Sicilian Defense: Dragon Variation, Yugoslav Attack, Old Line
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Statistics from Lichess
243,341 games: White 46.4% / Draw 5.1% / Black 48.5%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 218,027218K | ||
| 8,4928,492 | ||
| 4,4584,458 | ||
| 4,2794,279 | ||
| 3,6343,634 | ||
| 1,8761,876 | ||
| 1,1961,196 | ||
| 332332 |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 23, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.53 White is slightly better
Best play: 11. Nxc6 Bxc6 12. Bb3 a5 13. a4 Qe8 14. Qe2 Nd7 15. h4 Nc5
Stockfish 19, depth 30, after the line's last move. Scores are in pawns, from White's side.
By rating
Rating changes little here: Black scores 50% under 1400, 52% at 2200 and up and 41% in master games (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 3,021 | |
| 1400–1799 | 26K | |
| 1800–2199 | 155K | |
| 2200 and up | 68K | |
| Masters, over the board | 1,869 |
Master games
- Ivanchuk, V. – Carlsen, M.
- Topalov, V. – Carlsen, M.
- Leko, P. – Carlsen, M.
- Jakovenko, D. – Radjabov, T.
- Polgar, J. – 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, Old Line (ECO B78, 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. O-O-O Rc8 (10 moves).
In 243,341 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 46.4%, Black 48.5% and 5.1% were drawn. White's most played move here is 11. Bb3, in 90% of those games.
It continues into one named variation, Sicilian Defense: Dragon Variation, Yugoslav Attack, Topalov Variation.
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Popularity by year
The Sicilian Defense: Dragon Variation, Yugoslav Attack, Old Line has lost ground since 2016: 0.0066% of Lichess games in 2025, down from 0.011% (its peak: 0.014% in 2020).
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.011% | 4,097 |
| 2017 | 0.013% | 7,251 |
| 2018 | 0.014% | 11,038 |
| 2019 | 0.012% | 15,296 |
| 2020 | 0.014% | 42,366 |
| 2021 | 0.011% | 42,917 |
| 2022 | 0.0088% | 32,879 |
| 2023 | 0.0076% | 28,641 |
| 2024 | 0.0072% | 25,723 |
| 2025 | 0.0066% | 22,927 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.0063% | 6,920 |
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 (1)
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “Sicilian Defense: Dragon Variation, Yugoslav Attack, Old Line (B78)”. Lichess data as of 23 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/sicilian-defense-dragon-variation-yugoslav-attack-old-line