Austrian Attack, Dragon Formation

Rather than castling, Black plays 5...c5 at once to hit d4 before White's setup is complete. The name comes from the Sicilian Dragon structure Black hopes to reach. The most common reply is 6. dxc5, where the plain 6...dxc5 7. Qxd8+ Kxd8 leaves Black's king stranded, so Black relies on tactical resources instead. The alternatives 6. e5 and 6. d5 lead to sharper play, with 6. d5 scoring well for Black. Overall results are close to even, while engines give White a slight edge.