Caissa Codex
B79

Sicilian Defense: Dragon Variation, Yugoslav Attack 11…Rfc8 12. Bb3

Chess diagram: Sicilian Defense: Dragon Variation, Yugoslav Attack after 12. Bb3

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Statistics from Lichess

14,002 games: White 44.3% / Draw 5.8% / Black 49.9%

The moves played next. Pick one to see it on the board.
Next moveGamesWhite / Draw / BlackW / D / B
11,55712K
Sicilian Defense: Dragon Variation, Yugoslav Attack, Soltis Variation 1,8621,862
171171
121121
9898
8888
4949
1515

Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Nov 2, 2026

Engine evaluation

+0.89 White is better

Best play: 12... h5 13. Kb1 Ne5 14. Bg5 Rc5 15. Bxf6 Bxf6 16. Nd5 Qxd2 17. Nxf6+

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

Overview

Sicilian Defense: Dragon Variation, Yugoslav Attack (ECO B79, Semi-Open Games) is a variation of the Sicilian Defense: Dragon Variation, Yugoslav Attack, reached after 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 g6 6. Be3 Bg7 7. f3 O-O 8. Qd2 Nc6 9. Bc4 Bd7 10. h4 Qa5 11. O-O-O Rfc8 12. Bb3 (12 moves).

In 14,002 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 44.3%, Black 49.9% and 5.8% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 12…Ne5, in 83% of those games.

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How to answer 12. Bb3

The most played answer, 12…Ne5, also scores best for Black: 54.1%, with Black winning 51.3% and White 43.0% of 12K games. Of the main answers, 12…h5 scores lowest: 49.4%. Stockfish's first choice is 12…h5.

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

Other lines from the same position

Instead of 10. h4 Qa5 11. O-O-O Rfc8 12. Bb3, the position after Sicilian Defense: Dragon Variation, Yugoslav Attack also goes on to:

Transpositions

From here, a move transposes into another named line:

Cite this page

Caissa Codex. “Sicilian Defense: Dragon Variation, Yugoslav Attack (B79)”. Lichess data as of 2 Nov 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/sicilian-defense-dragon-variation-yugoslav-attack-5

https://chesscodex.org/openings/sicilian-defense-dragon-variation-yugoslav-attack-5