All Chess Positions Open the map

B20Opening

Sicilian Defense

1. e4 c5

a8b7c6d5e4f3g2h1

White to move

Legal moves
30
Games in the next 4 moves
482,325
Different positions among them
166,179
Named lines from here
414

See it on the mapOn the opening map

The most popular answer to 1. e4. Black fights for the centre from the side with the c-pawn, which leads to unbalanced positions where both sides can play for a win. Giulio Polerio wrote about it as early as 1594.

It is reached after 2 moves: 1. e4 c5.

White is to move and has 30 legal moves. Over the next four moves — two for each side — the game can branch into 482,325 different games. Those games reach 166,179 different positions: most positions can be reached in more than one way, 2.9 on average.

The Lichess opening list names 414 further lines after this position, such as Smith-Morra Gambit (2. d4) and Closed (2. Nc3).

Map of every game of the next four moves after the Sicilian Defense
Every game of the next four moves from this position, as the map draws it. Each ring is one more move; the outer ring holds all 482,325 games.

Move by move

  1. 1. e4King's Pawn Game
  2. 1... c5Sicilian Defense

Named lines from here

…and 4 more on the map.

Famous games through this position

The Octopus KnightKarpov – Kasparov, Moscow 1985, move 1Kasparov's knight digs in on d3 and paralyses White; that match made him world champion.

Related openings

FEN

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