Openings · B23–B26

Sicilian, Closed

2.Nc3 — no d4, no Open Sicilian, and no twenty moves of theory to remember.

1.e4 c5 2.Nc3played as White

Play it through on the board below.

Practise the line

You play White; the other side answers on its own. Nothing here is saved or graded.

8
7
6
5
4
3
2
a1
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
Your move 1 of 20/2
  1. 1.e4c5
  2. 2.Nc3

Your move. Drag a piece, or tap it and then its square.

The idea

The Closed refuses the trade that defines the Sicilian. White keeps the pawn on d2, plays g3, Bg2, d3 and f4, castles, and attacks on the kingside with pawns. Black takes the queenside with …Rb8 and …b5–b4, and the game becomes a race between two wings.

White's race is the slower one, and it ends at a king; Black's is faster and ends at a rook. That is the whole strategic content of the opening, and understanding it is worth more than knowing lines.

Common mistakes

Three that come up again and again below master level: named traps and the errors every coach corrects.

Developing instead of attacking

After 9…Rb8
  1. 1.
  2. 2.
  3. 3.
  4. 4.
  5. 5.
  6. 6.
  7. 7.
  8. 8.
  9. 9.
The mistake
Reaching the setup and then playing sensible moves — Rb1, Qd2, Rae1 — in the hope that a plan turns up.
Why it costs
The attack in the Closed is made of pawns. f4–f5 and g4–g5 are what open lines at Black's king, and the pieces come after them. Without those pushes White has volunteered for a position with less space and a bishop staring at his own pawn on e4.
Instead
Be3 and Qd2, then f5 or g4 depending on where Black castled. Choose the pawn break before move ten, not after the black rook reaches b2.

Answering the queenside with the queenside

After 9…a6
  1. 1.
  2. 2.
  3. 3.
  4. 4.
  5. 5.
  6. 6.
  7. 7.
  8. 8.
  9. 9.
The mistake
Meeting …Rb8 and …b5 with a4 and Rb1, defending on the wing where Black is faster.
Why it costs
It is a race, and a4 does not advance White's half of it. Black spends the same tempo on …a6 and comes again with …b5; two moves have been traded, the attack is two moves later, and b4 has been given to a black knight for good.
Instead
Let the queenside happen. h4 and f5 are worth more than the exchange Black is winning over there — the bet of the whole opening is that the attack arrives first.

The old Grand Prix bishop

After 5…e6
  1. 1.
  2. 2.
  3. 3.
  4. 4.
  5. 5.
The mistake
Playing the Grand Prix Attack with 5.Bc4, the way it was played in the 1980s.
Why it costs
…e6 and …d5 build a centre and hit the bishop in the same two moves, so White's attack has to restart from a square further back. That is exactly why practice moved on from it.
Instead
5.Bb5, hitting c6 before Black can gain time on the bishop — the modern move order, and the one that keeps the attack pointed at the king.

What the engine says

After 1.e4 c5 2.Nc3, these are Black's six best moves according to Stockfish, with the bar showing Black's chance of winning. The whole list sits within 3 percentage points of win chance: none of them is a mistake, and the choice is about the positions you want to play.

  1. Nc6+0.3
  2. e6+0.3
  3. a6+0.4
  4. g6+0.4
  5. d6+0.4
  6. b6+0.6

The engine's main line from Nc6: Nc6 Nge2 Nf6 d4 cxd4 Nxd4 e6 a3.

Stockfish 18, depth 24. Scores are in pawns from White's side. Another engine or depth will move individual numbers a little; the picture does not change. How we check.

Where it fits

The Sicilian, Closed is a variation of the Sicilian Defence, whose page covers the ideas this one takes for granted.

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