How to beat the Sicilian Defense, by the numbers (2,574 top-player games)
Quick answer
What's the best way to beat the Sicilian Defense? Top players with White scored better with an anti-Sicilian than with the Open Sicilian on both sites: 74% in 298 vs 71% in 192 on Chess.com (White average 73%), and 72% in 408 vs 66% in 344 on Lichess (average 67%). The best main anti-Sicilian was the Alapin (2.c3): 78% in 85 for titled Lichess players (+11) and 73% in 91 on Chess.com (±0). The Moscow (3.Bb5+ against 2...d6) scored below average on both sites (64% in 51 combined, hints). But Sicilian players' own scores were about the same against both, so the gap is a strong hint, not proof.
The Sicilian Defense (1.e4 c5) is the most common reply to 1.e4 at the top, and the defence most 1.e4 players spend the most time worrying about. We sorted every Sicilian in our two samples by what White actually played, move by move: 1,040 games among the top 50 Chess.com blitz players and 1,534 among the top 100 titled Lichess players. The Sicilian was about 36% of the 1.e4 games the Chess.com players had as White, and 29% on Lichess. Score means points per game for the top player (win 1, draw ½). Compare with their averages (73% with White and 67% with Black on Chess.com, 67% and 62% on Lichess), not with 50%. Playing the Sicilian yourself? See the best Sicilian variation instead.
Short answer
- Overall, the Sicilian holds up. Top Chess.com blitz players scored 73% in 490 games (right on their 73% average) with White against it; titled Lichess players 69% in 752 games (2 points above their 67% average). Playing it themselves, they scored 69% in 585 games (2 points above their 67% average) on Chess.com and 64% in 816 games (2 points above their 62% average) on Lichess, so Sicilian players did a bit better than their usual Black results.
- Anti-Sicilians scored better for White than the Open Sicilian. With an anti-Sicilian (anything where White doesn't play d4 and let Black take with ...cxd4), White scored 74% in 298 games (1 point above the 73% average) on Chess.com and 72% in 408 games (5 points above the 67% average) on Lichess. With the Open Sicilian: 71% in 192 games (2 points below the 73% average) and 66% in 344 games (1 point below the 67% average). The Sicilian players' own results barely moved: 68% vs 69% (Open vs anti) on Chess.com, 64% vs 64% on Lichess. So it's a real gap for White, but not a knockout.
- The Alapin (2.c3) was the best main anti-Sicilian. Titled Lichess players scored 78% in 85 games (11 points above their 67% average) with it as White; on Chess.com it was 73% in 91 games (right on the 73% average). Sicilian players facing it scored 69% in 87 on Chess.com (+2) and 62% in 117 on Lichess (±0).
- The Rossolimo (3.Bb5 against 2...Nc6) looked good for White, the Moscow (3.Bb5+ against 2...d6) didn't. Rossolimo: White scored 78% in 37 on Chess.com (+5) and 74% in 45 on Lichess (+7). Moscow: 64% in 29 (-9) and 64% in 22 (-3), and Sicilian players scored 69% and 72% against it. All hints (under 50 games each).
- The Closed and Grand Prix are playable, not magic. On Lichess, the Closed Sicilian scored 70% in 61 for White (+3) and the Grand Prix (f4) 70% in 56 (+3). The top Chess.com blitzers rarely played either.
1. Open Sicilian or anti-Sicilian?
“Open Sicilian” = White plays d4 in the first few moves and Black takes with ...cxd4 (2.Nf3 and 3.d4, 2.Nc3 and a later d4, or 2.d4 cxd4 3.Nf3). Everything else counts as an anti-Sicilian, including the Smith-Morra Gambit (2.d4 cxd4 3.c3) and 2.d4 cxd4 3.Qxd4. Rows under 50 games are hints.
| White's approach | Chess.com top 50 with White | Chess.com top 50 playing the Sicilian | Lichess titled with White | Lichess titled playing the Sicilian |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Open Sicilian | 71% in 192 (-2) | 68% in 251 (+1) | 66% in 344 (-1) | 64% in 335 (+2) |
| Any anti-Sicilian | 74% in 298 (+1) | 69% in 334 (+2) | 72% in 408 (+5) | 64% in 481 (+2) |
2. Every White system against the Sicilian
Sorted by how often it came up. The Alapin includes 2.Nf3 and 3.c3; the Grand Prix includes 2.Nc3 and 3.f4. Each cell is the top player's score and the gap to their average; under 50 games is a hint, under 8 is too few to read.
