Sicilian Defense: Kan Variation, Knight Variation
B43 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 a6 5. Nc3
Black scores 52.0% here across 447 club games — but the 21.0% who answer b5 score 48.9%, 3 points worse.
What Black actually plays here
Across 447 games from a Lichess-derived book of club play, Black scores 52.0% in this position. These are the replies people choose, and how each one works out.
| Reply | Games | Share | Black scores | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Qc7 | 216 | 48.3% | 55.8% | holds up |
| b5 | 94 | 21.0% | 48.9% | below the line |
| Nc6 | 69 | 15.4% | 44.2% | 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.