Chess lessons › Chess openings
The Dragon Sicilian
Black puts the bishop on g7; against the Yugoslav Attack both sides race at the enemy king.
The idea
Black’s bishop goes to g7; against the Yugoslav, both sides race.
- Once the f6 knight moves, the g7 bishop hits White’s queenside.
- White has castled long and pushed the h-pawn to h4.
- The knight jumps to c4, hitting the queen and the bishop.
In a game: Kings on opposite sides: push pawns at the enemy king, open files, and count every move.
How the lesson begins
In the Dragon, 5...g6, Black gets ready to put the bishop on g7. From there it will look along the long diagonal through d4 and c3, towards White’s queenside.
White’s sharpest answer is the Yugoslav Attack: 6.Be3 Bg7 7.f3. The pawn on f3 keeps a black knight out of g4, where it would hit the bishop on e3, and it gets ready for g4 later.
- 6. Be3 Bg7 7. f3
Then 7...O-O 8.Qd2 Nc6 9.Bc4, the Main Line. White’s plan is to castle long, push the h-pawn, and play Bh6 to trade off Black’s bishop on g7, the defender of Black’s king. The bishop on c4 watches d5 and f7.
- 7... O-O 8. Qd2 Nc6 9. Bc4
Find the move
This is Viswanathan Anand against Garry Kasparov, from their world championship match in 1995. White has castled long and played h4, and Black answered ...h5. Black to move. Find the knight jump that hits two white pieces.
A hint
Look at the knight on e5.
Show the answer
13... Nc4
13...Nc4 attacks the queen on d2 and the bishop on e3. White traded with 14.Bxc4 Rxc4, and Black’s rook stood actively on the half-open c-file, facing the knight on c3. Kasparov won.
In numbers
How often it is played
| Rating | Value |
|---|---|
| Under 800 | Too few games |
| 800 to 1199 | Too few games |
| 1200 to 1599 | 0.2 |
| 1600 to 1999 | 1 |
| 2000 and up | 2.6 |
How the games ended
White won 46%, 6% were drawn and Black won 48%, over 1,443 games that start this way, in a sample of rated Lichess games from 2026.