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Sicilian Defense · As White · updated October 2026

Play against the Sicilian like Liam Putnam

A repertoire against the Sicilian built from 224 of Liam Putnam's public Chess.com blitz games. At every position you play the move Liam Putnam chose most often. Where Liam Putnam 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 Liam Putnam or Chess.com.

  • Liam Putnam was #48 in Chess.com blitz in October 2026 (3,200) and scored 66% against opponents averaging 3,059 in these games.
  • You play Liam Putnam's own move in 27 of 40 positions.
  • The whole course is free, and it is updated monthly.

Free · first 5 lines need no account

Blitz rank

#48

Chess.com

Rating

3,200

Games

224

in this opening

Score

66%

in these games

Opponents

3,059

average rating

More about Liam Putnam

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 21 moves

Lines to learn

  1. Line 1 · 10% 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

  2. Line 2 · 6% at top level

    2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 g6 6.Be3

  3. Line 3 · 5% at top level

    2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3

  4. Line 4 · 5% at top level

    2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 a6 5.c4 Nf6 6.Nc3 Qc7 7.Be2 Nc6 8.O-O Bd6 9.Kh1

  5. Line 5 · 5% at top level

    2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 g6 4.O-O Bg7 5.c3

  6. Line 6 · 4% at top level

    2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nc6 5.Nc3 Qc7 6.Qd3 Nf6 7.Ndb5 Qb8 8.Qg3 d6 9.Be3 a6 10.Nd4

  7. Line 7 · 4% at top level

    2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 Nc6 6.Bc4

  8. Line 8 · 4% at top level

    2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 e6 4.Bxc6

  9. Line 9 · 4% at top level

    2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Bg5 e6 7.Qf3 Be7 8.O-O-O Qc7 9.Be2

  10. Line 10 · 4% at top level

    2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 a6 5.c4 Nf6 6.Nc3 Bb4 7.Qd3 d6 8.Nc2 Bxc3+ 9.Qxc3 O-O 10.Bg5

  11. Line 11 · 4% at top level

    2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Bg5 e6 7.Qf3 Nbd7 8.O-O-O Qc7 9.Bd3

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

Liam Putnam's main line against the Sicilian, move by move

The most common line 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.

  1. 2.Nf3 Your move · Liam Putnam's games Liam Putnam played 2.Nf3 in 218 games, scoring 65%.
  2. 2…d6 Reply · Liam Putnam's games A common reply here is 2…d6. At top level, this comes up about 40% of the time.
  3. 3.d4 Your move · Liam Putnam's games Liam Putnam played 3.d4 in 57 games, scoring 66%.
  4. 3…cxd4 Reply · Liam Putnam's games A common reply here is 3…cxd4.
  5. 4.Nxd4 Your move · Liam Putnam's games Liam Putnam played 4.Nxd4 in 55 games, scoring 66%.
  6. 4…Nf6 Reply · Liam Putnam's games A common reply here is 4…Nf6. At top level, this comes up about 38% of the time.
  7. 5.Nc3 Your move · Liam Putnam's games Liam Putnam played 5.Nc3 in 52 games, scoring 69%.
  8. 5…a6 Reply · Liam Putnam's games A common reply here is 5…a6. At top level, this comes up about 25% of the time.
  9. 6.Bg5 Your move · Liam Putnam's games Liam Putnam played 6.Bg5 in 10 games, scoring 60%.
  10. 6…Nbd7 Reply · Liam Putnam's games A common reply here is 6…Nbd7. At top level, this comes up about 13% of the time.
  11. 7.Bc4 Your move · Liam Putnam's games Liam Putnam played 7.Bc4 in 5 games, scoring 40%.
  12. 7…Qb6 Reply · Liam Putnam's games A common reply here is 7…Qb6. At top level, this comes up about 10% of the time.
  13. 8.Bb3 Your move · Liam Putnam's games Liam Putnam played 8.Bb3 in 3 games, scoring 33%.
  14. 8…e6 Reply · Liam Putnam's games A common reply here is 8…e6.
  15. 9.Qd2 Your move · Liam Putnam's games Liam Putnam played 9.Qd2 in 2 games, scoring 0%.
  16. 9…Be7 Reply · Top-50 players In the other top players' games, a common reply here is 9…Be7.
  17. 10.O-O-O Your move · Top-50 players Liam Putnam has too few games here, so this is the other top players' most played move.
  18. 10…Nc5 Reply · Top-50 players In the other top players' games, a common reply here is 10…Nc5.
  19. 11.f3 Your move · Top-50 players Liam Putnam has too few games here, so this is the other top players' most played move.
  20. 11…Qc7 Reply · Top-50 players In the other top players' games, a common reply here is 11…Qc7.
  21. 12.Kb1 Your move · Top-50 players Liam Putnam has too few games here, so this is the other top players' most played move.

Questions about this course

How does Liam Putnam play against the Sicilian?
After 1.e4 c5, Liam Putnam's most common line is 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. At top level it comes up about 10% of the time.
Is this Liam Putnam's course?
No. ChessDrills builds it automatically from Liam Putnam's public Chess.com blitz games.
What is this Sicilian course based on?
224 of Liam Putnam's Chess.com blitz games in the Sicilian Defense as White, against opponents with an average rating of 3,059. Liam Putnam scored 66% 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 Liam Putnam?
GM Liam Putnam was ranked number 48 on the Chess.com blitz leaderboard with a rating of 3,200 when this course was built.