Sicilian Defense: Accelerated Dragon
ECO B34-B39advanced
By playing 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 g6, Black fianchettoes immediately and skips ...d6, hoping to achieve the freeing ...d5 in a single move — which would solve all of Black's opening problems at once. The drawback is that White can clamp the position with 5.c4, the Maroczy Bind, gaining lasting space. The Accelerated Dragon trades the Yugoslav Attack's razor edge for a quieter, more positional struggle, making it a favorite of players who like the Dragon bishop without the forced theory.
Main line
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 g6 5.Nc3 Bg7 6.Be3 Nf6 7.Bc4 O-O
Diagram shows the position after 6 half-moves of the main line. On SpeakChess you can drill this line move by move — the trainer plays the other side and corrects you instantly, then spaced repetition schedules each variation so you review it right before you would forget it.
Win rates by rating
Results from real online games, measured after the line shown in each row. Most opening sites show one aggregate number — how an opening scores depends heavily on who is playing it.
| Rating | Games | White wins | Draws | Black wins | Position after |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 400-600 | 140 | 50% | 2.9% | 47.1% | 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 |
| 600-800 | 37 | 37.8% | 2.7% | 59.5% | 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 g6 |
| 800-1000 | 95 | 51.6% | 3.2% | 45.3% | 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 g6 5.Nc3 Bg7 |
| 1000-1200 | 299 | 47.5% | 1% | 51.5% | 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 g6 5.Nc3 Bg7 6.Be3 Nf6 |
| 1200-1400 | 1,189 | 45.7% | 2.7% | 51.6% | 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 g6 5.Nc3 Bg7 6.Be3 Nf6 |
Most played continuations (1200-1400 rating)
After 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 g6 5.Nc3 Bg7 6.Be3 Nf6:
- f3 — played 21.2% of the time (White wins 42.9%, draws 2.8%, Black wins 54.4%)
- Bc4 — played 17% of the time (White wins 40.1%, draws 2%, Black wins 57.9%)
- Qd2 — played 14.7% of the time (White wins 52%, draws 4.6%, Black wins 43.4%)
Related openings
Frequently asked questions
How is the Accelerated Dragon different from the regular Dragon?
Black delays ...d6, so the Yugoslav Attack setup loses its sting — White's Qd2/0-0-0 plan no longer works well because ...d5 comes in one tempo. In exchange, White gets the option of the Maroczy Bind with c4, which the normal Dragon move order prevents.
Should Black fear the Maroczy Bind?
It concedes space but modern theory shows Black is structurally sound: exchanges of dark-squared bishops via ...Bg7-d4 or the ...Nxd4 and ...Bc5 plans, plus the ...b5 or ...f5 breaks, give real counterplay. Many strong players now enter the Bind willingly as Black.
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