Minzer, Claudio Javier (2410)Vysochin, Spartak (2584) – Zavgorodniy, Sergiy (2418)Liss, Eran (2465) – Sutovsky, Emil (2530)Ponomariov, Ruslan (2555) – Savic, Miodrag R (2430)Khamrakulov, Ibragim S (2504) – Gaponenko, Inna (2458)Szabo, G ROM. (2541) – Secheres, Ad (2404)Heroes of this opening Savic, Miodrag R · Szabo, G ROM.
- Family
- Sicilian Defense
- Category
- Semi-Open
- First move
- 1.e4
- ECO
- B22
- Line
- 1. e4 c5 2. c3 d5 3. exd5 Qxd5 4. d4 Nc6 5. Nf3 cxd4 6. cxd4 e5 7. Nc3 Bb4 8. Be2
Aggressive
★ Read the guide: Sicilian Defense: Alapin VariationExplore all 388 Sicilian Defense lines →Keep exploring
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From the archives
No defense has won more games at every level than the Sicilian. Bobby Fischer played almost nothing else against 1.e4, and Kasparov's Najdorf battles with Karpov and Anand are pillars of chess history. When you play 1...c5, you're refusing symmetry — the same refusal that carried two world champions.
Study this opening