The Monthly Dragon - A Dragon endgame thriller

by Arne Kaehler
12/4/2023 – In today's episode, the Sicilian Dragon advances to a nail-biting endgame! But not without diving deeper into some other variations, options, plans and ideas. For example, a setup with two rooks, and two bishops, vs. queen, rook and bishop!| Photo: John Upham
In this first part, the emphasis is on themes and ideas whereas Part 2 and 3 focus on theoretical knowledge!

The Monthly Dragon

with GM Chris Ward

The British Grandmaster Chris Ward is always delighted if he can play his favourite opening as Black: the Sicilian Dragon.

Ward's knowledge about this strong opening is covered in several of his books, his blog on chesspublishing, and his three, greatly popular FritzTrainers in our ChessBase shop.

In this first part, the emphasis is on themes and ideas whereas Part 2 and 3 focus on theoretical knowledge!

With the new ChessBase series "The Monthly Dragon", the passionate Salsa dancer is showing us the newest tactics, plans, and development of this fascinating opening.

Lucky for us, the dragon is an opening, played by some of the best players in the world. This means, Chris probably won't run out of fuel for new content.

Full analysis by Chris Ward

New ...
Open...
Share...
Layout...
Flip Board
Settings
MoveNResultEloPlayers
Position not in LiveBook
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 g6 6.Be3 Bg7 7.f3 0-0 8.Qd2 Nc6 8...d5 9.e5 allows White to get a pawn to e5 without having to trade on c6 first. 9.0-0-0 9.h4 is naturally best met by d5! 9...d5 10.Kb1 Crumbs it feels like ages since we've featured this. Maybe less so 10 Qe1 but nevertheless it's clear that in recent times we've been focusing more on the fashionable 10.Nxc6 bxc6 11.Bh6 and of course the main line 10.exd5 Nxd5 11.Nxc6 bxc6 12.Bd4 10...Nxd4 I also found a certain appeal in the sneaky 10...Rb8 preparing the rook for b-file action should White trade knights on c6. Note not 10...dxe4?? 11.Nxc6 Qxd2 12.Nxe7+ Kh8 and White wins a piece. 11.e5 And it's a trip down memory lane with all this tricky stuff where my recollection is that Black was ultimately doing okay and hence why White players started moving away from it. Nf5 11...Nxf3 12.gxf3 Nd7 13.Nxd5 Bxe5 14.Bg5 Re8 15.Bb5 leaves Black under uncomfortable pressure. 12.exf6 exf6 12...Bxf6 13.Nxd5 Qxd5 14.Qxd5 Nxe3 15.Qd2 Nxd1 16.Qxd1 Be6 offers a fun imbalance. 13.Bc5 13.Nxd5 Nxe3 14.Qxe3 Be6 15.Bc4 f5 tenders approxomately equal chances. The engines minimally prefer White but actually in practical play, Black has performed well! 13...d4! Offering up the exchange but definitely best given Black has come this far! 14.Bxf8 14.Nb5 Re8 15.Nxd4 Bh6 was good for Black in Jessel-Ward and so White really has to accept the offering. 14...Qxf8 15.Nb5 15.Ne4 just looks wrong as this does not target the d4 pawn and allows Black an extra tempo on the knight after Ne3 16.Re1 f5 Indeed then 17.Nf2 Be6 18.Nd1 f4 19.g3 Qc5 20.gxf4 Qd5 20...Bh6!? would also keep White passive. 21.b3 Qxf3 22.Bd3 Qxf4 was lovely for Black in Della Morte, G-Moskow, E Villa Martelli ARG 2007. 15.Ne2 was seen in Lahno-Jobava when recommended is Be6 16.Nxd4 Rd8 17.c3 and now 17...Qc5!? may be better than the also okay Nxd4 18.cxd4 f5 15...Ne3 16.Re1 16.Rc1 could conceivably lead to a draw after Bh6 17.Qxd4 Nf5 18.Qxf6 Be6 19.Bd3 Bg7 20.Qg5 a6 21.Nc7 Bxb2 22.Kxb2 Qb4+ 23.Ka1 Qc3+ 24.Kb1 Rc8 25.Nxe6 Qb4+ 26.Ka1 Qc3+ and a perpetual check. Plenty of opportunities to deviate though. 16...f5 Unleashing the Dragon bishop and offering up the chance to cement the knight on e3 through ...f4. 17.Nxd4 White can alternatively prevent that cementing through 17.f4 Qc5 and then try to undermine the support of that knight through 18.c3 Then 18.Bd3 Bd7 19.Na3 Bc6 huge for Black. The comparison of the knights tells the story! 18...Nxf1 Alternatively 18...Be6 19.Nxd4 Nxf1 20.Rhxf1 Bd5 tenders some compensation for Black in the form of the bishop pair. 19.Re8+ Bf8 20.Qxd4 Qxb5 21.Qd8 was crazy stuff in Nisipeanu,L (2675)-Radjabov,T (2756) Bazna ROM 2009. 17...f4 18.g3 White is desperate to remove the support for that thorn of a knight on e3 that is totally interfering with the first player's piece coordination. An obvious alternative solution is to immediately return the exchange through 18.Rxe3 fxe3 19.Qxe3 Bd7 leaving Black with very reasonable compensation for the pawn due to White's lack of a dark-squared bishop (leaving the Dragon one to dominate!). 