Sicilian Defense: Classical Variation
B56 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 Nc6
White scores 48.2% here across 483 club games, and no common reply does noticeably worse than the rest.
What White actually plays here
Across 483 games from a Lichess-derived book of club play, White scores 48.2% in this position. These are the replies people choose, and how each one works out.
| Reply | Games | Share | White scores | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bg5 | 100 | 20.7% | 47.0% | holds up |
| Be3 | 94 | 19.5% | 47.9% | holds up |
| Bc4 | 71 | 14.7% | 50.0% | holds up |
| Bb5 | 61 | 12.6% | 46.7% | holds up |
| Nxc6 | 51 | 10.6% | 47.1% | holds up |
| Be2 | 45 | 9.3% | 56.7% | holds up |
| f3 | 44 | 9.1% | 47.7% | holds up |
"Below the line" means the reply scores at least three points worse than the position does overall. Replies played fewer than 25 times are left out: the sample is too small to read.
Is this costing you anything?
A table of averages cannot tell you whether you go wrong here — only your own games can. Opening Leak Lab reads your Chess.com or Lichess archive, finds the decisions you repeat, and checks each one against this book and a bundled Stockfish.