8/30/2023 – In the last episode, Chris introduced the Hungarian Dragon. This time, the British GM will continue with some deviations of the popular variation. Beware, the following game is intense! It is definitely worth it to check out the full analysis. | Photo: John Upham
Have you always wanted to play the Sicilian as Black, but been discouraged by the abundance of options for White? Here is the solution to becoming a lifelong successful Sicilian player!
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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.
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
1,165,570
54%
2421
---
1.d4
946,474
55%
2434
---
1.Nf3
281,312
56%
2441
---
1.c4
181,937
56%
2442
---
1.g3
19,688
56%
2427
---
1.b3
14,236
54%
2427
---
1.f4
5,886
48%
2377
---
1.Nc3
3,796
51%
2384
---
1.b4
1,753
48%
2380
---
1.a3
1,197
54%
2403
---
1.e3
1,068
48%
2408
---
1.d3
948
50%
2378
---
1.g4
662
46%
2361
---
1.h4
446
53%
2374
---
1.c3
426
51%
2425
---
1.h3
279
56%
2416
---
1.a4
108
60%
2468
---
1.f3
91
47%
2431
---
1.Nh3
89
66%
2508
---
1.Na3
42
62%
2482
---
Please, wait...
1.e4c52.Nf3d63.d4cxd44.Nxd4Nf65.Nc3g66.Be3A quick reminder that6.Bc4Nc6?However6...Bg77.0-0Nc68.Nxc6bxc69.e5dxe510.Qxd8+Kxd811.Bxf7?e6 would leave White's light-squared bishop incarcerated.Relevant to this game is that would not be the case were Black's h7-pawn on h5.7.Nxc6bxc68.e5dxe5?9.Bxf7+!is very bad news.6...Nc67.f3h5Getting ready for the 'Hungarian Dragon'.8.Bc4But White opts to avoid that8.Qd2Nxd49.Bxd4Bh6variation that has been played quite a lot recently and with good results.8...Bd7Of course ruling out the bishop coming to h6 lines but8...Bg7is possible as although9.Nxc6bxc610.e5dxe5?10...Nh7!?11.exd6exd6(note now threatening the bishop winning...Qh4+)12.0-00-011.Qxd8+Kxd812.Bxf7is good for White because the hanging pawn on g6 means White's light-squared won't be trapped by ...e6, in fact 10...Nh7! looks promising for Black. A key point there is that White would rather his f3-pawn was back at home!9.Bb3Roll back a few years and9.Qd2would have been automatic but now with the emergence of the Hungarian Dragon, White was probably still looking to avoidNxd49...Bg7of course being possible and a sort of offbeat delaying castling 9 Bc4 Yugoslav Attack.10.Bxd4Bh69...Bg7I guess the game of cat and mouse could have continued with9...Rc8but as we soon see Black has other plans for his queen's rook and so finally Black commits his Dragon bishop.10.Qd2And consequently with Black having shown his hand, now White feels happy to play this! However although we sort of have an offbeat 9 Bc4 Yugoslav Attack variation, it's very possible that White would have favoured the 9 0-0-0 line in a normal main line so avoiding the ...Nxd4 and ...Bh6 system may have put him out a bit.Na5With options of taking White's bishop or later on jumping in to c4.11.0-0-0Rb8One can see why Black is refraining from castling for now and aside from bringing this rook to c8 instead, certainly11...Nxb3+was plausible. Whichever pawn recaptured an ...a5-a4 plan could then follow.12.Nde2This is an interesting situation. I wouldn't say that White has a choice of 'waiting moves' (such as this or Kb1) as Black's ...b5 and ...Nc4 plan is fairly transparent. With the black king still in the middle, certainly Rhe1 suggested itself but then again should Black's king 'go short' after all then undoubtedly White would want rooks on the h/g files to launch an offensive.b5Bringing both ...Nc4 and ...b4 into play and challenging White to take the on offer a-pawn.13.Bxa7?!Which he does although it looks a little greedy!13.Nf4was consistent although afterNc414.Bxc4bxc4coming with ...Qa5 would be some handy queenside action.13...Ra8Not bad but13...b4!looked even stronger e.g.14.Nd514.Bxb8Nxb3+15.cxb3bxc316.Nxc3Qxb8leaves two bishops for the rook and ...Bh6 ideas can be thrown into the mix too.14...Nxb3+!15.cxb3or15.axb3Qa515...Nxd516.Bxb8Note the16.Qxd5Qc7+fork.16...Bh6!17.f4Nxf418.Nxf4Qxb8when White would be in a right pickle along that h6-c1 diagonal.14.Qe3?!Probably14.Bd4is an improvement but stillBh615.Be3Nxb3+16.cxb3Bxe317.Qxe3b4would see Black regain the pawn and be comfortable.14...b415.Nd5Nxb3+16.axb3Nxd517.Rxd5Upon17.exd5Qa518.Bd4Bh619.f4Black could take that pawn on d5 bearing in mind a potential mate on a1 whilst simply castling looks great too.17...Bc6Very reasonable with other strong moves available too.18.Bb618.Rdd1Qd719.Bb6Bh620.f4Qb7highlights how loose White's position is.18...Qc8With18...Bh619.f4Qd7also looking strong.19.Ra5Bh620.f4Rxa521.Bxa5Qa6Or21...Qa8!also hitting a4 and side-stepping the queen trade.22.Qb6Qxb623.Bxb6Bxe4But of course this endgame is lovely. The pawn count is level but Black has a wonderful bishop pair.24.Rg1Kd725.Be3Rc8Natural and targeting c2.26.c4d5The switch26...Ra8!was also rather impressive i.e.27.g3Ra1+28.Kd2Ra229.Kc1Bg730.Nd4And not30.Bd4??Bxd431.Nxd4Ra1+30...e527.Ng3Bd328.c5d4But this is all good stuff.29.Kd229.Bxd4?Bxf4+30.Kd1Ra8would be curtains.29...dxe3+30.Kxd3Bxf431.Kc4Bd6Utilising the pin is simple stuff.32.Ne4f5!33.Kxb4fxe434.cxd6exd635.Re1d5Black's central pawn mass is awesome.36.Rxe3Ke6And White doesn't want to hang around to see it advance.0–1
Arne KaehlerArne 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.
Whether it’s a weak pawn, a vulnerable king, or poor piece coordination, this course will teach you how to pinpoint the critical targets, prioritise your attack, and execute a clear, effective plan.
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The Black Sniper is back – sharper and deadlier than ever! This dynamic system (1...g6, 2...Bg7, 3...c5 against 1.e4, 1.d4 and 1.c4) creates unpredictable, high-pressure positions, leaving opponents struggling to adapt.
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