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Sicilian Defense · As White · updated October 2026

Play against the Sicilian like S.L. Narayanan

A repertoire against the Sicilian built from 180 of S.L. Narayanan's public Chess.com blitz games. At every position you play the move S.L. Narayanan chose most often. Where S.L. Narayanan 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 S.L. Narayanan or Chess.com.

  • S.L. Narayanan was #46 in Chess.com blitz in October 2026 (3,201) and scored 65% against opponents averaging 2,924 in these games.
  • You play S.L. Narayanan's own move in 22 of 40 positions.
  • The whole course is free, and it is updated monthly.

Free · first 5 lines need no account

Blitz rank

#46

Chess.com

Rating

3,201

Games

180

in this opening

Score

65%

in these games

Opponents

2,924

average rating

More about S.L. Narayanan

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 · 10% at top level

    2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 e5 6.Ndb5 d6 7.Bg5 a6 8.Na3 b5 9.Nd5 Be7 10.Bxf6 Bxf6 11.c3

  2. Line 2 · 9% at top level

    2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Bg5 Nbd7 7.Bc4 Qb6 8.Bb3 e6 9.Qd2 Be7 10.O-O-O Nc5 11.f3 Qc7 12.Kb1

  3. Line 3 · 8% at top level

    2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 d6 6.Be2 e5 7.Nf3 Be7 8.Bg5 O-O 9.Bxf6

  4. Line 4 · 7% at top level

    2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Bg5 e6 7.f4

  5. Line 5 · 7% at top level

    2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 g6 6.Be2 Bg7 7.O-O O-O 8.Be3 Nc6 9.Nb3

  6. Line 6 · 7% at top level

    2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 a6 5.g3

  7. Line 7 · 6% at top level

    2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Qb6 5.Nb3 e6 6.Nc3

  8. Line 8 · 5% at top level

    2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nc6 5.Nc3

  9. Line 9 · 5% at top level

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

  10. Line 10 · 5% at top level

    2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 Nc6 6.Be2 d6 7.Be3 Be7 8.Qd2

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

S.L. Narayanan's main line against the Sicilian, move by move

The most common line at top level: 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 e5 6.Ndb5 d6 7.Bg5 a6 8.Na3 b5 9.Nd5 Be7 10.Bxf6 Bxf6 11.c3.

  1. 2.Nf3 Your move · S.L. Narayanan's games S.L. Narayanan played 2.Nf3 in 122 games, scoring 61%.
  2. 2…Nc6 Reply · S.L. Narayanan's games A common reply here is 2…Nc6. At top level, this comes up about 31% of the time.
  3. 3.d4 Your move · S.L. Narayanan's games S.L. Narayanan played 3.d4 in 13 games, scoring 46%.
  4. 3…cxd4 Reply · S.L. Narayanan's games A common reply here is 3…cxd4.
  5. 4.Nxd4 Your move · S.L. Narayanan's games S.L. Narayanan played 4.Nxd4 in 12 games, scoring 42%.
  6. 4…Nf6 Reply · S.L. Narayanan's games A common reply here is 4…Nf6. At top level, this comes up about 18% of the time.
  7. 5.Nc3 Your move · S.L. Narayanan's games S.L. Narayanan played 5.Nc3 in 7 games, scoring 29%.
  8. 5…e5 Reply · S.L. Narayanan's games A common reply here is 5…e5. At top level, this comes up about 10% of the time.
  9. 6.Ndb5 Your move · S.L. Narayanan's games S.L. Narayanan played 6.Ndb5 in 4 games, scoring 25%.
  10. 6…d6 Reply · S.L. Narayanan's games A common reply here is 6…d6.
  11. 7.Bg5 Your move · S.L. Narayanan's games S.L. Narayanan played 7.Bg5 in 3 games, scoring 33%.
  12. 7…a6 Reply · S.L. Narayanan's games A common reply here is 7…a6.
  13. 8.Na3 Your move · S.L. Narayanan's games S.L. Narayanan played 8.Na3 in 2 games, scoring 50%.
  14. 8…b5 Reply · Top-50 players In the other top players' games, a common reply here is 8…b5. At top level, this comes up about 10% of the time.
  15. 9.Nd5 Your move · Top-50 players S.L. Narayanan has too few games here, so this is the other top players' most played move.
  16. 9…Be7 Reply · Top-50 players In the other top players' games, a common reply here is 9…Be7.
  17. 10.Bxf6 Your move · Top-50 players S.L. Narayanan has too few games here, so this is the other top players' most played move.
  18. 10…Bxf6 Reply · Top-50 players In the other top players' games, a common reply here is 10…Bxf6.
  19. 11.c3 Your move · Top-50 players S.L. Narayanan has too few games here, so this is the other top players' most played move.

Questions about this course

How does S.L. Narayanan play against the Sicilian?
After 1.e4 c5, S.L. Narayanan's most common line is 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 e5 6.Ndb5 d6 7.Bg5 a6 8.Na3 b5 9.Nd5 Be7 10.Bxf6 Bxf6 11.c3. At top level it comes up about 10% of the time.
Is this S.L. Narayanan's course?
No. ChessDrills builds it automatically from S.L. Narayanan's public Chess.com blitz games.
What is this Sicilian course based on?
180 of S.L. Narayanan's Chess.com blitz games in the Sicilian Defense as White, against opponents with an average rating of 2,924. S.L. Narayanan scored 65% in them.
How many lines does the course have?
10 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 S.L. Narayanan?
GM S.L. Narayanan was ranked number 46 on the Chess.com blitz leaderboard with a rating of 3,201 when this course was built.