3/28/2023 – The "Ginger GM" Simon Williams enjoys playing the Dragon a lot, but is an even bigger fan of the Dragadorf. But, what happens if the opponent plays the interesting 6.f4 Levenfish variation for White? Simon Williams knew the answer and dominated his opponent. Chris Ward analysed the game closely, and found some interesting options for Black and White to take care of!| Photo: John Upham
Looking for a realistic way to play for a win with Black against 1.e4 without taking unnecessary risks? The Taimanov Sicilian is a reliable system, and hence one of the best options out there!
€49.90
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.
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Move
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Result
Elo
Players
1.e4
1,170,319
54%
2421
---
1.d4
949,867
55%
2434
---
1.Nf3
282,628
56%
2440
---
1.c4
182,731
56%
2442
---
1.g3
19,745
56%
2427
---
1.b3
14,347
54%
2427
---
1.f4
5,917
48%
2377
---
1.Nc3
3,816
51%
2384
---
1.b4
1,759
48%
2379
---
1.a3
1,222
54%
2404
---
1.e3
1,073
49%
2409
---
1.d3
955
50%
2378
---
1.g4
666
46%
2361
---
1.h4
449
53%
2374
---
1.c3
435
51%
2426
---
1.h3
283
56%
2419
---
1.a4
114
60%
2465
---
1.f3
93
46%
2435
---
1.Nh3
90
66%
2505
---
1.Na3
42
62%
2482
---
Please, wait...
1.e4c52.Nf3d63.d4cxd44.Nxd4Nf65.Nc3g66.f4The
'Ginger GM' is mainly known for his French Defence outings but has definitely
played his fair share of Dragons and Dragadorfs. Of course there is no time to
distinguish between the two Dragon variants as the Levenfish variation kicks
off now on move 6 and so an exponent of either has to deal with this in the
present.Nbd7And the response is along the lines of a 'Dragadorfy' one as
indeed would be6...a6that could have come via a Najdorf move order.
There is certainly nothing wrong with the text that side-steps the
complications of7.e5dxe58.fxe5 because there is no check
on b5. HenceNd5(or 8...Ng4)Considered most challenging is6...Nc67.Nxc6bxc68.e5Nd79.exd6exd6 Black has scored well in practice
from here over a big sample and the engines already quite like Black after say10.Qd4or10.Be3Be711.Qd20-012.0-0-0d510...Nf611.Be3Be76...Bg77.e5Nh57...dxe5?8.fxe5Ng49.Bb5+Bd710.Qxg4Oops!8.Bb5+8.g4?Nxf49.Bxf4dxe5is fine.8...Bd79.e6is playable if a
bit of a mess!7.Bb5 So whenever I see a strong
player whipping out 6 f4, given its poor reputation, I tend to get the feeling
we're about to see something new and I wasn't wrong here!For example also7.e5dxe58.fxe5Nxe59.Bf4Nfd710.Bb5Bg711.Qe20-012.0-0-0was an interesting pawn sac that brought something new to the table.7.Nf3Bg78.Bd3isn't very testing.and7.Be2Bg78.Be30-09.0-0a6has more of a 'Classical variation' feel to it.7...a6White's last move
saw him renew the threat of e4-e5 (i.e. without a pawn sac involved) but the
question is immediately put to the pinning bishop.8.Bxd7+8.Ba4?!b59.Bb3Bb7would merely help Black to achieve the set-up he wants whilst8.e5axb59.exf6Nxf610.Ndxb5Bg7would comfortably favour Black with the
bishop pair and extra centre pawns.8...Nxd78...Bxd79.e5dxe510.fxe5Ng411.Bf4Bg712.Qe2is potentially tricky but whilst8...Qxd79.e5dxe510.fxe5Nd5seems okay, one can understand the text, keeping that e4-e5
thrust under control.9.Be3Bg710.Qf3Facilitating long
castles when in retrospect10.0-0might be more prudent. Still though0-0
leaves White loose on the c4; a consequence of course of trading off his
light-squared bishop.10...0-011.Nde2?!11.0-0-0is consistent with White's last move but clearly White wanted to avoid
Black's ...e5 thrust that would have ultimately gained the e5-square for the
black knight e.g. throughe512.Nde2exf413.Qxf4Ne513...Be514.Qf3Nb6also not silly.11...b5!Certainly White's
previous move would have been justified in the event of11...e5?12.f5! but instead Black simply carries on with the development here in
the manner always intended for his light-squared bishop with ...b4 handily
available now too.12.e5Hence White gets the text in whilst he can but the queen
will soon be challenged along the b7-g2 diagonal.Instead12.0-0-0Bb713.h4b414.Nd5e6!15.Nxb4Nf616.Ng316.Nc3Rc8with the good old ...
Rxc3 in the equation as well as the likes of ...Rc4 and ...Qa5.16...Qc717.h5a518.Nd3Rfc819.c3Qc4highlights the sort of initiative Black can
easily obtain.12...Rb813.exd6Bb7!14.Qf2The greedy intermezzo
14.dxe7Qxe715.Qf2Rfe8 simply
leaves White in big trouble in the centre e.g.16.Bd2or16.0-0-0b416...Nf617.0-0-0b414...b4!Going with the initiative.15.Na415.Nd1Nf616.dxe7Qxe717.0-0Rfe8and there's problems
on the e-file.15...exd6 Not super valuable
itself, this pawn does control the c5-square and now of course the e-file is
open.16.Bd4Upon16.0-0Bc617.b3Bxa418.bxa4Bxa119.Rxa1Rc8
Black is extremely unlikely to get mated on g7 and hence is simply significant
material up.16.Nb6Nf6would show the contrast in knights. White's one
on b6 is a handicap whereas Black's steed is poised to wreak havoc!16...Nf6I like this move although very straightforward was16...Bxd4as it's no clear which way White should recapture i.e.17.Nxd4
or17.Qxd4Re8simply pinning.17...Re8+18.Kd2Nc5!17.0-0-0Upon
17.0-0neat isNg4!18.Qg3Re8!19.Qxg4h5!(the point)20.Qg3Rxe2 leaving both g2 and d4 attacked.17...Qa517...Bc618.Nb6Ne4!19.Qe3Bxd4with the knight on b6
dropping, suggested itself but the text is also natural and dynamic.18.b3Bc619.Bxf6With or without this concession, things weren't looking good for
White!Bxf620.Rxd6White was pinning his hopes on this forking of Black's
bishops but Black has everything under control.Bxa421.Rxf6After21.bxa4Qxa422.Rxf6Rfc823.Nd4Qxa2
Black simply has too many threats with24.Kd2b3not helping.21...Bxb3!22.Nd4After22.cxb3Qxa2 the
exposed white king's days look numbered whilst22.axb3Qa1+ also highlights the danger the white rooks are in.22...Bxa223.Re1Even23.Nf5doesn't exactly threaten anything whilstb3and23...Qa3+24.Kd2Rbd8+24.Nh6+Kg7definitely leaves Black with threats!23...b324.cxb3Bxb3As far as a white pawn shield goes, the
king has been abandonned!25.Rc6Rfd8!
Leaving ...Qa1+ and ...Rxd4 as just two of many threats.26.Nxb3Rxb3
There is nowhere for the white king to hide and mate is inevitable.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.
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