Sicilian Defense: Taimanov Variation
B44 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nc6
White scores 51.3% here across 1,043 club games, and no common reply does noticeably worse than the rest.
What White actually plays here
Across 1,043 games from a Lichess-derived book of club play, White scores 51.3% in this position. These are the replies people choose, and how each one works out.
| Reply | Games | Share | White scores | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nc3 | 455 | 43.6% | 49.3% | holds up |
| Nxc6 | 248 | 23.8% | 49.2% | holds up |
| Be3 | 103 | 9.9% | 59.7% | holds up |
| c4 | 62 | 5.9% | 58.1% | holds up |
| Nb5 | 54 | 5.2% | 56.5% | 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.