Sicilian Defense: Dragon Variation, Levenfish Variation
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 g6 6. f4
The Sicilian Defense: Dragon Variation, Levenfish Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO B71, reached after 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 g6 6. f4. It is a line of the Sicilian Defense. Black is to move. 1 named line continues from this position.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 423 times by this move order. White won 55%, 5% were drawn and Black won 40%. The most popular continuation is 6… Bg7 (55% of games).
Engine evaluation: 0.00 (Stockfish, depth 46; best line 6… Nc6 7. Be2 Bg7 8. Be3 O-O 9. O-O)
- ECO
- B71
- Moves
- 11 plies
- FEN
rnbqkb1r/pp2pp1p/3p1np1/8/3NPP2/2N5/PPP3PP/R1BQKB1R b KQkq - 0 6- PGN
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 g6 6. f4
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 23 | |
| 1500-1999 | 153 | |
| 2000+ | 247 | |
| All | 423 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 6… Bg7 | 234 (55%) | |
| 6… Nc6 | 144 (34%) | |
| 6… Nbd7 Dragon Variation, Levenfish Variation, Main Line | 16 (4%) | |
| 6… a6 | 10 (2%) | |
| 6… e5 | 7 (2%) | |
| 6… Bg4 | 5 (1%) | |
| 6… Nfd7 | 3 (1%) | |
| 6… Qb6 | 2 (0%) |
Master games
547 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 52%, draw 12%, Black 36%). The strongest:
- IM Alexandr Triapishko (2510) – GM Gawain C B Maroroa Jones (2677) 1/2-1/2 · Titled Arena May 8th 2021 · 2021-05-08
- GM Kirill Shevchenko (2605) – GM Erigaisi Arjun (2567) 0-1 · chess.com Junior Speed · 2021-07-04
- GM Jonny Hector (2530) – GM Nils Grandelius (2570) 1/2-1/2 · ch-SWE 2012 · 2012-07-08
- GM Narayanan S L (2622) – GM Annaberdiev, M. (2449) 1-0 · Titled Tue 11th Mar Late · 2025-03-11
- GM Sarunas Sulskis (2519) – GM Bernal Gonzalez Acosta (2481) 1/2-1/2 · 42nd Olympiad 2016 · 2016-09-06
Highest-rated Lichess games
- joobree (2616) – IM SpeedMonkey (2666) 1/2-1/2 · 2026-09-07 · 180 + 0s
- joobree (2543) – Catapulted_Cow (2639) 1-0 · 2026-09-03 · 180 + 0s
- Dark-Knightz (2547) – Vodoley24 (2512) 1-0 · 2026-09-05 · 180 + 2s
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, Levenfish Variation, Main Line B71 · 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 g6 6. f4 Nbd7
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.