Sicilian Defense: Dragon Variation, Classical Variation, Grigoriev Variation
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 d6 6. Be2 g6 7. Be3 Bg7 8. Qd2 O-O 9. O-O-O
The Sicilian Defense: Dragon Variation, Classical Variation, Grigoriev Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO B72, reached after 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 d6 6. Be2 g6 7. Be3 Bg7 8. Qd2 O-O 9. O-O-O. 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 13 times by this move order. White won 69%, 16% were drawn and Black won 15%. The most popular continuation is 9… Bd7 (23% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.10 (Stockfish, depth 34; best line 9… d5 10. Bf3 dxe4 11. Nxc6 Qc7 12. Nxe7+)
- ECO
- B72
- Moves
- 17 plies
- FEN
r1bq1rk1/pp2ppbp/2np1np1/8/3NP3/2N1B3/PPPQBPPP/2KR3R b - - 5 9- PGN
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 d6 6. Be2 g6 7. Be3 Bg7 8. Qd2 O-O 9. O-O-O
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 1500-1999 | 3 | |
| 2000+ | 10 | |
| All | 13 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 9… Bd7 | 3 (23%) | |
| 9… a6 | 2 (15%) | |
| 9… Re8 | 2 (15%) | |
| 9… e5 | 1 (8%) | |
| 9… Nxd4 | 1 (8%) | |
| 9… Qa5 | 1 (8%) | |
| 9… Be6 | 1 (8%) | |
| 9… Ng4 | 1 (8%) |
Master games
15 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 40%, draw 7%, Black 53%). The strongest:
- GM Kateryna Lagno (2505) – GM Alexandra Kosteniuk (2473) 1-0 · WSCC 2025 · 2025-08-13
- IM Lukasz Licznerski (2430) – IM Piotr Brodowski (2474) 1-0 · ch-POL Rapid 2024 · 2024-10-05
- GM Daniil Lintchevski (2526) – Grigory Palchun (2263) 1-0 · St Petersburg Rapid Cup 2013 · 2013-09-28
- Milan Zajic (2151) – GM Petar Drenchev (2506) 0-1 · 5th Int ch-Central Serbia 2012 · 2012-07-09
- CM John Veny Akkarakaran (2112) – GM Mikhail Golubev (2461) 0-1 · Titled Tue 24th Oct Early · 2023-10-24
Highest-rated Lichess games
- AB_Riau (2326) – blitz273 (2352) 1-0 · 2026-09-07 · 180 + 0s
- Samy1975 (2385) – DBonhoeffer (2280) 1-0 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 2s
- CM lisyender (2361) – Oldman57 (2260) 1-0 · 2026-09-01 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Sicilian Defense: Dragon Variation, Classical Variation, Amsterdam Variation 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 d6 6. Be2 g6 7. Be3 Bg7 8. Qd2
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.