For Black· 7 chapters· Free

Sicilian Defense: Accelerated Dragon

4...g6 aims your bishop at d4 fast, the Accelerated Dragon's core idea. You'll have a plan against every white setup.

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After 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 g6 5. Nc3 Bg7

Chapters

Each chapter shows its main line move by move, with the coach's comments.

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 g6 5. Nc3 Bg7 6. Be3 Nf6 7. f3 O-O 8. Qd2 d5 9. Nxc6 bxc6 10. e5 Nd7 11. f4 e6 12. O-O-O c5
7.f3 Lines (after 5.Nc3 5...Bg7 6.Be3 6...Nf6)
After 7.f3, meet it with ...O-O, ...d5, and ...e6, challenging White's center directly. Watch for lines where White castles O-O-O too early, letting ...Qxa2 win material for you.
1 · 16 lines
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 g6 5. Nc3 Bg7 6. Be3 Nf6 7. Bc4 O-O 8. Bb3 Re8 9. f3 d5 10. exd5 Nb4 11. Nde2 e6
Modern Bc4 Variation (7.Bc4, after 5.Nc3 5...Bg7 6.Be3 6...Nf6)
White develops with 7.Bc4, then retreats to 8.Bb3 after your castling. Meet it with ...Re8, then after 9.f3 d5 10.exd5 Nb4 11.Nde2, play ...e6, lining your rook up behind that pawn against White's bishop on e3. Watch the 10.f4 trap, where ...Ng4 and ...Qb6+ win material. You aim for a sound center against White's queenside majority.
2 · 8 lines
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 g6 5. Nc3 Bg7 6. Be3 Nf6 7. Qd2 O-O 8. O-O-O Ng4 9. Nxc6 bxc6 10. Bd4 Bh6 11. f4 e5 12. Be3 Nxe3 13. Qxe3 Bxf4 14. Qxf4 exf4 15. Bc4 Qf6
Other 7th moves after 5.Nc3 5...Bg7 6.Be3 6...Nf6 (7.Qd2)
After 7.Qd2 O-O 8.O-O-O, meet it with ...Ng4 eyeing Nxe3 and Nxd4. If White plays 10.Bd4, pounce with ...Bh6 and ...e5, winning material.
3 · 2 lines
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 g6 5. Nc3 Bg7 6. Nxc6 bxc6 7. Bc4 Qc7 8. O-O Nf6 9. Re1 d6 10. Bf4 Nh5 11. Be3 a5
6.Nxc6 Lines (after 5.Nc3 5...Bg7)
After 6.Nxc6, recapture with bxc6 and meet 7.Bc4 with Qc7, then Nf6, d6, and Nh5 to hit the bishop on f4. Castle, then push a5 and a4, keeping the b-file half-open for your pieces. Watch the trap line where 9.e5 Ng4 wins material for you. Aim for active piece play against White's queenside majority.
4 · 7 lines
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 g6 5. Nxc6 bxc6 6. Qd4 Nf6 7. e5 Nd5 8. e6 Nf6 9. exf7+ Kxf7 10. Bc4+ d5 11. Bb3 e5 12. Qxe5 Bb4+ 13. c3 Re8 14. Qxe8+ Qxe8+ 15. Be3 Bc5
Exchange Variation (5.Nxc6)
White grabs your knight with 5.Nxc6, then jumps the queen to d4 and later pushes e5-e6 to chase your pieces. Recapture bxc6, meet 7.e5 with Nd5, and answer 8.e6 with Nf6, letting White overextend. If White grabs your pawn with 12.Qxe5, hit back with Bb4+ and win material. Aim for an endgame where your active pieces and extra material are winning.
5 · 5 lines
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 g6 5. c4 Nf6 6. Nc3 d6 7. Be2 Nxd4 8. Qxd4 Bg7 9. Be3 O-O 10. Qd2 a5 11. O-O a4 12. Rac1 Bd7
Maróczy Bind (5.c4)
White grabs space with 5.c4, entering the tough Maroczy Bind. Develop with g6, d6, trade on d4, castle, then expand with a5, a4, and Bd7. Watch for 7.Be3 Ng4 8.Bc1 Qb6, where White's rook falls after Bxg4 Qxg4 Nc2+. Aim for a solid, flexible setup against White's queenside majority.
6 · 10 lines
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 g6 5. Be3 Nf6 6. Nc3 Bg7
5.Be3 Lines
White develops with 5.Be3, usually continuing 6.Nc3. Meet it with 5...Nf6, attacking e4, then fianchetto with 6...Bg7. If White tries 6.f3 Bg7 7.c4 Qb6 8.Qd2, take material with 8...Nxe4. Aim for structures where you land the bishop pair and push your kingside pawns.
7 · 4 lines

About this repertoire

4...g6 aims your bishop at d4 fast, the Accelerated Dragon's core idea. You'll have a plan against every white setup.

The Accelerated Dragon fianchettoes your bishop a move early, so it presses d4 before White finishes developing. You'll meet 7.f3, 7.Bc4, 7.Qd2, the Maroczy Bind, and the Exchange Variation, each with concrete plans. Traps, master games, and puzzles help the patterns stick.

After 4...g6. You prepare to fianchetto your bishop to g7, where it will eye White's knight on d4 along the long diagonal.

