Rebuild the Sveshnikov d5 plans
Replay 5 model games in the 9.Bxf6 gxf6 10.Nd5 f5 line and 5 in the 9.Nd5 Be7 line. Write down which piece trades off the d5 knight in each.
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Sicilian Defense
Your main defence and your biggest leak: clean openings, then leaky middlegames.
Score57%−3% vs your average
Win chance after move 1250%−3% vs your average
Blunders per game0.57−0.21 vs your average
Clock left at move 109:37+5s vs your average
1
23
4
5
6
7
h8g
f
e
dcb
a1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6
What it says about you
You answer 1.e4 with 1...c5 and 2...Nc6, and your main line (4...Nf6 in the Open) aims for Sveshnikov and Classical structures. That says you want imbalance and winning chances with Black, and you are happy to accept positional liabilities like the d5 hole or a backward d6 in return. It is the right repertoire for a 2300 player who wants to win with Black. Right now it pays out at 57% over 53 games, three points under your 60% baseline, and it is flagged as one of your top four leaks.
How you play it
The opening itself is not the problem. Win chance at move 12 is 50 and at move 20 is 51, close to your baseline of 53 and 52, you only make 0.15 errors per game in moves 1-15, and you reach move 10 with 577 seconds, faster than usual. The damage comes later: 13 of the 16 classified losses were decided in the middlegame. Blunders are actually low at 0.57 per game against your 0.77 baseline, so you lose these on slow drift and missed shots rather than hung pieces. 8 of the 18 labelled loss causes are 'outplayed gradually' or 'big positional error', which is what Sveshnikov-type positions do to anyone who misplaces a piece around d5. You also convert only 25 of 34 winning positions (74%, against 78% overall).
What you're missing
- 01
Converting won Sicilians: 25 of 34 won. The move 41 ...Ke7 instead of ...Kg7 took you from 90% to 18% with 106 seconds left, and 22...b5 instead of ...Nd4 dropped a winning position from 86% to 56%. Both times a routine consolidating move was available.
- 02
Tactical awareness in your own structure: 18...Bxf4 hung the bishop (50% to 10%, best was ...Qb6) and 24...Qxf2 walked into a pin (52% to 14%, best was ...Bxh3). Both came with 390-530 seconds on the clock, so you had time. You just didn't look.
- 03
Every offbeat tag underperforms: Old Sicilian lines score 37.5% over 8 games, Smith-Morra Declined with 3...d3 40% over 5, Pelikan/Sveshnikov 37.5% over 4 and Mengarini (2.Nc3 a6) 33% over 3. The samples are tiny, but not one named sub-line reaches your baseline.
- 04
Structural losses: 4 big positional errors and 4 gradual losses make up almost half the labelled causes. In the Sveshnikov that is almost always a lost fight for d5 (for example, allowing Nd5 with c3 and Nc2-e3 while your f5 break never lands).
How to improve it
- 01
In the Sveshnikov (5.Nc3 e5 6.Ndb5 d6 7.Bg5 a6 8.Na3 b5), know the difference between 9.Bxf6 gxf6 10.Nd5 f5 and 9.Nd5 Be7 10.Bxf6 Bxf6 11.c3. In the first, your whole game is ...f5 with ...Bg7 and ...Ne7 to trade the d5 knight. In the second, you play ...Bg5 and ...Ne7 to challenge d5. Aim every plan at removing the d5 knight or undermining it with ...f5.
- 02
Against the Morra, 3...d3 is fine, but at 40% you should consider 3...Nf6 4.e5 Nd5. That gives a c3 Sicilian structure you understand. If you want to accept, go with 3...dxc3 4.Nxc3 Nc6 5.Nf3 d6 6.Bc4 e6 7.O-O Nf6 and a Scheveningen setup, which is fine for Black if you know the Qe2/Rd1 pressure ideas.
- 03
Against the anti-2...Nc6 systems (3.Bc4, 3.c3, early Nc3 lines), pick one fixed setup rather than improvising. For example, answer 3.c3 with 3...Nf6 4.e5 Nd5, and meet Bc4 lines with ...e6 and ...d5 to blunt the bishop.
- 04
When you are winning, do a blunder check on king moves in particular. The ...Ke7 versus ...Kg7 disaster was a king walking into an opponent combination, and in the Sicilian your king is often loosened by ...f5 and ...gxf6 structures.
Where it goes wrong
Your losses in this opening, by where and how the decisive mistake happened.
Phase of the decisive mistake
What the mistake was
Variations you reach
| Old Sicilian Variation | 8 | 38% |
| Old Sicilian Variation O | 5 | 50% |
| Smith Morra Gambit Declined Push Variation | 5 | 40% |
| Open Pelikan and Sveshnikov | 4 | 38% |
| Mengarini Variation | 3 | 33% |
Winning positions converted here: 74% (25 of 34).
Recent mistakes in this opening
Your move in red, Stockfish's in black.
1
23
4
5
6
7h8
gfe
d
cb
a
vs AlexTatal (2219) · 13-01-26 →
1
23
4
56
7
h8
g
fe
d
c
b
avs AlexTatal (2219) · 13-01-26 →
1
23
4
5
6
7h8g
f
edc
ba
vs BetterThanLudwigPog (2239) · 13-01-26 →
12
3456
7h8
gf
e
dcb
a
vs Vasiliy_Orsk (2211) · 13-01-26 →
Next steps
Replace the 3...d3 Morra decline
Prepare 3...Nf6 4.e5 Nd5 (or a full Scheveningen acceptance) to about move 10, and test it in 10 games.
Drill convert-mode checks
Whenever you are at +2 or better, spend 10 seconds before each king or pawn move asking what the opponent's most forcing reply is. Your two thrown wins both failed that test.
Drill it
Puzzles built from your own mistakes in the Sicilian Defense, and every game you've played in it.