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Sicilian Defense · As White · updated October 2026

Play against the Sicilian like Nihal Sarin

A repertoire against the Sicilian built from 169 of Nihal Sarin's public Chess.com blitz games. At every position you play the move Nihal Sarin chose most often. Where Nihal Sarin 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 Nihal Sarin or Chess.com.

  • Nihal Sarin was #3 in Chess.com blitz in October 2026 (3,365) and scored 67% against opponents averaging 3,153 in these games.
  • You play Nihal Sarin's own move in 18 of 40 positions.
  • The whole course is free, and it is updated monthly.

Free · first 5 lines need no account

Blitz rank

#3

Chess.com

Rating

3,365

Games

169

in this opening

Score

67%

in these games

Opponents

3,153

average rating

More about Nihal Sarin

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 9 moves

Lines to learn

  1. Line 1 · 8% at top level

    2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nc6 5.Nc3 Qc7 6.Qd3

  2. Line 2 · 8% at top level

    2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Bg5 Nbd7 7.Bc4 Qa5 8.Qd2 h6 9.Bxf6

  3. Line 3 · 8% 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

  4. Line 4 · 8% at top level

    2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Bg5 Nbd7 7.Bc4 Qc7 8.Qe2

  5. Line 5 · 8% at top level

    2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Bg5 Nbd7 7.Bc4 g6 8.Qe2

  6. Line 6 · 7% at top level

    2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 g6 6.Be3 Bg7 7.f3 Nc6 8.Qd2 O-O 9.O-O-O d5 10.Nxc6 bxc6 11.Bc4

  7. Line 7 · 6% at top level

    2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nd2 d5 6.e5 Nfd7 7.N2f3 Nc6 8.Bf4 Be7 9.Bb5 Nxd4 10.Nxd4 O-O 11.O-O Qc7 12.Re1 Nc5 13.Qh5

  8. Line 8 · 6% at top level

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

  9. Line 9 · 5% at top level

    2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 e6 4.O-O Nge7 5.Re1 a6 6.Bxc6 Nxc6 7.d4

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

Nihal Sarin'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.Qd3.

  1. 2.Nf3 Your move · Nihal Sarin's games Nihal Sarin played 2.Nf3 in 119 games, scoring 67%.
  2. 2…e6 Reply · Nihal Sarin's games A common reply here is 2…e6. At top level, this comes up about 17% of the time.
  3. 3.d4 Your move · Nihal Sarin's games Nihal Sarin played 3.d4 in 9 games, scoring 50%.
  4. 3…cxd4 Reply · Nihal Sarin's games A common reply here is 3…cxd4.
  5. 4.Nxd4 Your move · Nihal Sarin's games Nihal Sarin played 4.Nxd4 in 8 games, scoring 56%.
  6. 4…Nc6 Reply · Nihal Sarin's games A common reply here is 4…Nc6. At top level, this comes up about 8% of the time.
  7. 5.Nc3 Your move · Nihal Sarin's games Nihal Sarin played 5.Nc3 in 4 games, scoring 50%.
  8. 5…Qc7 Reply · Nihal Sarin's games A common reply here is 5…Qc7.
  9. 6.Qd3 Your move · Nihal Sarin's games Nihal Sarin played 6.Qd3 in 4 games, scoring 50%.

Questions about this course

How does Nihal Sarin play against the Sicilian?
After 1.e4 c5, Nihal Sarin's most common line is 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nc6 5.Nc3 Qc7 6.Qd3. At top level it comes up about 8% of the time.
Is this Nihal Sarin's course?
No. ChessDrills builds it automatically from Nihal Sarin's public Chess.com blitz games.
What is this Sicilian course based on?
169 of Nihal Sarin's Chess.com blitz games in the Sicilian Defense as White, against opponents with an average rating of 3,153. Nihal Sarin scored 67% in them.
How many lines does the course have?
9 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 Nihal Sarin?
GM Nihal Sarin was ranked number 3 on the Chess.com blitz leaderboard with a rating of 3,365 when this course was built.