Skip to main content

Sicilian Defense · As White · updated October 2026

Play against the Sicilian like Aleksei Sarana

A repertoire against the Sicilian built from 30 of Aleksei Sarana's public Chess.com blitz games. At every position you play the move Aleksei Sarana chose most often. Where Aleksei Sarana 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 Aleksei Sarana or Chess.com.

  • Aleksei Sarana was #7 in Chess.com blitz in October 2026 (3,304) and scored 73% against opponents averaging 3,004 in these games.
  • You play Aleksei Sarana's own move in 10 of 40 positions.
  • The whole course is free, and it is updated monthly.

Free · first 5 lines need no account

Blitz rank

#7

Chess.com

Rating

3,304

Games

30

in this opening

Score

73%

in these games

Opponents

3,004

average rating

More about Aleksei Sarana

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 13 moves

Lines to learn

  1. Line 1 · 8% at top level

    2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nc6 5.Nc3 Qc7 6.Be3 a6 7.Qf3 Nf6 8.O-O-O

  2. Line 2 · 7% 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

  3. Line 3 · 6% 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

  4. Line 4 · 6% at top level

    2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Be2 e5 7.Nb3 Be7 8.Be3 Be6 9.Nd5 Nbd7 10.Qd3

  5. Line 5 · 5% at top level

    2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Be2 e6 7.Be3 Qc7 8.Qd2 b5 9.f3

  6. Line 6 · 4% at top level

    2.Nf3 g6 3.c3 d5 4.exd5 Qxd5 5.d4 Bg7 6.Na3 cxd4 7.Nb5

  7. Line 7 · 4% at top level

    2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 g6 6.Be3 Bg7 7.f3 O-O 8.Qd2

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

Aleksei Sarana's main line against the Sicilian, move by move

The most common line at top level: 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nc6 5.Nc3 Qc7 6.Be3 a6 7.Qf3 Nf6 8.O-O-O.

  1. 2.Nf3 Your move · Aleksei Sarana's games Aleksei Sarana played 2.Nf3 in 30 games, scoring 73%.
  2. 2…e6 Reply · Aleksei Sarana's games A common reply here is 2…e6. At top level, this comes up about 30% of the time.
  3. 3.d4 Your move · Aleksei Sarana's games Aleksei Sarana played 3.d4 in 3 games, scoring 100%.
  4. 3…cxd4 Reply · Aleksei Sarana's games A common reply here is 3…cxd4.
  5. 4.Nxd4 Your move · Aleksei Sarana's games Aleksei Sarana played 4.Nxd4 in 3 games, scoring 100%.
  6. 4…Nc6 Reply · Aleksei Sarana's games A common reply here is 4…Nc6. At top level, this comes up about 20% of the time.
  7. 5.Nc3 Your move · Top-50 players Aleksei Sarana has too few games here, so this is the other top players' most played move.
  8. 5…Qc7 Reply · Top-50 players In the other top players' games, a common reply here is 5…Qc7. At top level, this comes up about 14% of the time.
  9. 6.Be3 Your move · Top-50 players Aleksei Sarana has too few games here, so this is the other top players' most played move.
  10. 6…a6 Reply · Top-50 players In the other top players' games, a common reply here is 6…a6.
  11. 7.Qf3 Your move · Top-50 players Aleksei Sarana has too few games here, so this is the other top players' most played move.
  12. 7…Nf6 Reply · Top-50 players In the other top players' games, a common reply here is 7…Nf6. At top level, this comes up about 8% of the time.
  13. 8.O-O-O Your move · Top-50 players Aleksei Sarana has too few games here, so this is the other top players' most played move.

Questions about this course

How does Aleksei Sarana play against the Sicilian?
After 1.e4 c5, Aleksei Sarana's most common line is 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nc6 5.Nc3 Qc7 6.Be3 a6 7.Qf3 Nf6 8.O-O-O. At top level it comes up about 8% of the time.
Is this Aleksei Sarana's course?
No. ChessDrills builds it automatically from Aleksei Sarana's public Chess.com blitz games.
What is this Sicilian course based on?
30 of Aleksei Sarana's Chess.com blitz games in the Sicilian Defense as White, against opponents with an average rating of 3,004. Aleksei Sarana scored 73% in them.
How many lines does the course have?
7 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 Aleksei Sarana?
GM Aleksei Sarana was ranked number 7 on the Chess.com blitz leaderboard with a rating of 3,304 when this course was built.