Chess lessons › Chess openings
The Sicilian Defence
Why Black answers 1.e4 with c5, what the Open Sicilian does to the board, and the Najdorf and Dragon.
The idea
Black answers e4 with c5 and fights for d4 from the side.
- Black answers e4 with the c-pawn, not the e-pawn.
- It attacks d4, so White cannot easily build a pawn centre.
- In the main line the pawns trade on d4, and each side gets a half-open file.
In a game: A good answer to e4 when you want an unbalanced game, not a copy of White’s moves.
How the lesson begins
Find the move
Black to move. White has played 1.e4. Instead of copying with 1...e5, fight for the d4 square with a pawn from the side.
A hint
The pawn on c7 moves two squares and attacks d4.
Show the answer
1... c5
c5 is the Sicilian Defence. The pawn attacks d4, so White cannot easily build a pawn centre. It leads to unbalanced positions, and at club level it works well: in Lichess games between players rated 1200 to 1599, White scored 49% after 1.e4 c5 and 53% after 1.e4 e5.
After 1.e4 c5 the main line is 2.Nf3 and 3.d4, offering to trade the d-pawn for Black’s c-pawn. This is the Open Sicilian, because White opens the centre with d4 and the pawns come off. Watch what the trade does to the pawns.
- 2. Nf3 White prepares d4.
- 2... Nc6 Black develops a knight.
- 3. d4 White offers the d-pawn.
- 3... cxd4 Black takes the pawn on d4.
- 4. Nxd4 White takes back. Black’s c-pawn and White’s d-pawn are both gone. A file that has only the other side’s pawn on it is **half open**: the c-file is half open for Black and the d-file for White.
In numbers
How often it is played
| Rating | Value |
|---|---|
| Under 800 | 12 |
| 800 to 1199 | 41 |
| 1200 to 1599 | 73 |
| 1600 to 1999 | 118 |
| 2000 and up | 149 |
How the games ended
White won 48%, 4% were drawn and Black won 48%, over 1,73,726 games that start this way, in a sample of rated Lichess games from 2026.