Sicilian Defense: Lasker-Dunne Attack — The d5 Line for White

The Lasker-Dunne Attack (1.e4 c5 2.g3) is a practical weapon for White players who want a fighting game without memorising mountains of Najdorf or Dragon theory. By fianchettoing your king's bishop early, you keep the centre flexible and often lure Black into overextending. The line 2...d5 is Black's most direct challenge — they strike at the centre immediately, refusing to let you build a comfortable setup. After 3.Bg2, the battle lines are drawn: Black has six reasonable moves here, and nearly all of them have been tested in thousands of online games. Knowing which one is best — and why — will save you from stumbling into trouble before move 5.

Stockfish evaluates this position at -0.30, a small edge for Black. That means you are slightly worse right now — not badly, but enough that you cannot afford to play casually. The engine's top choice is straightforward: let Black capture on e4. The best continuation runs dxe4 Bxe4 Nf6 Bg2. White recaptures the pawn with the bishop, Black develops a knight and attacks the bishop, and White retreats it to g2. The position remains tense and playable — Black's edge is tiny, and in a practical game you will have plenty of chances. The key is to accept that you should not immediately push your d-pawn or try to avoid the pawn trade.

Across 38,647 games at this exact position, Black wins 50.4%, White wins 45.6%, and 4.0% are drawn. That half-point gap matches the engine's small Black advantage — but look closer at the most-played moves: - dxe4 (17,615 games) scores only 42.5% for White. This is the engine's choice, yet White's actual winning percentage is the lowest of all major replies. Why? Because many players who face d5 don't know the best follow-up and drift into worse positions later. - Nc6 (972 games) gives White a surprising 54.0% score. This move is less common but clearly punishing for Black when White knows the plan. - d4, e6, Nf6, and Be6 all score between 47% and 49% for White. So while dxe4 is technically best, the statistics show that White's practical results depend heavily on understanding the resulting middlegame. The drill will help you convert that theoretical equality into real wins.

The most revealing takeaway from the data is that three of Black's six common replies are labelled inaccuracies — and they all lose roughly 0.6 to 0.8 pawns compared to dxe4. Here is what you need to know: - d4: This is an inaccuracy costing about 0.6 pawns. Black pushes the d-pawn again, but White can capture with the bishop on d5 or play exd5, leaving Black with a weak isolated pawn or a misplaced queen. - e6: An inaccuracy worth about 0.7 pawns. Black solidifies the centre but misses the chance to trade on e4. White can now play exd5 exd5 and enjoy a clear space advantage plus a beautiful fianchettoed bishop. - Nf6: The biggest inaccuracy at roughly 0.8 pawns. Black develops and attacks the e4-pawn, but White can defend it with moves like d3 or Nc3, eventually forcing Black to trade on e4 under less favourable terms. If your opponent plays any of these, seize the opportunity. The engine knows dxe4 is best — when Black avoids it, you gain a meaningful edge.