B36

Sicilian Defense: Accelerated Dragon, Maróczy Bind, Gurgenidze Variation

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Statistics from Lichess

109,494 games: White 44.2% / Draw 9.5% / Black 46.3%

The moves played next. Pick one to see it on the board.
Next move	Games	White / Draw / BlackW / D / B
	39,59340K
	28,71429K
	17,85118K
	10,40310K
	3,0643,064
	1,5301,530
	1,2871,287
	1,2791,279

Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Nov 1, 2026

Engine evaluation

+0.51 White is slightly better

Best play: 8. Be2 Bg7 9. O-O O-O 10. Qd3 a5 11. Be3 a4 12. Bd4 Bd7

Stockfish 19, depth 30, after the line's last move. Scores are in pawns, from White's side.

Overview

Sicilian Defense: Accelerated Dragon, Maróczy Bind, Gurgenidze Variation (ECO B36, 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 Nf6 6. Nc3 Nxd4 7. Qxd4 d6 (7 moves).

In 109,494 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 44.2%, Black 46.3% and 9.5% were drawn. White's most played move here is 8. Be2, in 36% of those games.

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Description

How to play against the Sicilian Defense: Accelerated Dragon, Maróczy Bind, Gurgenidze Variation

8. f3 scores best for White: 49.9%, with White winning 44.7% and Black 45.0% of 10K games. The most played, 8. Be2, scores 49.5% in 40K games, and 8. Bg5 scores lowest: 48.9%. Stockfish's first choice is 8. Be2.

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

Cite this page

Caissa Codex. “Sicilian Defense: Accelerated Dragon, Maróczy Bind, Gurgenidze Variation (B36)”. Lichess data as of 1 Nov 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/sicilian-defense-accelerated-dragon-maroczy-bind-gurgenidze-variation