B27

Sicilian Defense: Hyperaccelerated Pterodactyl

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Statistics from Lichess

1,915,324 games: White 46.7% / Draw 4.6% / Black 48.6%

The moves played next. Pick one to see it on the board.
Next move	Games	White / Draw / BlackW / D / B
	610,389610K
	425,125425K
	308,478308K
	187,882188K
	173,840174K
	82,57083K
	64,43564K
	33,53334K

Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Nov 8, 2026

Engine evaluation

+0.92 White is better

Best play: 4. dxc5 Nf6 5. Nc3 O-O 6. Bf4 Nc6 7. Qd2 b6 8. e5 Ng4

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% both under 1400 and at 2200 and up, and 47% in master games (wins plus half the draws).

Players	Games	White / Draw / BlackW / D / B
Under 1400	182K
1400–1799	925K
1800–2199	1.1M
2200 and up	183K
Masters, over the board	2,619

Master games

Dominguez Perez, L. – Carlsen, M. ½–½, 2008
Bruzon Batista, L. – Ponomariov, R. 0–1, 2011
Dominguez Perez, L. – Van Wely, L. ½–½, 2014
Timofeev, A. – Wang, Y. 1–0, 2009
Adams, M. – Tkachiev, V. 1–0, 2000

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: Hyperaccelerated Pterodactyl (ECO B27, Semi-Open Games) is a variation of the Sicilian Defense: Hyperaccelerated Dragon, reached after 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 g6 3. d4 Bg7 (3 moves).

In 1,915,324 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 46.7%, Black 48.6% and 4.6% were drawn. White's most played move here is 4. c3, in 32% of those games.

It branches into 2 named variations; the most played are Pterodactyl Defense: Western, Rhamphorhynchus and Modern Defense: Pterodactyl Variation. In all, 8 named lines continue from it.

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Description

How to play against the Sicilian Defense: Hyperaccelerated Pterodactyl

4. Nc3 scores best for White: 51.8%, with White winning 49.4% and Black 45.8% of 174K games. The most played, 4. c3, scores 48.6% in 610K games, and 4. Be3 scores lowest: 48.1%. Stockfish's first choice is 4. dxc5.

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

Popularity by year

The Sicilian Defense: Hyperaccelerated Pterodactyl peaked in 2019 at 0.087% of Lichess games and has slipped since: 0.07% in 2025.

0.073%0.07%0.087%

Numbers by year

Year	Share of games	Games
2016	0.073%	26,097
2017	0.082%	44,965
2018	0.086%	67,252
2019	0.087%	108,099
2020	0.08%	235,162
2021	0.077%	299,806
2022	0.072%	272,218
2023	0.07%	263,197
2024	0.07%	250,508
2025	0.07%	241,371
2026 (Jan–Apr)	0.069%	76,113

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)

All 8 named lines that continue from here

Cite this page

Caissa Codex. “Sicilian Defense: Hyperaccelerated Pterodactyl (B27)”. Lichess data as of 8 Nov 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/sicilian-defense-hyperaccelerated-pterodactyl