Sicilian Defense: Dragon Variation (5… g6 6. Be3)
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 g6 6. Be3
The Sicilian Defense: Dragon Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO B72, reached after 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 g6 6. Be3. It is a line of the Sicilian Defense. Black is to move. 3 named lines continue from this position.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 4,859 times by this move order. White won 49%, 5% were drawn and Black won 46%. The most popular continuation is 6… Bg7 (92% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.43 (Stockfish, depth 52; best line 6… Nc6 7. f3 Bg7 8. Qd2 O-O 9. O-O-O)
- ECO
- B72
- Moves
- 11 plies
- FEN
rnbqkb1r/pp2pp1p/3p1np1/8/3NP3/2N1B3/PPP2PPP/R2QKB1R b KQkq - 1 6- PGN
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 g6 6. Be3
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 231 | |
| 1500-1999 | 1,947 | |
| 2000+ | 2,681 | |
| All | 4,859 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 6… Bg7 | 4,485 (92%) | |
| 6… Nc6 | 248 (5%) | |
| 6… a6 | 67 (1%) | |
| 6… Ng4 | 26 (1%) | |
| 6… Bd7 | 17 (0%) | |
| 6… Nbd7 | 5 (0%) | |
| 6… h5 | 3 (0%) | |
| 6… Qb6 | 2 (0%) |
Master games
1,558 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 42%, draw 16%, Black 42%). The strongest:
- Stockfish 202004181536 (3851) – Xiphos 0.6.1 (3717) 1-0 · 5th TCEC Cup 2020 · 2020-04-26
- GM Alireza Firouzja (2777) – GM Magnus Carlsen (2835) 1-0 · Bullet Chess Winners 2023 · 2023-07-19
- GM Samuel Sevian (2696) – GM Magnus Carlsen (2840) 1-0 · Titled Tue 19th May 2026 · 2026-05-19
- GM Magnus Carlsen (2847) – GM Gawain C B Maroroa Jones (2670) 1-0 · NIC Classic Prelim 2021 · 2021-04-25
- GM Frederik Svane (2671) – GM Hikaru Nakamura (2804) 0-1 · Titled Tue 6th May Early · 2025-05-06
Search all games of the Sicilian Defense: Dragon Variation and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- Tempstream (2758) – Drogono (2822) 0-1 · 2026-09-02 · 180 + 0s
- Tempstream (2722) – ReluctantCannibal (2803) 0-1 · 2026-09-01 · 180 + 0s
- oprahwindfury81 (2753) – uSeRnAmEnOtAvAiL (2764) 1-0 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Sicilian Defense: Dragon Variation (5. Nc3 g6) 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 g6
Continuations
- Sicilian Defense: Dragon Variation, Classical Variation (6… Bg7 7. Be2) B72 · 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 g6 6. Be3 Bg7 7. Be2
- Sicilian Defense: Dragon Variation, Yugoslav Attack, Early Deviations B75 · 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 g6 6. Be3 Bg7 7. f3
- Sicilian Defense: Dragon Variation, Yugoslav Attack, Hungarian Dragon B75 · 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 g6 6. Be3 Nc6 7. f3 h5
More Sicilian Defense lines (all)
- Sicilian Defense (1. e4 c5) B20
- Sicilian Defense: Amazon Attack B20
- Sicilian Defense: Big Clamp Formation B20
- Sicilian Defense: Bowdler Attack B20
- Sicilian Defense: Brick Variation B20
- Sicilian Defense: Czerniak Attack B20
- Sicilian Defense: Czerniak Attack, Queen Fianchetto Variation B20
- Sicilian Defense: Euwe Attack, Prins Gambit B20
- Sicilian Defense: Gloria Variation B20
- Sicilian Defense: Grob Variation B20
- Sicilian Defense: Keres Variation B20
- Sicilian Defense: King David's Opening B20
Opening names and moves from the Lichess openings dataset; statistics from the Lichess open database, 2026-09 (CC0), sample of 12.6 million games, bots excluded; evaluations from Lichess cloud analysis (all CC0). Master games from The Week in Chess #920–#1664 by Mark Crowther, used with permission.