The Monthly Dragon - Breaking, parking and driving down the c-file!

by Arne Kaehler
8/6/2024 – Chris Ward gathered not one, not two, but three beautiful Dragon examples for us. The key features in this episode are the d5 break, the Rook on the c-file, and the explosive c4 square! In typical fashion, Chris explains his thoughts, plans, ideas and more about the most recent Sicilian games. | 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

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1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 2...d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 g6 6.Be3 And another model game this month demonstrating the simple utilisation of the c-file is: A model game this month to highlight the importance of the ...d5 pawn break is: 6.Be2 Bg7 7.0-0 0-0 8.Be3 Nc6 9.h3 Bd7 9...d5 10.exd5 Nxd5 11.Nxd5 Qxd5 12.Bf3 Qa5 or 12...Qc4 13.Nxc6 bxc6 14.c3 is about equal but because too many pieces get swapped off, the significantly higher rated player opts to retain more tension in the position (to improve winning chances)and actually a similar argument could be made against 9 Kh1. 10.Qd2 Rc8 11.Nxc6 The 3rd most popular move here behind 11.Rad1 and 11.f4 but whilst it feels like we've seen a lot of this knight trade on c6 in recent months (in various situations), here it seems a tad lame! 11...Bxc6 The most logical recapture here keeping the c-file of relevance to the black rook but scrutinising the e4-pawn. 12.Bd3?! A trade of a- for e-pawn would suit Black anyway but of course 12.Bxa7?? would simply be a mistake because b6 would see that bishop incarcerated. 12.f3?! would just look silly given the pawn on h3 too (this is a chess game not an art exhibition!) but White really needs to play 12.Bf3 protects the e4-pawn and prevent what follows. In that instance Black could get on with queenside expansion with 13...b5 or kick start a manoeuvring of the knight to c4 with 13...Nd7. Worth adding though is that 12.e5 dxe5 13.Qxd8 Rfxd8 14.Bxa7 Ne4 would see White's queenside come under too much pressure. 12...d5! The thematic break always worth keeping an eye out for. 13.exd5 Black has a few attractive ways to meet 13.e5 including Nd7 14.f4 Nxe5! 15.fxe5 d4 13...Nxd5 The centre has opened up and White's centrally posted pieces are being hassled. Now if Black gets to take on c3 he would shatter White's queenside pawn structure whilst White doesn't want to concede his dark-squared bishop for a knight either. 14.Nxd5 Qxd5 But now the black queen makes it into a dominant position, threatening mate on g2 whilst b2 is hanging as well. 15.f4 Rfd8 Regards 15...Bxb2 16.c4 Qe6 17.Rae1 , presumably the experienced GM wanted to keep things simple although Qf6 for example looks like a clear pawn plus with a superior structure to boot. 16.Rfb1 Ugly looking for sure and not the sort of move I could have brought myself to play, Nevertheless there weren't any good ways to safeguard the b2-pawn. Bb5 17.Bxb5 Upon 17.Bxa7 amongst other things, Rxc2! 18.Qxc2 Bxd3 19.Qd2 Bxb1 20.Qxd5 Rxd5 21.Rxb1 Ra5 22.Be3 Rxa2 would have left Black a pawn to the good. 17...Qxd2 18.Bxd2 Rxd2 19.Bd3 White's rooks look ridiculous! Rd8 20.Rd1 Highlighting a threat Black had is the variation 20.a4 Bxb2 21.Rxb2 R8xd3 20...Bxb2 21.Rxd2 Bxa1 and Black was a clear pawn up with the better pawn structure in Goltsev,D (2170)-Zvjaginsev,V (2559) Nizhny Novgorod RUS 2024. 6...Bg7 7.f3 0-0 8.Qd2 Nc6 9.Bc4 Nxd4 10.Bxd4 Be6 11.Bxe6 In general the retreat 11.Bb3 has been more popular in practice but their score is about the same and the text has been favoured a bit recently. 