Sicilian Defense:Scheveningen Variation

Named after the Dutch seaside town where it was played in a 1923 tournament. Black builds a small but sturdy centre with pawns on d6 and e6.

It is reached after 10 moves: 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 d6. It is a line of the Sicilian Defense.

White is to move and has 43 legal moves. Over the next four moves — two for each side — the game can branch into 1,543,902 different games. Those games reach 492,454 different positions: most positions can be reached in more than one way, 3.1 on average.

The Lichess opening list names 9 further lines after this position, such as Keres Attack (6. g4) and Sozin Attack (6. Bc4).

The same moves can be played in 936 different legal orders that all reach this position. For example 1. Nf3 c5 2. e4 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 d6, which starts as the Zukertort Opening.