Sicilian Defense: Accelerated Dragon, Maróczy Bind 5. c4 Bg7
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Statistics from Lichess
1,527,279 games: White 50.2% / Draw 6.9% / Black 42.8%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| B38 | 1,315,1481.3M | |
| 84,73685K | ||
| 82,04282K | ||
| 17,68818K | ||
| 16,82717K | ||
| 6,6006,600 | ||
| 2,7342,734 | ||
| 689689 |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 29, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.52 White is slightly better
Best play: 6. Be3 Qb6 7. Nb3 Qd8 8. Qd2 d6 9. Nc3 Nf6 10. Be2 Ng4
Stockfish 19, depth 30, after the line's last move. Scores are in pawns, from White's side.
By rating
The stronger the players, the worse this line does for Black: Black scores 53% under 1400, 47% at 2200 and up and 39% in master games (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 33K | |
| 1400–1799 | 301K | |
| 1800–2199 | 952K | |
| 2200 and up | 353K | |
| Masters, over the board | 7,341 |
Master games
- Erigaisi, A. – Carlsen, M.
- Carlsen, M. – Nakamura, H.
- Caruana, F. – Nakamura, H.
- Firouzja, A. – Carlsen, M.
- Gukesh, D. – Nakamura, H.
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, Maróczy Bind (ECO B37, Semi-Open Games) is a variation of the Sicilian Defense: Accelerated Dragon, Maróczy Bind, reached after 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 g6 5. c4 Bg7 (5 moves).
In 1,527,279 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 50.2%, Black 42.8% and 6.9% were drawn. White's most played move here is 6. Be3, in 86% of those games.
It branches into 2 named variations; the most played is Sicilian Defense: Accelerated Dragon, Simagin Variation. In all, 3 named lines continue from it.
Written from the Lichess opening list and explorer. Know this line well? Write about it.
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How to answer 5…Bg7
6. Nc2 scores best for White: 55.7%, with White winning 52.9% and Black 41.5% of 82K games. The most played, 6. Be3, scores 54.4% in 1.3M games, and 6. Nxc6 scores lowest: 47.0%. Stockfish's first choice is 6. Be3.
Main answers: those played in at least 5% of these games. Score: White's wins plus half the draws, in rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500. How to play against other popular openings
Popularity by year
This line peaked in 2018 at 0.074% of Lichess games and has slipped since: 0.058% in 2025.
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.051% | 18,211 |
| 2017 | 0.062% | 34,314 |
| 2018 | 0.074% | 58,034 |
| 2019 | 0.073% | 91,179 |
| 2020 | 0.072% | 209,540 |
| 2021 | 0.058% | 226,932 |
| 2022 | 0.054% | 202,796 |
| 2023 | 0.053% | 198,109 |
| 2024 | 0.055% | 196,604 |
| 2025 | 0.058% | 200,294 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.06% | 66,196 |
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
Variations (2)
All 3 named lines that continue from here
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “Sicilian Defense: Accelerated Dragon, Maróczy Bind (B37)”. Lichess data as of 29 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/sicilian-defense-accelerated-dragon-maroczy-bind-2