The Accelerated Dragon meets the Open Sicilian with before your d-pawn has moved: after 1. 2. 3. 4., your bishop heads for g7 on the long diagonal, your knight goes to f6 and you castle short with that pawn still sitting on d7; in the strong players' line it waits until move 8. Rated 900 to 1700, you score 51% with it (N = 43,984 Lichess games, September 2026).
Lichess games from September 2026 (30,577,162 rated 900 to 1700) and 31,791 over-the-board games rated 2300+ from the last 12 months. Data updated: October 14, 2026.
8 named lines in this family; 1 with their own page.
The opening's share in each Lichess rating band.
After , opponents at your level split almost evenly between 5. and 5., 35 of every 100 each. Strong players, rated 2200 and up online, choose 5. in 47 of every 100 and 5. in 37. That is the Maróczy Bind, with pawns on c4 and e4 clamping down on d5, and at your level it turns up in just 4 of every 100 games. After 5. , 55 of every 100 opponents at your level play 6., as do 86 of every 100 strong players. Once you answer , 7. (30 of every 100) is more common at your level than the bishop move 7. (20), while strong players pick 7. in 48 of every 100.
| Move | Lichess 900–1700 | White's score | Online, 2200+ | Over the board, 2300+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 35.2% | 50.7% | 46.6% | 22.1% | |
| 35.1% | 47.8% | 6.9% | no data | |
| 10.1% | 51.3% | 6.0% | no data | |
| 4.8% | 44.4% | 1.0% | no data | |
| 4.1% | 53.4% | 36.8% | 77.9% | |
| 3.0% | 47.6% | no data | no data | |
| no data | no data | 1.0% | no data |
| Move | Lichess 900–1700 | White's score | Online, 2200+ | Over the board, 2300+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 95.9% | 49.5% | 98.3% | 100.0% | |
| 1.4% | 61.1% | no data | no data | |
| 0.9% | 55.2% | no data | no data | |
| 0.9% | 49.1% | 1.5% | no data | |
| 0.5% | 58.7% | no data | no data | |
| 0.2% | 42.9% | 0.2% | no data |
| Move | Lichess 900–1700 | White's score | Online, 2200+ | Over the board, 2300+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 55.4% | 51.7% | 85.6% | 100.0% | |
| 37.3% | 47.5% | 5.9% | no data | |
| 3.0% | 48.4% | no data | no data | |
| 2.2% | 49.5% | 5.1% | no data | |
| 0.6% | 24.8% | no data | no data | |
| 0.6% | 46.1% | no data | no data | |
| no data | no data | 3.4% | no data |
| Move | Lichess 900–1700 | White's score | Online, 2200+ | Over the board, 2300+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 44.8% | 50.2% | 91.0% | 100.0% | |
| 22.0% | 53.3% | 0.1% | no data | |
| 17.4% | 52.5% | 6.6% | no data | |
| 5.1% | 56.3% | 0.4% | no data | |
| 5.0% | 44.5% | 1.0% | no data | |
| 3.9% | 62.5% | no data | no data | |
| no data | no data | 0.9% | no data |
| Move | Lichess 900–1700 | White's score | Online, 2200+ | Over the board, 2300+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 30.4% | 51.9% | 16.3% | no data | |
| 19.9% | 51.8% | 48.2% | 100.0% | |
| 12.1% | 52.8% | 2.9% | no data | |
| 11.3% | 52.1% | 12.8% | no data | |
| 9.3% | 51.0% | no data | no data | |
| 9.3% | 46.1% | 15.0% | no data | |
| no data | no data | 3.5% | no data |
The strong players' line is 5. 6. 7. 8. . The goal is to castle short with your bishop already on the long diagonal, all before the d-pawn moves. That pawn stays on d7 until move 8, and that move order is what makes this Dragon accelerated. Pieces come out first; the pawn's job is decided later, once your king is safe.
lines the bishop up against the knight on d4, with only the empty e5 and f6 squares in between. Now your c6 knight and your bishop hit d4 twice, while only the queen on d1 guards it. 6. adds the second defender it needs.
, the reply of 91 of every 100 strong players, develops the knight toward e4, a pawn that only the c3 knight covers, and it clears g8. Your bishop has already left f8, so you are ready to castle. At your level the most common reply is 7., a pawn that props up e4 and also covers g4, the square your knight would use to hit the bishop on e3.
