Sicilian Defense: Accelerated Dragon, Maróczy Bind 5…Bg7 6. Be3
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Statistics from Lichess
1,433,298 games: White 50.7% / Draw 7.1% / Black 42.2%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 910,040910K | ||
| 242,624243K | ||
| 92,01492K | ||
| 85,82886K | ||
| 28,45728K | ||
| 27,72628K | ||
| 15,35115K | ||
| 12,11312K |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 29, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.47 White is slightly better
Best play: 6... Qb6 7. Nb3 Qd8 8. Qd2 Nf6 9. Nc3 d6 10. Be2 O-O 11. O-O
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 52% under 1400, 53% at 2200 and up and 61% in master games (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 18K | |
| 1400–1799 | 257K | |
| 1800–2199 | 905K | |
| 2200 and up | 330K | |
| Masters, over the board | 6,863 |
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 B38, 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 6. Be3 (6 moves).
In 1,433,298 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 50.7%, Black 42.2% and 7.1% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 6…Nf6, in 63% of those games.
It continues into one named variation, Sicilian Defense: Accelerated Dragon, Maróczy Bind, Breyer Variation.
Written from the Lichess opening list and explorer. Know this line well? Write about it.
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How to answer 6. Be3
6…Qb6 scores best for Black: 48.5%, with Black winning 45.6% and White 48.5% of 92K games. The most played, 6…Nf6, scores 47.0% in 910K games, and 6…e6 scores lowest: 41.1%. Stockfish's first choice is also 6…Qb6.
Main answers: those played in at least 5% of these games. Score: Black'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 has gained ground since 2016: 0.055% of Lichess games in 2025, up from 0.046% (its peak: 0.068% in 2018).
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.046% | 16,260 |
| 2017 | 0.057% | 31,424 |
| 2018 | 0.068% | 53,771 |
| 2019 | 0.067% | 84,064 |
| 2020 | 0.067% | 196,936 |
| 2021 | 0.054% | 212,640 |
| 2022 | 0.051% | 190,579 |
| 2023 | 0.05% | 186,327 |
| 2024 | 0.052% | 184,758 |
| 2025 | 0.055% | 190,095 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.057% | 63,019 |
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 (1)
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “Sicilian Defense: Accelerated Dragon, Maróczy Bind (B38)”. Lichess data as of 29 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/sicilian-defense-accelerated-dragon-maroczy-bind-3