Sicilian Defense: Dragon Variation, Yugoslav Attack, Main Line
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Statistics from Lichess
970,424 games: White 50.6% / Draw 5.2% / Black 44.2%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Sicilian Defense: Dragon Variation, Yugoslav Attack | 559,097559K | |
| 118,420118K | ||
| 87,99588K | ||
| 63,03463K | ||
| 33,22533K | ||
| Sicilian Defense: Dragon Variation, Yugoslav Attack, Sosonko Variation | 32,04632K | |
| 16,59217K | ||
| 13,41313K |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Nov 1, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.49 White is slightly better
Best play: 9... Nxd4 10. Bxd4 Be6 11. Bxe6 fxe6 12. O-O-O Qa5 13. Rhe1 Nd7 14. Bxg7
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 White: White scores 57% under 1400, 50% at 2200 and up and 59% in master games (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 8,652 | |
| 1400–1799 | 144K | |
| 1800–2199 | 613K | |
| 2200 and up | 245K | |
| Masters, over the board | 5,973 |
Master games
- Karjakin, S. – Carlsen, M.
- Anand, V. – Carlsen, M.
- Anand, V. – Carlsen, M.
- Anand, V. – Carlsen, M.
- Anand, V. – Carlsen, M.
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, Yugoslav Attack, Main Line (ECO B77, 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 (9 moves).
In 970,424 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 50.6%, Black 44.2% and 5.2% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 9…Bd7, in 58% of those games.
It branches into 2 named variations; the most played are Sicilian Defense: Dragon Variation, Yugoslav Attack and Sicilian Defense: Dragon Variation, Yugoslav Attack, Byrne Variation. In all, 9 named lines continue from it.
Written from the Lichess opening list and explorer. Know this line well? Write about it.
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How to play against the Sicilian Defense: Dragon Variation, Yugoslav Attack, Main Line
The most played answer, 9…Bd7 (Sicilian Defense: Dragon Variation, Yugoslav Attack), also scores best for Black: 50.7%, with Black winning 48.1% and White 46.6% of 559K games. Of the main answers, 9…a6 scores lowest: 37.3%. Stockfish's first choice is 9…Nxd4.
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
The Sicilian Defense: Dragon Variation, Yugoslav Attack, Main Line has lost ground since 2016: 0.029% of Lichess games in 2025, down from 0.045% (its peak: 0.056% in 2018).
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.045% | 15,940 |
| 2017 | 0.051% | 28,253 |
| 2018 | 0.056% | 44,110 |
| 2019 | 0.048% | 60,348 |
| 2020 | 0.053% | 156,438 |
| 2021 | 0.041% | 160,125 |
| 2022 | 0.035% | 130,066 |
| 2023 | 0.032% | 118,561 |
| 2024 | 0.031% | 111,249 |
| 2025 | 0.029% | 100,151 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.028% | 30,978 |
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 (2)
Transpositions
All 9 named lines that continue from here
- B77 Sicilian Defense: Dragon Variation, Yugoslav Attack 9 moves
- B77 Sicilian Defense: Dragon Variation, Yugoslav Attack, Byrne Variation 9 moves
- B78 Yugoslav Attack 10 moves
- B79 Yugoslav Attack 12 moves
- B77 Main Line 10 moves
- B78 Chinese Dragon 10 moves
- B78 Old Line 10 moves
- B79 Soltis Variation 12 moves
- B78 Sicilian Defense: Dragon Variation, Yugoslav Attack, Topalov Variation 12 moves
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “Sicilian Defense: Dragon Variation, Yugoslav Attack, Main Line (B77)”. Lichess data as of 1 Nov 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/sicilian-defense-dragon-variation-yugoslav-attack-main-line