Openings · B34–B39

Sicilian, Accelerated Dragon

The Dragon without …d6, so the freeing …d5 comes in one move — and White gets to answer with the Maroczy Bind.

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 g6played as Black

Play it through on the board below.

Practise the line

You play Black; the other side answers on its own. Nothing here is saved or graded.

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a
Your move 1 of 40/4
  1. 1.e4c5
  2. 2.Nf3Nc6
  3. 3.d4cxd4
  4. 4.Nxd4g6

White is answering…

The idea

Leaving the d-pawn at home for one more move means that when …d5 comes it comes in a single step, which is exactly the tempo the ordinary Dragon lacks. Against most White setups that is enough to equalise quickly.

The price is 5.c4, the Maroczy Bind: pawns on c4 and e4 take d5 and b5 away and Black has to earn the break with …a6 and …b5, or …f5, or a well-timed trade of knights. Choosing this opening means choosing to play against the Bind.

Common mistakes

Three that come up again and again below master level: named traps and the errors every coach corrects.

Playing …d6 and turning it back into a Dragon

After 9.Qd2
  1. 1.
  2. 2.
  3. 3.
  4. 4.
  5. 5.
  6. 6.
  7. 7.
  8. 8.
  9. 9.
The mistake
Filling in …d6 because the Dragon has a pawn there.
Why it costs
The tempo the whole opening was built to save has just been spent, and the position is a Yugoslav Attack with White a move to the good. That is the exact position 4…g6 was chosen to avoid.
Instead
…Nf6 and …d5 in one go, or …Nxd4 first and then …d5. The pawn structure that results is less tidy, and it is the point of the opening.

Missing …Ng4

After 8…Nxd4
  1. 1.
  2. 2.
  3. 3.
  4. 4.
  5. 5.
  6. 6.
  7. 7.
  8. 8.
The mistake
Playing developing moves in the Bind and never using the tactic that justifies the move order.
Why it costs
7…Ng4 works only because Black has not played …d6: the bishop on e3 is loose, and after 8.Qxg4 Nxd4 the material comes straight back — 9.Qd1 Ne6, or 9.Bxd4 Bxd4 with the dark-squared bishops traded. White has to spend a move on Be2 or f3 to prevent it, and that move is Black's compensation for the Bind.
Instead
Look for …Ng4 every time the bishop lands on e3 with the queen still on d1. If White prevents it, the prevention was the concession.

Living in the Bind without a break

After 10…a6
  1. 1.
  2. 2.
  3. 3.
  4. 4.
  5. 5.
  6. 6.
  7. 7.
  8. 8.
  9. 9.
  10. 10.
The mistake
Reaching the Maroczy position and playing solidly, waiting for something to turn up.
Why it costs
Nothing turns up. With pawns on c4 and e4 White has more space in every sector and no weaknesses, and a Black player without a break is simply worse for ninety moves. The two breaks are …b5, prepared by …a6 and …Rb8, and …f5, prepared by …Nd7 or a trade on d4.
Instead
Trade a pair of knights on d4, play …Bc6 to hit e4, and get …b5 in even at the cost of a pawn. Passive equality is not one of the outcomes this opening offers.

What the engine says

After 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 g6, these are White's six best moves according to Stockfish, with the bar showing White's chance of winning. The whole list sits within 4 percentage points of win chance: none of them is a mistake, and the choice is about the positions you want to play.

  1. c4+0.5
  2. Be3+0.4
  3. Nc3+0.4
  4. Be2+0.3
  5. Nb3+0.3
  6. h4+0.1

The engine's main line from c4: c4 Bg7 Be3 d6 Be2 Bxd4 Bxd4 Nxd4.

Stockfish 18, depth 24. Scores are in pawns from White's side. Another engine or depth will move individual numbers a little; the picture does not change. How we check.

Where it fits

The Sicilian, Accelerated Dragon is a variation of the Sicilian Defence, whose page covers the ideas this one takes for granted.

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