11...fxe6 It goes without saying that there are pros and cons surrounding the concept of the bishop trade on e6.The e6-pawn itself is undefended and could easily be a target whilst there are clearly holes in Black's kingside now too. However control of the d5-square is always useful whilst a half-open f-file could be a nice bonus. In addition with the light-squared bishops gone, Black has easier access to the c4 square and you will see just how key that is in this game. 12.0-0 In case anyone was wondering, although 12.e5 dxe5 13.Bxe5 would leave Black with doubled isolated pawns, following Qxd2+ 14.Kxd2 Rfd8+ 15.Ke2 Rac8 with ...Nd5 up next, Black won't have the inferior structure for long! Instead White castles short with the aim of playing positionally to ultimately exploit Black's weaknesses 12.0-0-0 is more challenging. 12...Rc8 Up soon anyway but one couldn't fault the immediate 12...Qa5 either. 13.a4 A very familiar theme but of course Black should meet 13.Bxa7?! with b6 although the text does at least make that pawn grab a possibility. 13...Qa5 An irrelevant one though as her majesty is activated, simultaneously protecting the a7-pawn. 14.Rfd1 For what it's worth, 14.f4? would have walked into Nxe4! i.e. 15.Nxe4 Qxd2 16.Nxd2 Bxd4+ but whilst that was never likely to happen, it really isn't easy to suggest a plan for White to progress. In contrast Black has obvious ways to improve his position. 14...Rc4 Utilising the c4-square for the rook ultimately works out very well for Black but equally 14...Nd7 intending to manoeuvre the knight there feels tempting whilst 14...Nh5 eyeing up the f4-square might have its takers now that the white rook has moved from f1 (making f3-f4 unplayable). 15.Be3 This was one way of dealing with Black's ...Nxe4 tactic but now Black's moves flow so easily. Rfc8 Or 15...Nd7 unleashing the Dragon bishop immediately although this move is up next. 16.Ra3? Serious pressure is mounting on the c-file and so White tries to offer some support to the first in line there knight. It's inadequate though and probably the only bale out option was 16.Ne2 Qxd2 17.Rxd2 when if Rxc2 then at least 18.Rxc2 Rxc2 19.Nd4 Rxb2 20.Nxe6 would tender reasonable drawing chances. White is a pawn down but the white knight is on a nice square where it has the option to trade itself for the black bishop whilst the a7-pawn is en prise and no longer poisoned! 16...Nd7! Further pressure on c3 whilst the boat has been missed on Ne2. 17.Rb3 b6 Simple chess. Dealing with the threat to ones own queenside pawns with White's c-file woes not going away! 18.h4 Nc5 There was certainly nothing wrong with taking on c3 immediately but other preparatory moves are available. 19.Ra3 Or 19.Rb5 Bxc3 20.bxc3 Qxc3 19...Bxc3 20.bxc3 Rxa4 21.Rxa4 Nxa4 Black has bagged a pawn with White's doubled c-pawns still under scrutiny. Although Black has parted company with his Dragon bishop, it doesn't look likely that he will be mated on g7! 22.Ra1 Pinning the knight but only a temporary inconvenience. b5 23.Bg5 Kf7! Guarding the e7-pawn but preparing to find an alternative safe home. Elsewhere White can't prevent his opponent from taking the c3-pawn. 24.Rd1 Qxc3 25.Qf4+ Ke8 I did say the black king wouldn't get mated on g7! 26.Kh1 Qe5 Solid, though other good moves were available! 27.Qe3 Qc5 28.e5 Desperately trying to get at the black king but it's a hopeless cause. d5 29.Qd3? White tries to make Black regret not swapping off queens but this isn't going to work! Nb2 Oops! 30.Qd4 Nxd1 0-1 (30) Delaney,J (2167)-Mrva,M (2361) Krakow POL 2024. 