Semi-Open · a defense for Black
Sicilian Defense: Morphy Gambit
5/5
1.e4c52.d4cxd43.Nf3
Live databaseLichess 1600–2000 · blitz + rapid
Sicilian Defense: Morphy Gambit2.8M games · Black to move
MoveWhite / draw / BlackPlayedGamesScore
6.2%173k52%
6%167k48%
4.6%127k50%
2.2%62k48%
1.7%48k51%
1.5%42k44%
0.4%12k48%
Famous games in this line398 master games
Balogh, Csaba (2643) – Moiseenko, Alexander (2715)Nepomniachtchi, Ian (2587) – Nakamura, Hikaru (2651)Nakamura, Hikaru (2657) – Postny, Evgeny (2570)Noble, Mark F (2560) – Pirs, Matjaz (2550)Noble, Mark F (2560) – Efremov, Aleksandr Gennadiev (2548)Noble, Mark F (2565) – Freeman, Michael Roy (2517)Noble, Mark F (2502) – Hefka, Vladimír (2571)Rebord, Mauricio (2525) – Ohtake, Sakae (2546)Heroes of this opening Nakamura, Hikaru · Noble, Mark F · Rebord, Mauricio
- Family
- Sicilian Defense
- Category
- Semi-Open
- First move
- 1.e4
- ECO
- B21
- Line
- 1. e4 c5 2. d4 cxd4 3. Nf3
Gambit
★ Read the guide: Sicilian Defense: Scheveningen VariationExplore all 388 Sicilian Defense lines →Keep exploring
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From the archives
No reply to 1.e4 is played more. Fischer made the Najdorf his main weapon, and Kasparov's Sicilians are pillars of chess history — the Scheveningen against Karpov, the Dragon he unveiled against Anand in 1995. When you play 1...c5 you refuse symmetry, the same refusal that carried two world champions.
Study this opening