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Sicilian Defense · As White · updated November 2026

Play against the Sicilian like Amin Tabatabaei

A repertoire against the Sicilian built from 109 of Amin Tabatabaei's public Chess.com blitz games. At every position you play the move Amin Tabatabaei chose most often. Where Amin Tabatabaei has fewer than 3 games, the course takes the other top-50 players' most played move, then Stockfish's. Learn a line on the board, then each position comes back in a short daily review until it sticks.

Not affiliated with or endorsed by Amin Tabatabaei or Chess.com.

  • Amin Tabatabaei was #46 in Chess.com blitz in November 2026 (3,207) and scored 51% against opponents averaging 3,060 in these games.
  • You play Amin Tabatabaei's own move in 37 of 40 positions.
  • The whole course is free, and it is updated monthly.

Train lines

Learn a new line move by move. Lines due for review go to your daily review first.

Next: line 1

Free · first 5 lines need no account

Blitz rank

#46

Chess.com

Rating

3,207

as of 10 Nov 2026

Games

109

in this opening

Score

51%

in these games

Opponents

3,060

average rating

Based on 109 games, Sep 2025–Oct 2026

More about Amin Tabatabaei

Use arrow keys to navigate the board. Press Enter to select a piece, then use arrow keys and Enter to move. Press Escape to cancel a move.
Line 1 after 19 moves

Lines to learn

  1. Line 1 · 11% at top level

    2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 g6 5.c4 Bg7 6.Be3 Qb6 7.Nb3 Qd8 8.Nc3 Bxc3+ 9.bxc3 Nf6 10.Bd3 d6 11.O-O

    Next

  2. Line 2 · 9% at top level

    2.Nf3 g6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Bg7 5.c4 Nc6 6.Be3 Qb6 7.Nb3 Qd8 8.Nc3 Bxc3+ 9.bxc3 Nf6 10.Bd3 d6 11.O-O

    New

  3. Line 3 · 7% at top level

    2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 e5 6.Ndb5 d6 7.Nd5 Nxd5 8.exd5

    New

  4. Line 4 · 7% at top level

    2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Bd3 e5 7.Nde2 Be7 8.O-O O-O 9.Ng3

    New

  5. Line 5 · 6% at top level

    2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 Nc6 6.Bg5

    New

  6. Line 6 · 6% at top level

    2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Bd3 g6 7.f3

    New

  7. Line 7 · 6% at top level

    2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nc6 5.Nc3 Nf6 6.Nxc6 bxc6 7.e5 Nd5 8.Ne4 Bb7 9.Be2 c5 10.O-O Qc8 11.Re1

    New

  8. Line 8 · 6% at top level

    2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 e5 5.Nb5 d6 6.c4

    New

  9. Line 9 · 5% at top level

    2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Bd3 e6 7.O-O

    New

  10. Line 10 · 4% at top level

    2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 Nc6 6.Nxc6 bxc6 7.e5 Nd5 8.Ne4 Bb7 9.Be2

    New

  11. Line 11 · 4% at top level

    2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 Nc6 6.Nxc6 bxc6 7.e5 Nd5 8.Ne4 Qc7 9.f4

    New

Ordered by how often they come up in top-level games. Learned lines join your daily review.

Amin Tabatabaei's main line against the Sicilian, move by move

The most common line at top level: 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 g6 5.c4 Bg7 6.Be3 Qb6 7.Nb3 Qd8 8.Nc3 Bxc3+ 9.bxc3 Nf6 10.Bd3 d6 11.O-O.

  1. 2.Nf3 Your move · Amin Tabatabaei's games Amin Tabatabaei played 2.Nf3 in 104 games, scoring 52%.
  2. 2…Nc6 Reply · Amin Tabatabaei's games A common reply here is 2…Nc6. At top level, this comes up about 34% of the time.
  3. 3.d4 Your move · Amin Tabatabaei's games Amin Tabatabaei played 3.d4 in 18 games, scoring 44%.
  4. 3…cxd4 Reply · Amin Tabatabaei's games A common reply here is 3…cxd4. At top level, this comes up about 32% of the time.
  5. 4.Nxd4 Your move · Amin Tabatabaei's games Amin Tabatabaei played 4.Nxd4 in 17 games, scoring 41%.
  6. 4…g6 Reply · Amin Tabatabaei's games A common reply here is 4…g6. At top level, this comes up about 13% of the time.
  7. 5.c4 Your move · Amin Tabatabaei's games Amin Tabatabaei played 5.c4 in 6 games, scoring 33%.
  8. 5…Bg7 Reply · Amin Tabatabaei's games A common reply here is 5…Bg7. At top level, this comes up about 11% of the time.
  9. 6.Be3 Your move · Amin Tabatabaei's games Amin Tabatabaei played 6.Be3 in 5 games, scoring 40%.
  10. 6…Qb6 Reply · Amin Tabatabaei's games A common reply here is 6…Qb6.
  11. 7.Nb3 Your move · Amin Tabatabaei's games Amin Tabatabaei played 7.Nb3 in 5 games, scoring 40%.
  12. 7…Qd8 Reply · Amin Tabatabaei's games A common reply here is 7…Qd8.
  13. 8.Nc3 Your move · Amin Tabatabaei's games Amin Tabatabaei played 8.Nc3 in 4 games, scoring 25%.
  14. 8…Bxc3+ Reply · Amin Tabatabaei's games A common reply here is 8…Bxc3+.
  15. 9.bxc3 Your move · Amin Tabatabaei's games Amin Tabatabaei played 9.bxc3 in 4 games, scoring 25%.
  16. 9…Nf6 Reply · Amin Tabatabaei's games A common reply here is 9…Nf6.
  17. 10.Bd3 Your move · Amin Tabatabaei's games Amin Tabatabaei played 10.Bd3 in 3 games, scoring 33%.
  18. 10…d6 Reply · Amin Tabatabaei's games A common reply here is 10…d6.
  19. 11.O-O Your move · Amin Tabatabaei's games Amin Tabatabaei played 11.O-O in 2 games, scoring 50%.

Questions about this course

How does Amin Tabatabaei play against the Sicilian?
After 1.e4 c5, Amin Tabatabaei's most common line is 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 g6 5.c4 Bg7 6.Be3 Qb6 7.Nb3 Qd8 8.Nc3 Bxc3+ 9.bxc3 Nf6 10.Bd3 d6 11.O-O. At top level it comes up about 11% of the time.
Is this Amin Tabatabaei's course?
No. ChessDrills builds it automatically from Amin Tabatabaei's public Chess.com blitz games.
What is this Sicilian course based on?
109 of Amin Tabatabaei's Chess.com blitz games in the Sicilian Defense as White, against opponents with an average rating of 3,060. Amin Tabatabaei scored 51% in them.
How many lines does the course have?
11 lines covering 40 positions, ordered by how often they come up in top-level games. The first 5 lines need no account; saving your progress with an email unlocks the rest, free.
Who is Amin Tabatabaei?
GM Amin Tabatabaei was ranked number 46 on the Chess.com blitz leaderboard with a rating of 3,207 when this course was built.

More openings to play like Amin Tabatabaei

Play against the Sicilian like other top players