Sicilian Defence however, it can be dangerous for Black if he is unprepared, as there are many pitfalls for the unwary. Other reasonable moves include: The "Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings" classifies the Sicilian Defence under the codes B20 through B99, giving it more codes than any other opening. In general these guidelines apply: Sicilian Defence The Sicilian Defence is a chess opening that begins with the following moves: The Sicilian is the most popular and best-scoring response to White's first move 1.e4. 1.d4 is a statistically more successful opening for White due to the high success rate of the Sicilian defence against
Ruy Lopez Morphy, and it is named for him. Steinitz did not approve of the move; in 1889, he wrote, "on principle this ought to be disadvantageous as it drives the bishop where it wants to go". Steinitz's opinion did not prevail, however; today, 3...a6 is played in over 65 percent of all games beginning with the Ruy Lopez. After 3...a6, the most commonly played line is the Closed Defence, which goes 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 Be7, discussed in the two following sections. Alternatives to the Closed Defence described in this section are: In the Exchange Variation, 4.Bxc6, ("ECO" C68–C69) White damages Black's