18...Qd6 19.Nb3 The knight was attacked with 19.c3?? running into Bxd4 20.Qxd4 20.cxd4 Bf5+ 21.Bd3 Qxd4 20...Bf5+ 21.Kc1 or 21.Ka1 Nc2+ 21...Qxd4 22.cxd4 Rc8+ 23.Kd2 Rc2# Cute! 19.gxf4 Qxd4 19...Qf6! The Dragon bishop (with the opponent having no dark-squared equivalent) is key and without it White now needs to deal with the mate threat on b2. 20.Qc1 20.c3 Bf5+ 21.Kc1 Rd8 22.Qe2 Qc6! and Black's threats are numerous. 20...Bf5 Black's pieces are flooding out with c2 now a focal point. 21.Bd3 Upon 21.Rxe3 fxe3 White can't grab the e3-pawn because of that mate on b2. 21...Bxd3! 22.cxd3 Qf5 Targeting the d3-pawn and if the black queen lands there then ...Nc2 etc. would follow. 23.Rxe3 Upon 23.Qd2 Rd8 24.Nc1 Rc8 in view of the threat of ...Rc2, White would have to return the exchange anyway so the text is a case of 'There's no time like the present'! 23...fxe3 24.Qxe3 a5! 25.Nd2 25.Qe4 is best met by Qb5! of course threatening ...a4. 25...Rd8 25...Qb5 26.Nc4 Re8 27.Qd2 Qh5!? 28.Rf1 a4 also shows how much probing is available to Black with so many targets. 26.Ne4 Qb5 Or 26...Qe5!? 27.d4 and 27.Qe2 Rxd3 27...Rxd4 White is suffering. 27.d4 27.Qe2 Qxd3+ 28.Qxd3 Rxd3 is objectively a better defence but an endgame with pawns on both sides and bishop versus knight and currently more active rook; going to be fun for Black! 27...Rxd4! Threatening the crafty ...Rd1+ (just in case you'd forgotten about that mate on b2!). 28.Nc3 Qf5+ 29.Kc1 Rd8 Not bad but 29...h5! would have dealt with any back rank inconveniences and kept ...Rc4 in hand. 30.Rd1 Rc8 31.g4 Qe5 32.Qd2 32.Qxe5 Bxe5 would leave threats on c3 and h2. 32...Qc5! 33.Kb1 Bxc3 34.bxc3 Qxc3 35.Qd3 Upon 35.Qxc3 Rxc3 36.f4 Rh3 Black is a pawn up and with the more active rook. Surely winning. 35...Qb4+ 36.Ka1 Qf4! Relentless. Now Black is threatening to win the h2-pawn with check via ...Rc1+. 37.h4 Rc4 37...Qf6+ 38.Kb1 Qxh4 39.Qd7 Rc4 seems simplest White can't snatch the b7-pawn because of ...Rb4 and so Black is simply two pawns up with the much safer king. 38.a3 b5 39.h5 Kg7 40.Qd5 Rc3 41.Kb2 b4 Or 41...Rxf3 but to be fair Black plods along just fine anyway. 42.Rh1 Rc8 43.h6+ Kf8 44.a4 Qf6+ 45.Kb1 Qc3 46.Qd6+ Kg8 47.Rd1 Qc2+ 48.Ka1 Qxa4+ 49.Kb1 Qc2+ 50.Ka1 Qc3+ 51.Kb1 Re8 Finally dealing with that back-rank threat. 52.Qd8 Rf8 53.Rd3 Qe1+ 54.Kb2 Qe5+ 55.Kb3 Qc3+ Objectively Black has better but simplification is good too! 56.Ka4 or 56.Rxc3 Rxd8 57.Rc5 Rd3+ 58.Kb2 Kf8 56...Qa1+ 57.Kb3 a4+ 58.Kc4 58.Kxb4 a3 and that a-pawn spells more trouble! 58...a3 59.Qg5 Qa2+ 60.Kb5 Qe2 The final nail in the coffin! 61.Qd2 Qxd2 62.Rxd2 b3 0–1
  • Start an analysis engine:
  • Try maximizing the board:
  • Use the four cursor keys to replay the game. Make moves to analyse yourself.
  • Press Ctrl-B to rotate the board.
  • Drag the split bars between window panes.
  • Download&Clip PGN/GIF/FEN/QR Codes. Share the game.
  • Games viewed here will automatically be stored in your cloud clipboard (if you are logged in). Use the cloud clipboard also in ChessBase.
  • Create an account to access the games cloud.
WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Hrbek,S2425Zilka,S25990–12023B76TCh-CZE Extraliga 2023-242.4

In this first part, the emphasis is on themes and ideas whereas Part 2 and 3 focus on theoretical knowledge!

Links:

Arne Kaehler, a creative mind who is passionate about board games in general, was born in Hamburg and learned to play chess at a young age. By teaching chess to youth teams and creating chess-related videos on YouTube, Arne was able to expand this passion and has even created an online course for anyone who wants to learn how to play chess. Arne writes for the English and German news sites, but focuses mainly on content for the ChessBase media channels.
We use cookies and comparable technologies to provide certain functions, to improve the user experience and to offer interest-oriented content. Depending on their intended use, analysis cookies and marketing cookies may be used in addition to technically required cookies. Here you can make detailed settings or revoke your consent (if necessary partially) with effect for the future. Further information can be found in our data protection declaration.