Sicilian Defense: Dragon Variation, Yugoslav Attack, Old Line
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 g6 6. Be3 Bg7 7. f3 O-O 8. Qd2 Nc6 9. Bc4 Bd7 10. O-O-O Rc8
The Sicilian Defense: Dragon Variation, Yugoslav Attack, Old Line is a chess opening classified as ECO B78, reached after 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 g6 6. Be3 Bg7 7. f3 O-O 8. Qd2 Nc6 9. Bc4 Bd7 10. O-O-O Rc8. It is a line of the Sicilian Defense. White is to move. 1 named line continues from this position.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 119 times by this move order. White won 55%, 6% were drawn and Black won 39%. The most popular continuation is 11. Bb3 (95% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.42 (Stockfish, depth 48; best line 11. Bb3 Nxd4 12. Bxd4 b5 13. Nd5 Nxd5)
- ECO
- B78
- Moves
- 20 plies
- FEN
2rq1rk1/pp1bppbp/2np1np1/8/2BNP3/2N1BP2/PPPQ2PP/2KR3R w - - 7 11- PGN
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 g6 6. Be3 Bg7 7. f3 O-O 8. Qd2 Nc6 9. Bc4 Bd7 10. O-O-O Rc8
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 15 | |
| 1500-1999 | 32 | |
| 2000+ | 72 | |
| All | 119 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 11. Bb3 | 113 (95%) | |
| 11. Kb1 | 3 (3%) | |
| 11. Be2 | 2 (2%) | |
| 11. h4 | 1 (1%) |
Master games
410 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 56%, draw 17%, Black 27%). The strongest:
- LCZero 0.30-dag-9a9c42d_784968 (3599) – Stockfish dev16_20221027 (3625) 1/2-1/2 · TCEC 23 Superfinal 2022 · 2022-11-07
- Stockfish dev16_20221027 (3625) – LCZero 0.30-dag-9a9c42d_784968 (3599) 1/2-1/2 · TCEC 23 Superfinal 2022 · 2022-11-07
- Stockfish 20210113 (3601) – LCZero 0.27.0d-Tilps-dje-magic_JH.94-100 (3586) 1/2-1/2 · TCEC 20 Superfinal 2020 · 2021-01-31
- LCZero 0.27.0d-Tilps-dje-magic_JH.94-100 (3586) – Stockfish 20210113 (3601) 1/2-1/2 · TCEC 20 Superfinal 2020 · 2021-01-31
- Ethereal 14.24 (3535) – KomodoDragon 3.2 (3587) 1/2-1/2 · TCEC 25 Premier 2023 · 2023-09-06
Highest-rated Lichess games
- CM Mysterious-Master (2571) – FM FlySooHigh (2606) 1-0 · 2026-09-03 · 180 + 0s
- Sawa-169 (2505) – FM TheMadSponge (2515) 0-1 · 2026-09-06 · 180 + 2s
- blagig (2437) – Vodoley24 (2536) 0-1 · 2026-09-06 · 180 + 2s
Comes from
Sicilian Defense: Dragon Variation, Yugoslav Attack (9… Bd7 10. O-O-O) 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 g6 6. Be3 Bg7 7. f3 O-O 8. Qd2 Nc6 9. Bc4 Bd7 10. O-O-O
Continuations
- Sicilian Defense: Dragon Variation, Yugoslav Attack, Topalov Variation B78 · 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 g6 6. Be3 Bg7 7. f3 O-O 8. Qd2 Nc6 9. Bc4 Bd7 10. O-O-O Rc8 11. Bb3 Nxd4 12. Bxd4
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.