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 g6 So the game starts off as an Accelerated Dragon... 5.Nc3 where White eschews the Maroczy Bind. Bg7 6.Be3 Nf6 7.Bc4 With this move (cutting out the ...d5 break) a rare one that might still see White obtaining a Yugoslav Attack. 0-0 8.Bb3 And the bishop retreating to side-step any ...Nxe4 intending a ...d5 fork, tactics. d6 9.f3 Now White has achieved his Yugoslav Attack but if Qd2 is up next then essentially he'll be deploying the 10 Bb3 line. Bd7 10.Qd2 i.e. like this but soon things get a little bizarre! Rc8 10...Nxd4 11.Bxd4 b5 also avoids the standard Yugoslav Attack variations although 12.h4 12.a4 being the bishop saving positional approach. 12...a5 13.h5 a4 is super sharp. 11.0-0-0 Nxd4 12.Bxd4 b5 Instead though we get a Topalov Variation. 13.Kb1?! The quiet Kb1 can often be useful but this isn't one of those occasions as it has little benefit and expends a tempo! Though there are move order subtleties, those interested in this line will recognise 13.Nd5 Nxd5 14.Bxg7 Kxg7 15.exd5 a5 16.a3 b4 17.axb4 axb4 18.Qxb4 as a main line where Black sacrifices a pawn but obtains handy queenside lines. Consequently rather than hang around on the queenside, the white king often makes a runner to the safety of the kingside, my point therefore being that the inclusion of Kb1 could easily be detrimental! 13...a5 What's more White's last move doesn't affect Black who continues with his plan of hunting down the white light-squared bishop. As it happens the engine doesn't think that White's position is too bad here although in human practical encounters Black has scored 70%! 14.a4? Clearly White needed to do something about the threat of ...a5-a4 but incredibly this is just one of two games in which two very reasonable players fell for the same trap in the same month. The computer then suggests that the Dutch Fide Master should have tried 14.a3 intending to meet b4 15.axb4 axb4 with 16.Na2 I would argue though that with Ra8 , rather him than me! 14...bxa4 15.Nxa4 Upon 15.Bxa4 as well as continuing in the same manner as the game, Black would also have Rxc3 16.Bxd7 16.Bxc3 Bxa4 tenders two minor pieces for the rook. 16...Rc4! 17.Bb5 Nxe4! 15...Bxa4 16.Bxa4 Rc4! 17.Bxf6 The black rook was hitting both bishops and the point was that 17.Bb3 would have walked into Nxe4! and a case of 'Say Hello to my little friend- the Dragon bishop!'. 17...Bxf6 18.Bb3 18.b3? not being possible because of Rxa4 i.e. 19.bxa4 Qb6+ and inevitable mate on b2. 18...Qb6! Now the white bishop is pinned to the mate on b2 making ...a5-a4 a crushing threat but remarkably this month also saw 18...Rb4 19.Ka2 Qb6 when again faced with the unstoppable threat of ...a5-a4, an IM was forced to resign in Brunner,N (2424)-Golubev,M (2461) chess.com INT 2024 19.Qe2 Rb4 And just like that White finds himself in deep water; too much even for the 2023 Dutch Diving Chess Champion! 20.f4 There's nothing to be done about ...a5-a4 and so White desperately tries for some action elsewhere. a4 21.e5 dxe5 22.fxe5 Bg7 But that led to nothing! 23.Ba2 Rxb2+ 24.Ka1 Rb8 24...Rxc2! 25.Qxc2 Bxe5+ would also have been quite cute! To be fair though the text does threaten plenty including mate via ...Rxa2+. 25.Rb1 Rxb1+ 26.Rxb1 Qd4+ 27.c3 Qxc3+ 28.Rb2 Bxe5 Did I observe that the b2-rook is pinned! 0–1
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Kollen,Z2341Pijpers,A24600–12024B35ch-NED Qualification 20249.3

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

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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.
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