Sicilian Defense: Accelerated Dragon, Exchange Variation
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Statistics from Lichess
1,561,166 games: White 44.6% / Draw 5.2% / Black 50.2%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 1,514,3571.5M | ||
| 37,43437K | ||
| 8,2408,240 | ||
| 992992 | ||
| 6161 | ||
| 2424 | ||
| 1616 | ||
| 88 |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 29, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.03 The position is about equal
Best play: 5... bxc6 6. Nc3 Bg7 7. Bc4 Qc7 8. O-O Nf6 9. Re1 d6 10. Bf4
Stockfish 19, depth 30, after the line's last move. Scores are in pawns, from White's side.
By rating
Rating changes little here: White scores 47% both under 1400 and at 2200 and up (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 263K | |
| 1400–1799 | 1M | |
| 1800–2199 | 862K | |
| 2200 and up | 85K | |
| Masters, over the board | 110 |
Master games
- Vovk, A. – Degraeve, J. M.
- Beliavsky, A. G. – Karlsson, L.
- Bakhtadze, G. – Popov, V.
- Dervishi, E. – Mikac, M.
- Nagy, E. – Dely, P.
Rated blitz, rapid and classical Lichess games by rating band, and over-the-board games of players rated 2200+ from the Lichess masters database, updated Sep 27, 2026
Overview
Sicilian Defense: Accelerated Dragon, Exchange Variation (ECO B34, Semi-Open Games) is a variation of the Sicilian Defense: Accelerated Dragon, reached after 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 g6 5. Nxc6 (5 moves).
In 1,561,166 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 44.6%, Black 50.2% and 5.2% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 5…bxc6, in 97% of those games.
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Popularity by year
The Sicilian Defense: Accelerated Dragon, Exchange Variation has gained ground since 2016: 0.062% of Lichess games in 2025, up from 0.047%.
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.047% | 16,926 |
| 2017 | 0.051% | 28,142 |
| 2018 | 0.055% | 43,452 |
| 2019 | 0.06% | 74,617 |
| 2020 | 0.062% | 180,790 |
| 2021 | 0.061% | 240,219 |
| 2022 | 0.058% | 218,694 |
| 2023 | 0.06% | 225,636 |
| 2024 | 0.061% | 219,616 |
| 2025 | 0.062% | 214,385 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.065% | 71,689 |
Share of rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500 (blitz, rapid and classical) that reach this position, by year; 2026: January to April. Which openings are rising and falling
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “Sicilian Defense: Accelerated Dragon, Exchange Variation (B34)”. Lichess data as of 29 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/sicilian-defense-accelerated-dragon-exchange-variation