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Sicilian Defense: Classical Variation

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 · B56–B69

Part of Sicilian Defense

Starting positionWhite to move

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The pin is the whole fight

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The idea

The old main line: White pins the knight on f6 with Bg5 and castles long, playing for the e5 break and a kingside attack.

Main line: 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 Nc6 6.Bg5 e6 7.Qd2 Be7 8.O-O-O O-O

What White wants

  • Pin with Bg5 and castle long, then attack with h4 and g4
  • Break with e5 to open the position on the kingside
  • Trade the f6 knight to weaken the black kingside

What Black wants

  • Develop with ...Be7, ...O-O and ...a6 and counterattack with ...b5
  • Trade the bishop on g5 with ...h6 and ...Nxe4 ideas
  • Use the half-open c-file and the ...d5 break

Key idea

Understand this and the moves stop needing to be memorised.

The pin is the whole fight

The bishop on g5 pins the f6 knight against the queen, so Black cannot develop freely and ...d5 always costs a tempo. Black's counter is ...a6, ...b5 and ...Qa5 — attacking on the queenside while White attacks on the kingside.

Common mistake

Meeting Bg5 with ...h6 and ...g5 automatically. It gains a tempo on the bishop but permanently weakens the squares around the king, and White's h4–h5 push becomes much stronger.

Mistake example: Bg7.

Representative position

The position this opening is aiming at. Copy the FEN, or open it in the analysis board and let the engine tell you what it is worth.

r1bq1rk1/pp2bppp/2nppn2/6B1/3NP3/2N5/PPPQ1PPP/2KR1B1R w - - 4 9

Analyze this position

Related openings

Sicilian Defense: Najdorf Variation1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 · B90–B99The most analysed opening in chess: 5...a6 takes the b5 square away from White's pieces and prepares ...e5 and ...b5 in one move.Sicilian Scheveningen: Keres Attack1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 · B81White plays 6.g4 before developing the bishops, but after bringing both knights into play. The pawn thrust aims to displace the f6 knight and challenge Black's kingside setup immediately.Sicilian Defense: Sveshnikov Variation1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 · B33Black advances ...e5, gaining central space while leaving a hole on d5 and a potentially backward d6 pawn. Active pieces, queenside expansion and ...f5 provide counterplay against those structural concessions.Sicilian Dragon: Yugoslav Attack1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 · B75–B79White castles long and storms the kingside while Black counterattacks on the queenside — the defining opposite-side-castling battle of the Sicilian.Sicilian Defense1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 · B20–B99Black answers 1.e4 with the c-pawn, refusing to mirror and instead trading a wing pawn for a centre pawn — the most ambitious and most popular reply in chess.Sicilian Defense: Dragon Variation1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 · B70–B79Black fianchettoes the bishop onto the long diagonal, where it rakes White's queenside — the most direct and most tactical Sicilian.