445K games from Lichess · Updated January 2026
At all ratings, the Sicilian Defense: Lasker-Pelikan Variation has a 52.1% expected score for White (we're 90% confident it's between 52.0% and 52.3%), based on 445K Lichess games.
Stable across ratings (~48%)
Best in Blitz (50%), worst in UltraBullet (40%)
Click any cell to filter. Green = above 50%, Red = below 50%.
| Rating | UB | Bulle | Blitz | Rapid | Class |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0-999 | — | — | |||
| 1000-1199 | |||||
| 1200-1399 | |||||
| 1400-1599 | |||||
| 1600-1799 | |||||
| 1800-1999 | |||||
| 2000-2199 | |||||
| 2200-2499 | |||||
| 2500+ |
Expected score matrix by rating bracket and time control
The Sicilian Defense: Lasker-Pelikan Variation has a 49.5% (90% CI: 49.4%-49.7%) win rate for white, based on 445K rated games from Lichess.
The Sicilian Defense: Lasker-Pelikan Variation performs best at 1200-1399 Elo with a 52.6% win rate for white (6.6K games). Win rate tends to decline at higher ratings as opponents know the theory better.
Blitz (49.6%) outperforms Classical (47.2%) by 2.4%. Choose your time control wisely.
The Sicilian Defense: Lasker-Pelikan Variation has a sharpness score of 94.8 (decisive), meaning 94.8% of games end decisively. Average game length is 35 moves.
At 0-999 Elo, the Sicilian Defense: Lasker-Pelikan Variation has a 47.7% (90% CI: 44.0%-51.4%) win rate for white, based on 488 Lichess games. Average game length is 23 moves with a 2.1% draw rate.
At 1000-1199 Elo, the Sicilian Defense: Lasker-Pelikan Variation has a 52.1% (90% CI: 50.2%-54.1%) win rate for white, based on 1.7K Lichess games. Average game length is 26 moves with a 1.5% draw rate.
At 1200-1399 Elo, the Sicilian Defense: Lasker-Pelikan Variation has a 52.6% (90% CI: 51.6%-53.7%) win rate for white, based on 6.6K Lichess games. Average game length is 27 moves with a 2.1% draw rate.
At 1400-1599 Elo, the Sicilian Defense: Lasker-Pelikan Variation has a 52.1% (90% CI: 51.6%-52.7%) win rate for white, based on 21K Lichess games. Average game length is 29 moves with a 2.7% draw rate.
At 1600-1799 Elo, the Sicilian Defense: Lasker-Pelikan Variation has a 50.0% (90% CI: 49.6%-50.3%) win rate for white, based on 56K Lichess games. Average game length is 31 moves with a 3.5% draw rate.
At 1800-1999 Elo, the Sicilian Defense: Lasker-Pelikan Variation has a 48.9% (90% CI: 48.7%-49.2%) win rate for white, based on 114K Lichess games. Average game length is 33 moves with a 4.2% draw rate.
At 2000-2199 Elo, the Sicilian Defense: Lasker-Pelikan Variation has a 49.3% (90% CI: 49.1%-49.5%) win rate for white, based on 127K Lichess games. Average game length is 35 moves with a 4.8% draw rate.
At 2200-2499 Elo, the Sicilian Defense: Lasker-Pelikan Variation has a 50.2% (90% CI: 49.9%-50.4%) win rate for white, based on 96K Lichess games. Average game length is 38 moves with a 5.6% draw rate.
At 2500+ Elo, the Sicilian Defense: Lasker-Pelikan Variation has a 46.5% (90% CI: 46.0%-47.1%) win rate for white, based on 21K Lichess games. Average game length is 45 moves with a 19.5% draw rate.
In Bullet games, the Sicilian Defense: Lasker-Pelikan Variation has a 49.5% (90% CI: 49.2%-49.7%) win rate for white (134K Lichess games). Draw rate is 4.2%.
In Blitz games, the Sicilian Defense: Lasker-Pelikan Variation has a 49.6% (90% CI: 49.5%-49.8%) win rate for white (260K Lichess games). Draw rate is 5.3%.
In Rapid games, the Sicilian Defense: Lasker-Pelikan Variation has a 49.4% (90% CI: 49.0%-49.8%) win rate for white (48K Lichess games). Draw rate is 6.7%.
In Classical games, the Sicilian Defense: Lasker-Pelikan Variation has a 47.2% (90% CI: 45.5%-48.8%) win rate for white (2.6K Lichess games). Draw rate is 10.0%.
The Sicilian Defense: Lasker-Pelikan Variation is statistically favors white with a 49.5% (90% CI: 49.4%-49.7%) win rate across all ratings. It performs best at 1200-1399 Elo. Your results depend on your rating, time control, and how well you know the typical plans.