Theoria
8765432abcdefgh1

Sicilian Defense

Dragon Variation, Classical Variation, Alekhine Line

B74positionaloffbeat

  1. 1.e4c5
  2. 2.Nf3Nc6
  3. 3.d4cxd4
  4. 4.Nxd4g6
  5. 5.Nc3Bg7
  6. 6.Be3Nf6
  7. 7.Be2O-O
  8. 8.O-Od6
  9. 9.Nb3a5
82 games43%52%

Classical Dragon line in which Black meets the retreat Nb3 with 9...a5, threatening ...a4 to harass the knight and gain space on the queenside.

Train it in Theoria

About the Alekhine Line

The Alekhine Line is Black's 9...a5 in the Normal Line of the Classical Dragon, reached here by an Accelerated Dragon move order. Instead of the usual 9...Be6, Black threatens ...a4 to drive the knight from b3 and gain queenside space. White nearly always stops the advance with 10. a4, which weakens b4. 10. a3 and 10. f4 are rare. The engine rates the position roughly balanced, and Black has scored well in a small online sample.

Popular continuations