7. aims at f7, the square next to your king, which so far only the king defends. After the king on g8 and the rook on f8 both guard it. Once you have castled, though, the bishop on c4 sits where a pawn of yours on d5 would attack it along with e4. 8. steps out of that range and keeps its eye on f7. Nearly 9 in 10 strong players retreat the bishop this way, but just 13 of every 100 opponents at your level do.
With the pawn finally leaves d7. It opens your c8 bishop's diagonal all the way to h3 and takes control of e5 and c5.
The most demanding choice your opponent has is 5., the Maróczy Bind. With pawns on c4 and e4, d5 is covered twice, so your d-pawn cannot reach it without being captured. At your level it rarely comes up, and against it you score 47 of every 100. More often you will see the knight trade on c6: 37 of every 100 opponents at your level play 6. right after .
Moving this fast has a cost. After , while g7 and f6 are still empty, the diagonal from d4 to h8 is open, and a queen on d4 hits your rook. That is the trap in 5. 6.: block with , a piece that is defended.
| Move | Strong games | Chosen by |
|---|---|---|
| 7,545 | 46.4% | |
| 4,766 | 98.3% | |
| 6,157 | 85.7% | |
| 5,338 | 91.1% | |
| 5,036 | 48.5% | |
| 2,371 | 77.0% | |
| 1,720 | 88.5% | |
| 1,306 | 45.9% |
After 6., pulls the e7 pawn away from d6, and none of your pieces covers that square. 7. threatens 8.; if you sidestep the check with , you give up castling and 8. lands anyway. 22 of every 100 at your level play it, and it often goes unpunished: you score 47, against 50 with .
22 in 100 play it in this position. It gives away 3.1 pawns of advantage. It scores 46.7%; scores 49.8%.
After 6., kicks the d4 knight, but it shuts your g7 bishop behind the pawn and leaves d6 undefended. After 7. 8. 9. you are simply a pawn down. At your level it does get punished: you score 38 of every 100, against 50 with .
4 in 100 play it in this position. It gives away 5.7 pawns of advantage. It scores 37.5%; scores 49.8%.
After 6., moves the a7 pawn that guarded b6. 7. covers c7 and prepares 8., clearing the way for the e3 bishop to hit your queen from b6. After 8. you cover b6, but your bishop has given up the long diagonal. You score 44 of every 100, against 50 with .
5 in 100 play it in this position. It gives away 2.8 pawns of advantage. It scores 43.7%; scores 49.8%.
Mistake, though at your level it goes unpunished. After 6., leaves d6 undefended: 7. and then 8. both aim at it, and after you can no longer castle. Better is , since the knight's retreat opened your diagonal to c3. Even so, you score 55 of every 100 with and 43 with .
30 in 100 play it in this position. It gives away 2 pawns of advantage. It scores 54.6%; scores 43.1%.
Blunder, and a trap. After 5. 6., the queen hits your h8 rook down the empty diagonal. blocks with a piece nobody defends: 7. 8. and the rook is gone. Block with instead, a defended piece. At your level it gets punished every time: in those games you score 0 of every 100.
6 in 100 play it in this position. It gives away 10 pawns of advantage. It scores 0.0%; scores 50.1%.
After 5. 6., again takes away the e7 pawn that guarded d6. 7. threatens a check on d6, and after 8. 9. you have traded your g7 bishop for the knight and White's queen sits on d6, deep in your camp. You score 48 of every 100, against 56 with .
25 in 100 play it in this position. It gives away 2.2 pawns of advantage. It scores 47.9%; scores 55.8%.
| White | Black | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 25,058 | ||
| 7,419 | ||
| Not castled | 3,476 | |
| Not castled | Not castled | 3,132 |
| Not castled | 2,903 | |
| Not castled | 1,563 |
| White | Black | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 107 | ||
| 25 | ||
| Not castled | 16 | |
| Not castled | Not castled | 4 |
| Not castled | 4 | |
| Not castled | 4 |
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. · 17,490 amateur games · 18 over the board
5. protects e4 and leads into the strong players' line; 35 of every 100 opponents pick it.
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. · 13,201 amateur games · 2 over the board
After 5. , watch for 6., which hits h8. You score 52 of every 100 here.
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. · B36
2,590 amateur games · White's score: 51.6%
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. · B35
1,509 amateur games · White's score: 49.0%
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. · B36
86 amateur games · White's score: 48.8%
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. · B39
27 amateur games · White's score: 51.9%
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. · B37