Caissa Codex
B79

Sicilian Defense: Dragon Variation, Yugoslav Attack, Soltis Variation

Chess diagram: Sicilian Defense: Dragon Variation, Yugoslav Attack, Soltis Variation after 12…h5

Type a move and press Enter: e4, Nf3, O-O, or from and to squares like g1f3 (e7e8q to promote). The board is also played with the mouse.

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Statistics from Lichess

3,270 games: White 48.0% / Draw 6.1% / Black 45.8%

The moves played next. Pick one to see it on the board.
Next moveGamesWhite / Draw / BlackW / D / B
1,7021,702
781781
157157
157157
142142
107107
8080
6868

Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 23, 2026

Engine evaluation

+0.94 White is better

Best play: 13. Kb1 Ne5 14. Bg5 Rc5 15. Bxf6 Bxf6 16. Nd5 Qxd2 17. Nxf6+ exf6

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, Soltis Variation (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. O-O-O Qa5 11. h4 Rfc8 12. Bb3 h5 (12 moves).

In 3,270 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 48.0%, Black 45.8% and 6.1% were drawn. White's most played move here is 13. Kb1, in 52% of those games.

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How to play against the Sicilian Defense: Dragon Variation, Yugoslav Attack, Soltis Variation

The most played answer, 13. Kb1, also scores best for White: 54.8%, with White winning 51.2% and Black 41.7% of 1,702 games. Of the main answers, 13. g4 scores lowest: 49.9%. Stockfish's first choice is also 13. Kb1.

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

Other lines from the same position

Instead of 10…Qa5 11. h4 Rfc8 12. Bb3 h5, the position after Sicilian Defense: Dragon Variation, Yugoslav Attack also goes on to:

Transpositions

This position is also reached from these lines, by another move order:

Cite this page

Caissa Codex. “Sicilian Defense: Dragon Variation, Yugoslav Attack, Soltis Variation (B79)”. Lichess data as of 23 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/sicilian-defense-dragon-variation-yugoslav-attack-soltis-variation

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