White's 5. c4 makes it very difficult for Black to achieve the freeing ...d5 break, which is a central goal in the Sicilian. Without d5, black often struggles with piece coordination due to the spatial disadvantage, especially in the center and queenside, and white's superior center control will force black to adopt a more passive setup or look for dynamic counterplay through pawn breaks like ...b5 or ...f5. The Maróczy bind is effectively the reason the accelerated dragon is rarely played at master level - It does not give a double edged, dangerous position like the mainline Dragon to fight for the win, but a slow maneuvering where white already has a positional advantage.

Modern day analysis however shows that black can equalize with proper play, making the Maróczy bind one of the most theoretical and studied variations in all of chess.

Moves:1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 g6 5.c4

5...Nf6: Maroczy Bind, 5...Nf6

5...Bg7: Maroczy Bind, 5...Bg7

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