| White's system vs 1...c5 | Chess.com top 50 with White (avg 73%) | Chess.com top 50 playing the Sicilian (avg 67%) | Lichess titled with White (avg 67%) | Lichess titled playing the Sicilian (avg 62%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Open Sicilian (d4 and ...cxd4) | 71% in 192 (-2) | 68% in 251 (+1) | 66% in 344 (-1) | 64% in 335 (+2) |
| Alapin (2.c3) | 73% in 91 (±0) | 69% in 87 (+2) | 78% in 85 (+11) | 62% in 117 (±0) |
| Other 2.Nf3 lines (no early d4) | 63% in 45 (-10), hint | 71% in 67 (+4) | 77% in 39 (+10), hint | 58% in 66 (-4) |
| Rossolimo (2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5) | 78% in 37 (+5), hint | 70% in 74 (+3) | 74% in 45 (+7), hint | 58% in 43 (-4), hint |
| Closed Sicilian (2.Nc3, no early d4) | 84% in 16 (+11), hint | 71% in 19 (+4), hint | 70% in 61 (+3) | 61% in 86 (-1) |
| Moscow (2.Nf3 d6 3.Bb5+) | 64% in 29 (-9), hint | 69% in 34 (+2), hint | 64% in 22 (-3), hint | 72% in 32 (+10), hint |
| King's Indian Attack / g3, d3 set-ups | 66% in 28 (-7), hint | 59% in 16 (-8), hint | 72% in 25 (+5), hint | 64% in 40 (+2), hint |
| Grand Prix Attack (f4) | 6 games, too few | 62% in 8 (-5), hint | 70% in 56 (+3) | 56% in 26 (-6), hint |
| Early Bc4 (2.Bc4, or 2.Nf3 and 3.Bc4) | 81% in 27 (+8), hint | 59% in 11 (-8), hint | 63% in 15 (-4), hint | 70% in 20 (+8), hint |
| 2.d4 cxd4 3.Qxd4 | – | 5 games, too few | 70% in 40 (+3), hint | 75% in 8 (+13), hint |
| Smith-Morra Gambit (2.d4 cxd4 3.c3) | 100% in 11 (+27), hint | 3 games, too few | 6 games, too few | 86% in 14 (+24), hint |
| Other 2nd moves | 7 games, too few | 5 games, too few | 4 games, too few | 73% in 15 (+11), hint |
| Other 2.d4 lines | – | 1 game, too few | 44% in 9 (-23), hint | 92% in 12 (+30), hint |
3. How to choose your anti-Sicilian
- You want the best-scoring low-theory line: the Alapin (2.c3), aiming for d4 with a pawn to recapture. It was clearly ahead on Lichess and about par on Chess.com. Expect 2...d5 or 2...Nf6 and learn those two.
- You like Open positions and know theory: the Open Sicilian is fine, it just didn't outscore the alternatives here. If you go for it, know the line your opponent plays (Najdorf, Dragon, Taimanov or Sveshnikov all lead to different games).
- After 2.Nf3 Nc6: the Rossolimo (3.Bb5) is the main way to avoid the Open, and it scored above average for White on both sites (hints).
- Think twice about 3.Bb5+ after 2.Nf3 d6 in blitz: it was one of the weakest common White lines in both samples (hints). 3.d4 (Open) or 3.c3 are the alternatives.
- Gambits: the Smith-Morra came up too rarely to judge here.
- Full plans and a line to play are in the Sicilian Defense guide.
4. What matters more than the line
- Your opponent's Sicilian. Sicilian players usually have one pet line (2...d6, 2...Nc6 or 2...e6) and one answer to the Alapin, and they repeat it. Check before the game: the free opponent preview shows any Chess.com or Lichess player's most-played openings with each colour, and the full report shows the exact lines where they score worst.
More from the same data: the best Sicilian variation (for Black), how to beat the French Defense, how to beat the Caro-Kann, the best chess openings for White and the best response to the London System.
Method: Chess.com sample is the top 50 of the Chess.com live blitz leaderboard on 2026-10-20, each player's most recent rated standard blitz games (up to 150, at most six monthly archives) from the public Chess.com Published-Data API, games played 2026-03-21 to 2026-10-20. Lichess sample is the last 150 rated games of the top 100 titled players on the Lichess leaderboards (2026-10-18). Sicilian Defense = 1.e4 c5; White's system is read from the moves, not the opening name. A game between two sampled players counts once per sampled player. Rows under 50 games are hints; headline claims need 50+ games except where marked. OpeningSpy is independent and not affiliated with Chess.com or Lichess.