Chess Opening Theory/1. e4/1...c5/2. Nf3/2...d6/3. d4/3...cxd4/4. Nxd4/4...Nf6/5. Nc3/5...g6

Sicilian Defence, Dragon Variation
a b c d e f g h 8 8 7 7 6 6 5 5 4 4 3 3 2 2 1 1 a b c d e f g h
Position in Forsyth-Edwards Notation(FEN) rnbqkb1r/pp2pp1p/3p1np1/8/3NP3/2N5/PPP2PPP/R1BQKB1R

Sicilian Defence, Dragon Variation

5...g6 introduces the famous "Dragon" variation of the Sicilian defence. While the general themes are easy to understand, the Dragon is a very sharp line with immense amounts of established theory. Against players familiar with the theory, even one slip can be quickly fatal.

With 5...g6 Black is preparing to fianchetto his dark-squared bishop. On g7 this bishop will exert considerable pressure on the center and facilitate a queenside attack. However, 5...g6 weakens Black's kingside pawn structure and encourages White to pursue a kingside attack of his own. In most lines, White will castle queenside and attack on the kingside with his pawns, hoping to exploit Blacks structural weakness. Because both players are attacking on opposite wings, there is no time to be lost for either side. Subtle maneuvering will tend to take a back seat to sharp tactics in the Dragon.

Theory table

For explanation of theory tables see theory table and for notation see algebraic notation.

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

	6	7	8
Main line	Be3 Bg7	f3 O-O	Qd2 Nc6	+=
	Be2 Bg7	O-O O-O	Nb3 Nc6	+=
Levenfish Variation	f4 Nc6	Nxc6 bxc6	e5 Nd7	+=
	f3 Bg7	Be3		See Main line
	g3 Nc6	Bg2 Nxd4	Qxd4 Bg7	=
	Bc4 Bg7	h3 O-O	O-O a6	=

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References

• Batsford Chess Openings 2 (1989, 1994). Garry Kasparov, Raymond Keene. ISBN 0-8050-3409-9.