Chess lessons › Chess openings
The Scheveningen Sicilian
Black plays ...d6 and ...e6; learn the Keres Attack, the English Attack and the Classical set-up.
The idea
Black keeps pawns on d6 and e6; against g4, ...h6 is the reply.
- Black’s pawns stand side by side on d6 and e6, a compact centre.
- The Keres Attack is the push g4, aiming for g5.
- Black answers ...h6: g5 can then be taken by the h-pawn.
In a game: Black has pawns on d6 and e6 and a knight on f6: look at what White does with the g-pawn.
How the lesson begins
The Scheveningen is a Sicilian set-up with Black’s pawns on d6 and e6. After 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 e6 Black has a compact centre and chooses a plan later. Black can also play ...e6 on move two and ...d6 on move five, and reach the very same position.
This lesson shows three of White’s ways to fight it: the pawn push g4, the English Attack with Be3 and f3, and the quiet Classical set-up with Be2 and f4.
- 3. d4 White opens the centre.
- 3... cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 The knight attacks the pawn on e4.
- 5. Nc3 White guards the pawn on e4.
- 5... e6 The pawn joins the pawn on d6: the Scheveningen set-up.
White’s sixth move g4 is the Keres Attack. The pawn is ready to go to g5 and drive the knight from f6. It is a sharp try: White grabs space on the kingside at once, before Black has castled.
- 6. g4 The pawn is ready to go to g5.
Find the move
White to move. Black has just taken the pawn on g4 with the knight. Nothing guards that knight, and the bishop on c8 cannot help, because the pawn on e6 shuts it in. Punish the capture.
A hint
Which of your pieces looks along the diagonal from d1 to g4?
Show the answer
7. Qxg4
Qxg4 wins a knight for the pawn. The queen on d1 guarded g4 along the diagonal through e2 and f3, so the pawn was never free. The engine puts White more than a piece ahead.
In numbers
How often it is played
| Rating | Value |
|---|---|
| Under 800 | Too few games |
| 800 to 1199 | Too few games |
| 1200 to 1599 | Too few games |
| 1600 to 1999 | 0.2 |
| 2000 and up | 1.1 |
How the games ended
White won 45%, 6% were drawn and Black won 49%, over 404 games that start this way, in a sample of rated Lichess games from 2026.