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  3. /Sicilian Defense: Dragon Variation (B70)
B70

Sicilian Defense: Dragon Variation

Key moves: 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 g6

The Dragon Variation is one of the sharpest openings in chess. Black fianchettoes the bishop to g7, creating a "dragon" diagonal aimed at White's queenside. The Yugoslav Attack (Be3, Qd2, O-O-O) leads to some of the most violent attacking games in chess.

History & Notable Players

Named because the pawn structure supposedly resembles the constellation Draco. The Dragon has been a battleground for attacking players throughout chess history.

Top Players in this Opening

Ljubojevic, Ljubomir23 gamesShort, Nigel D14 gamesGeller, Efim P12 gamesCarlsen,M11 gamesAronian, Levon10 gamesTal, Mihail10 gamesAdams, Michael10 gamesSvidler, Peter9 gamesKhalifman, Alexander9 gamesShirov, Alexei8 games

Related Openings

B71 - Sicilian Defense: Dragon Variation, Levenfish Variation31B72 - Sicilian Defense: Dragon Variation115B73 - Sicilian Defense: Dragon Variation, Classical Variation105B74 - Sicilian Defense: Dragon Variation, Classical Variation, Normal Line68B75 - Sicilian Defense: Dragon Variation, Yugoslav Attack, Belezky Line61B76 - Sicilian Defense: Dragon Variation, Yugoslav Attack298B77 - Sicilian Defense: Dragon Variation, Yugoslav Attack95B78 - Sicilian Defense: Dragon Variation, Yugoslav Attack136B79 - Sicilian Defense: Dragon Variation, Yugoslav Attack21

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