B35

Sicilian Defense: Dragon Variation, Modern Bc4 Variation

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Statistics from Lichess

546,850 games: White 50.2% / Draw 4.8% / Black 45.0%

The moves played next. Pick one to see it on the board.
Next move	Games	White / Draw / BlackW / D / B
	230,775231K
	120,847121K
	65,83466K
	56,79457K
	22,20822K
	20,51921K
	5,8755,875
	5,4695,469

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

Engine evaluation

+0.30 White is slightly better

Best play: 8. f3 Qb6 9. Bb5 Qc7 10. Qd2 a6 11. Be2 b5 12. O-O-O Be6

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 51% under 1400, 46% at 2200 and up and 44% in master games (wins plus half the draws).

Players	Games	White / Draw / BlackW / D / B
Under 1400	20K
1400–1799	203K
1800–2199	348K
2200 and up	54K
Masters, over the board	570

Master games

Svidler, P. – Ivanchuk, V. ½–½, 2011
Grischuk, A. – Giri, A. ½–½, 2013
Giri, A. – Abasov, N. 0–1, 2023
Vachier Lagrave, M. – Savchenko, B. ½–½, 2010
Sasikiran, K. – Gelfand, B. 0–1, 2019

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, Modern Bc4 Variation (ECO B35, Semi-Open Games) is a variation of the Sicilian Defense: Accelerated Dragon, Modern Bc4 Variation, reached after 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 g6 5. Nc3 Bg7 6. Be3 Nf6 7. Bc4 d6 (7 moves).

In 546,850 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 50.2%, Black 45.0% and 4.8% were drawn. White's most played move here is 8. f3, in 42% of those games.

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Description

How to play against the Sicilian Defense: Dragon Variation, Modern Bc4 Variation

The most played answer, 8. f3, also scores best for White: 57.5%, with White winning 55.2% and Black 40.2% of 231K games. Of the main answers, 8. O-O scores lowest: 46.8%. Stockfish's first choice is also 8. f3.

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

The Sicilian Defense: Dragon Variation, Modern Bc4 Variation has lost ground since 2016: 0.018% of Lichess games in 2025, down from 0.022% (its peak: 0.028% in 2020).

0.022%0.018%0.028%

Numbers by year

Year	Share of games	Games
2016	0.022%	8,021
2017	0.025%	13,803
2018	0.028%	21,872
2019	0.028%	34,337
2020	0.028%	82,358
2021	0.024%	92,179
2022	0.02%	74,229
2023	0.018%	67,454
2024	0.018%	63,561
2025	0.018%	61,013
2026 (Jan–Apr)	0.018%	19,676

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: Dragon Variation, Modern Bc4 Variation (B35)”. Lichess data as of 1 Nov 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/sicilian-defense-dragon-variation-modern-bc4-variation