Sicilian Defense: Dragon Variation, Classical Variation, Battery Variation
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 g6 6. Be2 Bg7 7. O-O O-O 8. Be3 Nc6 9. Qd2
The Sicilian Defense: Dragon Variation, Classical Variation, Battery Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO B73, reached after 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 g6 6. Be2 Bg7 7. O-O O-O 8. Be3 Nc6 9. Qd2. It is a line of the Sicilian Defense. Black is to move.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 27 times by this move order. White won 52%, 15% were drawn and Black won 33%. The most popular continuation is 9… Bd7 (33% of games).
Engine evaluation: 0.00 (Stockfish, depth 53; best line 9… d5 10. exd5 Nxd5 11. Nxc6 bxc6 12. Rfd1)
- ECO
- B73
- Moves
- 17 plies
- FEN
r1bq1rk1/pp2ppbp/2np1np1/8/3NP3/2N1B3/PPPQBPPP/R4RK1 b - - 7 9- PGN
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 g6 6. Be2 Bg7 7. O-O O-O 8. Be3 Nc6 9. Qd2
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 1 | |
| 1500-1999 | 10 | |
| 2000+ | 16 | |
| All | 27 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 9… Bd7 | 9 (33%) | |
| 9… Ng4 | 5 (19%) | |
| 9… Nxd4 | 3 (11%) | |
| 9… a6 | 3 (11%) | |
| 9… d5 | 3 (11%) | |
| 9… Re8 | 2 (7%) | |
| 9… e5 | 1 (4%) | |
| 9… Be6 | 1 (4%) |
Master games
96 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 50%, draw 21%, Black 29%). The strongest:
- GM Vladimir Kramnik (2753) – GM Erigaisi Arjun (2701) 1-0 · Satty Zhuldyz Blitz 2023 · 2023-04-25
- GM Yi Wei (2752) – GM Alexander Grischuk (2628) 1/2-1/2 · Esports World Cup LCQ 5-8 KO · 2026-08-06
- GM Manuel Petrosyan (2619) – GM Rauf Mamedov (2651) 0-1 · World Blitz 2023 · 2023-12-30
- GM Alexandre Danin (2575) – GM Gawain C B Maroroa Jones (2643) 1/2-1/2 · 9th Wunsiedel Open 2015 · 2015-05-17
- GM Vlastimil Jansa (2446) – GM David Navara (2732) 0-1 · ch-CZE 2017 · 2017-04-30
Highest-rated Lichess games
- Beutlin1 (2356) – Tulinius (2409) 1/2-1/2 · 2026-09-04 · 300 + 0s
- Kuprinvladimir (2353) – LoiuseMichel (2385) 1/2-1/2 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 2s
- Ngandung (2314) – Tilichkin (2412) 0-1 · 2026-09-05 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Sicilian Defense: Dragon Variation, Classical Variation (5… g6 6. Be2) 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 g6 6. Be2
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.