Sicilian Dragon: the Bc4 attack

Black fianchettoes on g7 and both sides castle on opposite wings. From there it is a straight race: White storms the kingside, Black the queenside.

Lesson

White to move. Main line: 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 g6 5. Nc3 Bg7 6. Be3 Nf6 7. Bc4 d6

Sicilian Defense: Dragon Variation, Modern Bc4 Variation (B35). The line runs 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 g6 5. Nc3 Bg7 6. Be3 Nf6 7. Bc4 d6 — the move order matters, and this is the one the theory follows.

The g7-bishop points through the long diagonal at b2, while Bc4 and Be3 prepare queenside castling and a direct h-pawn attack. Both sides develop toward opposite targets from the first moves.

The practical question is timing: White often plays f3, Qd2 and O-O-O before h4-h5; Black needs ...d5 or queenside counterplay before the king-side files open.