What you'll learn

7.f3 Lines (after 5.Nc3 5...Bg7 6.Be3 6...Nf6)

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 g6 5.Nc3 Bg7 6.Be3 Nf6 7.f3

You meet 7.f3 with 7...O-O 8.Qd2 d5, striking the center before the usual Dragon setup allows. After 9.Nxc6 bxc6 10.e5 Nd7 11.f4 e6 12.O-O-O c5, your pawn covers d4 so White's bishop can't post there, and the kings sit on opposite wings. Two trap lines punish amateur tries like 11.O-O-O and 13.Bd4 by handing you extra material.

After 12...c5. Your f7 pawn is backward because White controls f6, while White's queenside pawns form a majority.

Modern Bc4 Variation (7.Bc4, after 5.Nc3 5...Bg7 6.Be3 6...Nf6)

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 g6 5.Nc3 Bg7 6.Be3 Nf6 7.Bc4

White tries the Modern Bc4 setup, and you meet 7.Bc4 O-O 8.Bb3 Re8 with the central strike 9.f3 d5. After 10.exd5 Nb4 11.Nde2 e6, your rook on e8 backs the e6 pawn against White's bishop on e3, your only good move there. A trap after 8.O-O d6 9.Nxc6 bxc6 10.f4 wins you material if White grabs the piece on c6 early.

After 11...e6. Your rook on e8 lines up behind the e6 pawn against White's bishop on e3, while White holds a queenside pawn majority.

Other 7th moves after 5.Nc3 5...Bg7 6.Be3 6...Nf6 (7.Qd2)

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 g6 5.Nc3 Bg7 6.Be3 Nf6 7.Qd2

White brings the queen out early with 7.Qd2 and castles opposite with 8.O-O-O, so you jump in with 8...Ng4, threatening Nxe3 and Nxd4 to win the bishop pair. By 15.Bc4 Qf6, you plan Rb8, Qe5, and a d5 push against the bishop.

After 15...Qf6. Your doubled f-pawns give you a kingside majority while White's isolated e4 pawn and queenside majority balance the picture.

6.Nxc6 Lines (after 5.Nc3 5...Bg7)

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 g6 5.Nc3 Bg7 6.Nxc6

After 6.Nxc6 bxc6, you develop with 7...Qc7, 8...Nf6, and 9...d6, meeting 10.Bf4 by hitting the bishop with 10...Nh5. After 11.Be3 a5, you plan to castle and push a4, meeting b3 with axb3 to keep the b-file half-open. A trap after 7.Bd3 Nf6 8.O-O d5 9.e5 wins you material if White pushes too soon.

After 11...a5. White holds a queenside pawn majority while your plan is to castle and push the a-pawn to a4.

Exchange Variation (5.Nxc6)

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 g6 5.Nxc6

White trades on c6 and brings the queen to d4, so you meet 7.e5 with 7...Nd5 and answer 9.exf7+ by recapturing calmly with 9...Kxf7, since the king is safer than it looks. If White grabs the pawn with 12.Qxe5, 12...Bb4+ punishes it, and after 13.c3 Re8 14.Qxe8+ Qxe8+ 15.Be3 Bc5, you plan Bxe3 and Qxe3+ to pile up material. This sequence is the named trap where White's early queen grab on e5 costs serious material.

After 15...Bc5. White has pawn majorities on both wings, but you are ready to grab more material with Bxe3 and Qxe3+.

Maróczy Bind (5.c4)

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 g6 5.c4

White grabs space with 5.c4, the Maroczy Bind, and you challenge with 6...d6 and trade down with 7...Nxd4 8.Qxd4 Bg7. You expand on the queenside with 10...a5 and 11...a4, then finish developing with 12...Bd7 while White masses rooks on the c-file. A trap after 7.Be3 Ng4 8.Bc1 wins you a rook if White retreats the bishop.

After 12...Bd7. White holds a queenside pawn majority while you finish development with the bishop on d7.

5.Be3 Lines

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 g6 5.Be3

White develops the bishop early with 5.Be3, and you reply 5...Nf6 6.Nc3 Bg7, fianchettoing on the long diagonal. One sideline after 6.f3 Bg7 7.c4 Qb6 shows traps where White's 8.Nf5 or 8.Qd2 hand you extra material.

After 6...Bg7. Your bishop completes its fianchetto on the long diagonal while White holds a queenside pawn majority.

What's inside

8 traps featured as priority lines, so you learn the tricks that win games first.
8 master games played in these lines, linked from the moves where they leave the course.
30 puzzles from real games of this opening.

Why this repertoire?

Amateurs ready to fight. You meet White's most common tries, including the Maroczy Bind and the Exchange Variation, with clear replies for every popular setup.
Not much to memorize. Seven short chapters cover all of White's main seventh moves, each built around one short main line plus a few branches.
Recurring plans carry you. Central breaks with d5, queenside expansion with a5 and a4, and trading down to grab the bishop pair show up chapter after chapter.
Understand, don't just memorize. Every move comes with the point behind it, like why your rook on e8 lines up behind the e6 pawn or why c5 keeps White's bishop off d4.
Traps reward natural mistakes. Eight trap lines punish common amateur tries, from grabbing e5 too early to misplacing the bishop on d4.

Train the Sicilian Defense: Accelerated Dragon repertoire

Play every line on the board and let spaced repetition bring back the moves you forget. Free to start.

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