B77

Sicilian Defense: Dragon Variation, Yugoslav Attack, Main Line 9…Bd7 10. Bb3

Chess diagram: Sicilian Defense: Dragon Variation, Yugoslav Attack, Main Line after 10. Bb3

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Statistics from Lichess

263,442 games: White 49.5% / Draw 5.7% / Black 44.8%

The moves played next. Pick one to see it on the board.
Next move	Games	White / Draw / BlackW / D / B
	123,249123K
	31,27831K
	30,49330K
	18,53519K
	16,09516K
	11,85812K
	10,30010K
	7,9767,976

Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 25, 2026

Engine evaluation

+0.16 The position is about equal

Best play: 10... Nxd4 11. Bxd4 b5 12. a4 bxa4 13. Bxa4 a5 14. O-O e6 15. Rfd1

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

By rating

Players	Games	White / Draw / BlackW / D / B
Under 1400	682
1400–1799	15K
1800–2199	151K
2200 and up	99K
Masters, over the board	2,106

Master games

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 Bd7 10. Bb3 (10 moves).

In 263,442 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 49.5%, Black 44.8% and 5.7% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 10…Rc8, in 47% of those games.

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Description

How to answer 10. Bb3

10…Ne5 scores best for Black: 52.2%, with Black winning 49.3% and White 45.0% of 16K games. The most played, 10…Rc8, scores 48.0% in 123K games, and 10…a6 scores lowest: 38.6%. Stockfish's first choice is 10…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

This line has lost ground since 2016: 0.0082% of Lichess games in 2025, down from 0.011% (its peak: 0.015% in 2020).

0.011%0.0082%0.015%

Numbers by year

Year	Share of games	Games
2016	0.011%	3,970
2017	0.012%	6,781
2018	0.014%	11,077
2019	0.012%	15,412
2020	0.015%	44,741
2021	0.011%	43,348
2022	0.0093%	34,988
2023	0.0085%	32,055
2024	0.0086%	30,677
2025	0.0082%	28,361
2026 (Jan–Apr)	0.0078%	8,590

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, Yugoslav Attack, Main Line (B77)”. Lichess data as of 25 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/sicilian-defense-dragon-variation-yugoslav-attack-main-line-2