The Monthly Dragon - The games of Erigaisi, Robson & Dubov

by Arne Kaehler
11/12/2024 – Absolute chess superstars occasionally play a Sicilian Dragon in a classic game, and it is rare for these games to win a brilliancy prize. However, some of our readers prefer to see the Dragon in action at the highest level, and have mentioned recent games by Arjun Erigaisi and Ray Robson. Here at ChessBase our Dragon Tamer Chris Ward analyses these games, having previously done so on the chesspublishing.com website. Then, as an extra treat, he shows us a fantastic game by super grandmaster Daniil Dubov! | 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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MoveNResultEloPlayers
1.e41,170,31954%2421---
1.d4949,86755%2434---
1.Nf3282,62856%2440---
1.c4182,73156%2442---
1.g319,74556%2427---
1.b314,34754%2427---
1.f45,91748%2377---
1.Nc33,81651%2384---
1.b41,75948%2379---
1.a31,22254%2404---
1.e31,07349%2409---
1.d395550%2378---
1.g466646%2361---
1.h444953%2374---
1.c343551%2426---
1.h328356%2419---
1.a411460%2465---
1.f39346%2435---
1.Nh39066%2505---
1.Na34262%2482---
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 g6 6.Be3 Bg7 On course for a standard Dragon right now but spoiler alert, we're not going to get a main line here! Yes we've already seen how the talented young Russian has a liking for the Hungarian variation via 6...Nc6 but whilst that's not his choice here, he has another offbeat system in mind. 7.f3 h5 8.Bc4 We could equally have seen 8.Qd2 a6 but given White acknowledges that Black is unlikely to castle anytime soon, he writes off an early Bh6 possibility and immediately scrutinises f7. 8...a6 Very Dragadorf like only (as we've seen before) Black has basically prioritised ...h5 over ...b5. 9.a4 White prevents that expansion but this advance makes long castles less attractive and hence kingside castling far more likely. Nbd7 10.0-0 Now the h-file is of less use to White, who is far more likely to turn to f3-f4 with either e4-e5 or f4-f5 in mind, both plans utilising the rook now on f1. Qc7 11.Ba2 b6 With ...b5 unavailable, Black settles for second best with the bishop set to nestle in on b7. 12.f4 Bb7 13.f5 Definitely more action packed than a standard hedgehog scenario though of course there are obvious differences. White wants to trade on g6 and park a knight on e6. g5!? Though I do always advise my Dragon playing students to look out for opportunities to hassle the white dark-squared bishop by moving a knight to g4, here 13...Ng4 allows 14.fxg6! and if Nxe3? then 15.gxf7+ Kd8 15...Kf8 16.Ne6# even more undesirable! 16.Ne6+ Kc8 17.Qe2 is terrible. 14.Nf3 The intention after 14.Bxg5 wasn't Nxe4 but rather 14...Qc5! immediately with of course 15.Be3? able to be met by Ng4! 15.Nd5! when for example Qc5 16.f6! Ndxf6 17.b4! is a problem! 14...g4 Justifying White's last move, now 14...Nxe4? runs into 15.Nxe4 Bxe4 16.Nxg5 15.Ng5 Rf8 Black wants to defend f7 and this is favoured over 15...0-0 because he has in mind using those h- and g-files for some play of his own. Observe the tactic 15...Ne5? 16.Bxf7+! Nxf7 17.Ne6 16.Qe2 Rc8 16...Ne5 or 16...h4 were candidates but Black prioritises the activation of his queen's rook. 17.Rad1 A fairly natural move in an interesting game. Ne5 18.Qf2 Qb8 A prophylactic response to White attacking the b6-pawn. Alternatively fascinating would have been 18...Nc4 19.Bxc4 Qxc4 and if 20.Bxb6 then g3! 21.Qxg3 Rg8 with complications ahead! 19.Bxb6?! Greed certainly doesn't get rewarded here. 19.Bd4 might have been more prudent but still Bh6 20.Qh4 feels a tad weird even if Rg8? isn't possible because of 21.Nxf7! Nxf7 22.Bxf6 (White on the offensive!). 19...Bh6 20.Be3 g3! 21.Qxg3 And not 21.hxg3 Nfg4 22.Qe1 Nxe3 23.Qxe3 Rg8 dropping the now pinned knight. 21...Rg8 Two pawns down but with some excellent counterplay. Gee this boy can play! 22.h4 Securing the knight on g5 but Black is relentless. Rxc3! 23.bxc3 Nxe4 24.Qe1 Qa8!? 24...Bxg5 wouldn't be bad although 25.hxg5 Nxg5 would allow White to defend through 26.Bxg5 Rxg5 27.Bd5 Instead the text secures the domination of the long diagonal and keeps things on the boil. 25.g3?! Bxg5 26.hxg5 Rxg5‼ Beautiful and making it a double exchange sac. 27.Bxg5? This loses although 27.Bf4 h4 was bad too. 27...Nxg5 And suddenly Black has a multitude of threats specifically on the f3-square and along the a7-g1 diagonal. 28.Rd3 Stylish would have been 28.Qe2 Ng4! with ...Nh3 mate threatened. 28...Qa7+! Note 28...Qa7+! 29.Qe3 or 29.Kh2 Ng4# 29...Ng4‼ 30.Qxa7 Nh3# 0–1
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Najer,E2635Dubov,D27010–12024B7577th ch-RUS 202410.5
Erigaisi,A2778Mamedov,R26371–02024B7745th Olympiad 20245.1
Robson,R2700Baules,J22711–02024B7845th Olympiad 20241.1

Don't forget! Today - 12.11.2024 - is discount day!

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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