Opening Leak Lab

Sicilian Defense: Delayed Alapin Variation, with e6

B40 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. c3

Black scores 48.1% here across 703 club games — but the 22.9% who answer Nc6 score 43.2%, 5 points worse.

What Black actually plays here

Across 703 games from a Lichess-derived book of club play, Black scores 48.1% in this position. These are the replies people choose, and how each one works out.

ReplyGamesShare Black scoresVerdict
d5 263 37.4% 49.6% holds up
Nc6 161 22.9% 43.2% below the line
a6 118 16.8% 44.5% below the line
Nf6 93 13.2% 47.8% 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.

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