Sicilian Defense: Dragon Variation, Classical Variation 7…Nc6 8. Be3
Play any move on the board to explore from there, or step through the line with ‹ › and the arrow keys.
Statistics from Lichess
250,509 games: White 47.5% / Draw 6.2% / Black 46.3%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 214,391214K | ||
| 14,08514K | ||
| 8,4268,426 | ||
| 5,0885,088 | ||
| 2,1542,154 | ||
| 1,0541,054 | ||
| 1,0391,039 | ||
| 976976 |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 29, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.18 The position is about equal
Best play: 8... O-O 9. Re1 Bd7 10. a4 a6 11. Qd2 Nxd4 12. Bxd4 Qa5 13. Red1
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 51% under 1400, 50% at 2200 and up and 43% in master games (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 4,802 | |
| 1400–1799 | 72K | |
| 1800–2199 | 168K | |
| 2200 and up | 28K | |
| Masters, over the board | 743 |
Master games
- Kamsky, G. – Carlsen, M.
- Kamsky, G. – Radjabov, T.
- Timofeev, A. – Wang, H.
- Navara, D. – Ivanchuk, V.
- Gukesh, D. – Henriquez Villagra, C.
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: Dragon Variation, Classical Variation (ECO B73, Semi-Open Games) is a variation of the Sicilian Defense: Dragon Variation, Classical Variation, reached after 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 g6 6. Be2 Bg7 7. O-O Nc6 8. Be3 (8 moves).
In 250,509 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 47.5%, Black 46.3% and 6.2% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 8…O-O, in 86% of those games.
Written from the Lichess opening list and explorer. Know this line well? Write about it.
Write a description or report a mistake
How to answer 8. Be3
The most played answer, 8…O-O, also scores best for Black: 49.7%, with Black winning 46.5% and White 47.1% of 214K games. Of the main answers, 8…Bd7 scores lowest: 49.6%. Stockfish's first choice is also 8…O-O.
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 lost ground since 2016: 0.0082% of Lichess games in 2025, down from 0.011% (its peak: 0.014% in 2018).
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.011% | 4,102 |
| 2017 | 0.013% | 7,146 |
| 2018 | 0.014% | 10,761 |
| 2019 | 0.013% | 16,321 |
| 2020 | 0.012% | 35,787 |
| 2021 | 0.01% | 40,083 |
| 2022 | 0.0088% | 32,988 |
| 2023 | 0.0083% | 31,053 |
| 2024 | 0.0083% | 29,848 |
| 2025 | 0.0082% | 28,611 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.0085% | 9,348 |
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
Transpositions
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “Sicilian Defense: Dragon Variation, Classical Variation (B73)”. Lichess data as of 29 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/sicilian-defense-dragon-variation-classical-variation-5