Opening Leak Lab

Sicilian Defense: Delayed Alapin Variation, with d6

B50 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. c3

Black scores 48.2% here across 761 club games — but the 7.1% who answer e6 score 43.5%, 5 points worse.

What Black actually plays here

Across 761 games from a Lichess-derived book of club play, Black scores 48.2% in this position. These are the replies people choose, and how each one works out.

ReplyGamesShare Black scoresVerdict
Nf6 414 54.4% 49.5% holds up
Nc6 138 18.1% 46.4% holds up
e6 54 7.1% 43.5% below the line
e5 48 6.3% 46.9% holds up
g6 44 5.8% 51.1% holds up
Bg4 30 3.9% 40.0% below the line

"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.

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