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Sicilian Defense · As White · updated October 2026

Play against the Sicilian like Nikolas Theodorou

A repertoire against the Sicilian built from 109 of Nikolas Theodorou's public Chess.com blitz games. At every position you play the move Nikolas Theodorou chose most often. Where Nikolas Theodorou 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 Nikolas Theodorou or Chess.com.

  • Nikolas Theodorou was #38 in Chess.com blitz in October 2026 (3,214) and scored 56% against opponents averaging 3,083 in these games.
  • You play Nikolas Theodorou's own move in 21 of 40 positions.
  • The whole course is free, and it is updated monthly.

Free · first 5 lines need no account

Blitz rank

#38

Chess.com

Rating

3,214

Games

109

in this opening

Score

56%

in these games

Opponents

3,083

average rating

More about Nikolas Theodorou

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 15 moves

Lines to learn

  1. Line 1 · 8% at top level

    2.d4 cxd4 3.c3 Nf6 4.e5 Nd5 5.Bc4 e6 6.cxd4 d6 7.Nf3 Be7 8.O-O O-O 9.Qe2

  2. Line 2 · 7% at top level

    2.d4 cxd4 3.c3 dxc3 4.Nxc3 d6 5.Nf3

  3. Line 3 · 5% at top level

    2.d4 cxd4 3.c3 d3 4.Bxd3 Nc6 5.c4 g6 6.Nc3 Bg7 7.Nge2 Nf6 8.h3

  4. Line 4 · 5% at top level

    2.d4 cxd4 3.c3 Nf6 4.e5 Nd5 5.Bc4 e6 6.cxd4 b6 7.Bxd5

  5. Line 5 · 4% at top level

    2.d4 Nc6 3.d5

  6. Line 6 · 4% at top level

    2.d4 cxd4 3.c3 Nf6 4.e5 Nd5 5.Bc4 Nb6 6.Bb3 Nc6 7.Nf3 d5 8.exd6

  7. Line 7 · 4% at top level

    2.d4 cxd4 3.c3 Nf6 4.e5 Nd5 5.Bc4 Nb6 6.Bb3 d5 7.cxd4 Nc6 8.Bc2

  8. Line 8 · 4% at top level

    2.d4 cxd4 3.c3 dxc3 4.Nxc3 Nc6 5.Nf3 e6 6.Be2 Bb4 7.O-O

  9. Line 9 · 4% at top level

    2.d4 cxd4 3.c3 dxc3 4.Nxc3 Nc6 5.Nf3 g6 6.Bc4

  10. Line 10 · 4% at top level

    2.d4 cxd4 3.c3 dxc3 4.Nxc3 g6 5.Bc4

  11. Line 11 · 4% at top level

    2.d4 cxd4 3.c3 e6 4.cxd4

  12. Line 12 · 3% at top level

    2.d4 cxd4 3.c3 dxc3 4.Nxc3 Nc6 5.Nf3 d6 6.Bc4 e6 7.Qe2

  13. Line 13 · 3% at top level

    2.d4 cxd4 3.c3 d3 4.Bxd3 Nc6 5.c4 g6 6.Nc3 Bg7 7.Nge2 d6 8.O-O Nf6 9.h3 O-O 10.Be3 Be6 11.b3

  14. Line 14 · 3% at top level

    2.d4 cxd4 3.c3 d3 4.Bxd3 Nc6 5.c4 g6 6.Nc3 Bg7 7.Nge2 d6 8.O-O Nf6 9.h3 O-O 10.Be3 Ne5 11.f4

  15. Line 15 · 3% at top level

    2.d4 cxd4 3.c3 d3 4.Bxd3 Nc6 5.c4 g6 6.Nc3 Bg7 7.Nge2 d6 8.O-O Nf6 9.h3 O-O 10.Be3 b6 11.Rc1

  16. Line 16 · 3% at top level

    2.d4 cxd4 3.c3 Nf6 4.e5 Nd5 5.Bc4 e6 6.cxd4 d6 7.Nf3 Nc6 8.O-O

  17. Line 17 · 2% at top level

    2.d4 cxd4 3.c3 Qa5 4.Nf3

  18. Line 18 · 2% at top level

    2.d4 cxd4 3.c3 d3 4.Bxd3 Nc6 5.c4 Nf6 6.Nc3

  19. Line 19 · 2% at top level

    2.d4 cxd4 3.c3 d3 4.Bxd3 d6 5.Ne2

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

Nikolas Theodorou's main line against the Sicilian, move by move

The most common line at top level: 2.d4 cxd4 3.c3 Nf6 4.e5 Nd5 5.Bc4 e6 6.cxd4 d6 7.Nf3 Be7 8.O-O O-O 9.Qe2.

  1. 2.d4 Your move · Nikolas Theodorou's games Nikolas Theodorou played 2.d4 in 45 games, scoring 66%.
  2. 2…cxd4 Reply · Nikolas Theodorou's games A common reply here is 2…cxd4. At top level, this comes up about 93% of the time.
  3. 3.c3 Your move · Nikolas Theodorou's games Nikolas Theodorou played 3.c3 in 42 games, scoring 68%.
  4. 3…Nf6 Reply · Nikolas Theodorou's games A common reply here is 3…Nf6. At top level, this comes up about 31% of the time.
  5. 4.e5 Your move · Nikolas Theodorou's games Nikolas Theodorou played 4.e5 in 14 games, scoring 79%.
  6. 4…Nd5 Reply · Nikolas Theodorou's games A common reply here is 4…Nd5.
  7. 5.Bc4 Your move · Nikolas Theodorou's games Nikolas Theodorou played 5.Bc4 in 14 games, scoring 79%.
  8. 5…e6 Reply · Nikolas Theodorou's games A common reply here is 5…e6. At top level, this comes up about 16% of the time.
  9. 6.cxd4 Your move · Nikolas Theodorou's games Nikolas Theodorou played 6.cxd4 in 6 games, scoring 67%.
  10. 6…d6 Reply · Nikolas Theodorou's games A common reply here is 6…d6. At top level, this comes up about 10% of the time.
  11. 7.Nf3 Your move · Nikolas Theodorou's games Nikolas Theodorou played 7.Nf3 in 4 games, scoring 50%.
  12. 7…Be7 Reply · Nikolas Theodorou's games A common reply here is 7…Be7. At top level, this comes up about 8% of the time.
  13. 8.O-O Your move · Nikolas Theodorou's games Nikolas Theodorou played 8.O-O in 3 games, scoring 33%.
  14. 8…O-O Reply · Nikolas Theodorou's games A common reply here is 8…O-O.
  15. 9.Qe2 Your move · Nikolas Theodorou's games Nikolas Theodorou played 9.Qe2 in 2 games, scoring 50%.

Questions about this course

How does Nikolas Theodorou play against the Sicilian?
After 1.e4 c5, Nikolas Theodorou's most common line is 2.d4 cxd4 3.c3 Nf6 4.e5 Nd5 5.Bc4 e6 6.cxd4 d6 7.Nf3 Be7 8.O-O O-O 9.Qe2. At top level it comes up about 8% of the time.
Is this Nikolas Theodorou's course?
No. ChessDrills builds it automatically from Nikolas Theodorou's public Chess.com blitz games.
What is this Sicilian course based on?
109 of Nikolas Theodorou's Chess.com blitz games in the Sicilian Defense as White, against opponents with an average rating of 3,083. Nikolas Theodorou scored 56% in them.
How many lines does the course have?
19 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 Nikolas Theodorou?
GM Nikolas Theodorou was ranked number 38 on the Chess.com blitz leaderboard with a rating of 3,214 when this course was built.