Caissa Codex
B77

Sicilian Defense: Dragon Variation, Yugoslav Attack, Sosonko Variation

Chess diagram: Sicilian Defense: Dragon Variation, Yugoslav Attack, Sosonko Variation after 9…Nd7

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.

Play any move on the board to explore from there, or step through the line with ‹ › and the arrow keys.

Statistics from Lichess

32,628 games: White 46.5% / Draw 4.9% / Black 48.6%

The moves played next. Pick one to see it on the board.
Next moveGamesWhite / Draw / BlackW / D / B
19,54220K
4,7064,706
3,1043,104
2,6412,641
861861
503503
366366
204204

Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 30, 2026

Engine evaluation

+1.18 White is better

Best play: 10. h4 h5 11. O-O-O Qa5 12. Kb1 Qb4 13. Nd5 Qxc4 14. b3 Qxd4

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, Sosonko Variation (ECO B77, Semi-Open Games) is a variation of the Sicilian Defense: Dragon Variation, Yugoslav Attack, Belezky Line, reached after 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 g6 6. Be3 Bg7 7. f3 Nc6 8. Qd2 O-O 9. Bc4 Nd7 (9 moves).

In 32,628 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 46.5%, Black 48.6% and 4.9% were drawn. White's most played move here is 10. O-O-O, in 60% of those games.

Written from the Lichess opening list and explorer. Know this line well? Write about it.

Write a description or report a mistake
What would you like to send?

Markdown supported (headings ###, bold, lists, links). Submissions are reviewed before publishing.

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

10. h4 scores best for White: 53.9%, with White winning 51.7% and Black 43.9% of 4,706 games. The most played answer, 10. O-O-O, scores lowest: 47.4% in 20K games. Stockfish's first choice is also 10. h4.

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 8. Qd2 O-O 9. Bc4 Nd7, the position after Sicilian Defense: Dragon Variation, Yugoslav Attack, Belezky Line 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, Sosonko Variation (B77)”. Lichess data as of 30 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/sicilian-defense-dragon-variation-yugoslav-attack-sosonko-variation

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