The Monthly Dragon - 7 Pawns vs. 1 Pawn endgame!?

by Arne Kaehler
2/23/2023 – Chris Ward is showing us into an interesting endgame, which occurred between two strong US chess players a couple of weeks ago. The dragon variation, which we look at, leads us to an endgame with 7 pawns vs. 1 pawn, but with a full rook less! Which side would you rather be? At this point, the engine says = 0.00 equal position. Chris had a very similar game against Karsten Mueller once, which we also dive into, when both Grandmasters played in the German Bundesliga. | 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.

 
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MoveNResultEloPlayers
1.e41,165,57054%2421---
1.d4946,47455%2434---
1.Nf3281,31256%2441---
1.c4181,93756%2442---
1.g319,68856%2427---
1.b314,23654%2427---
1.f45,88648%2377---
1.Nc33,79651%2384---
1.b41,75348%2380---
1.a31,19754%2403---
1.e31,06848%2408---
1.d394850%2378---
1.g466246%2361---
1.h444653%2374---
1.c342651%2425---
1.h327956%2416---
1.a410860%2468---
1.f39147%2431---
1.Nh38966%2508---
1.Na34262%2482---
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 g6 6.Be3 Bg7 7.f3 Nc6 8.Qd2 0-0 9.0-0-0 9.g4 Bd7 followed by 10 0-0-0 and then 10...Rc8 is an equally common way of reaching the position we soon do. 9...Be6 10.0-0-0 10.Nxe6 (originally considered bad but in more recent years that opinion has been reversed.) fxe6 11.0-0-0 Ne5 12.Be2 Qc8 is currently considered to be the main line. 10...Nxd4 10...Ne5 11.h4 Qa5 11...Bc4 12.f4 Bxf1 13.fxe5 dxe5 12.Kb1 Nxf3 13.Nxf3 Nxe4 14.Qd3 Nxc3+ 15.bxc3 Bxc3 0-1 (15) Fossan, P-Ward,C (2300) Gausdal 1987 16.Qb5 Qxa2+ 17.Kc1 11.Bxd4 Qa5 12.Kb1 or 12.a3 Rab8!? and a plan of razzing the b-pawn although 12...Rfc8 is fine too. 12...Rfc8 13.a3 Rab8 9...Bd7 10.g4 Rather than 10.h4 when h5 which could conceivably transpose to a 'Soltis'. 10...Rc8 10...Ne5 11.Kb1 b5 is a speculative pawn sacrifice but as another note, even if Black was thinking to get action along the b-file (as in the Chinese variation) through a ...Nc4 then ...bxc4 manoeuvre, White will have saved two tempi by not having moved his light-squared bishop (twice!) first. 11.h4 It's incredible how many times we continue to see this entertaining ensuing variation although I have often remarked how 11.Kb1 Ne5 and now 12.Be2 is the best way to frustrate Black. It has good results and here for example Qa5 13.Nb3 Equally 13.h4 when we've never really come up with anything better than Rxc3 14.Qxc3 Qxc3 15.bxc3 Rc8 16.Kb2 and some but not exactly wonderful compensation for the exchange. Really Black needs that extra pawn (typically the h-pawn that has been offered and accepted!) to be comfortable. 13...Qc7 14.g5 Nh5 15.Nd5 Qd8 16.Bxa7 with that hole on b6, offers White more than just his pawn. 11...Ne5 12.h5 Though specifically here this is by far the most popular move, for me it's still the Be2 move (e.g here) that is most frustrating to Black as it prevents the tactics around f3 and g4. I've never been convinced by 12.Kb1 b5 12...Qa5 with a possible transposition to the main game but with 13 Be2 again rearing its ugly head! 13.h5 Nxf3 14.Nxf3 Bxg4 15.Be2 b4 16.Nd5 Nxe4 i.e. from a Black perspective. However 12.Bh6?! is premature in view of Bxh6 13.Qxh6 Rxc3! 14.bxc3 Qa5 15.Kb2 Rc8 16.Qd2?! Instead then 16.Qe3 Qb6+ 17.Ka1 when the queen could return to a5 but more fun would be Nxf3 18.Rb1 Not 18.Qxf3? Bxg4 18...Nxd4 19.cxd4 Nxg4 20.Rxb6 Nxe3 21.Rxb7 Bc6 22.Rxe7 Kf8 23.Rxa7 Bxe4 16...Nxf3! 17.Nxf3 Nxe4 e.g. 18.Qd4 Rxc3 19.Qxe4 Qa3+ 20.Kb1 Be6 21.Rd5 Rxf3 threatening .. .Re3! 12...Qa5 13.Kb1 Again 13.Be2 but I'm sounding like a broken record! On the other hand 13.hxg6 fxg6 14.Nb3 Yep still 14.Be2 is probably best. 14...Qc7 15.Be2 invokes a nice memory in the form of b5! 16.g5? b4! 17.Nd5 Nxd5 18.Qxd5+ e6 (note the mate on c2) 19.Qd2 Nxf3 20.Bxf3 Rxf3 21.Bd4 e5 22.Bg1 Qc4 23.Qd5+ Qxd5 24.Rxd5 Rf1+ 25.Rd1 Rxd1+ 26.Kxd1 Bg4+ 27.Kd2 Bf3 0-1 Andersen, P-Ward,C Politiken Cup 1998 13...Nxf3 Way back in my 'WWTD2' book I spoke about the alleged advantage of this move order as opposed to 13...Rxc3 14.Qxc3 Qxc3 15.bxc3 Nxf3 but from a practical perspective there are definitely pros and cons of White having an h5-h6 intermezzo. 16.h6 Bh8 17.Nxf3 Bxg4 14.Nxf3 Rxc3 15.Qxc3 No time now for 15.h6? Nxe4 16.hxg7 Nxd2+ 17.Bxd2 Rfc8! 18.Bxc3 Rxc3 19.bxc3 Bxg4 which is great for Black but actually 15...Be6! may be even better. 15.bxc3 Nxe4 15...Qxc3 16.bxc3 Bxg4 17.Bg2 17.h6 Bh8 (When this endgame was all the rage a few years ago, generally it was considered favourable for White to retain a 'thorn' pawn on h6. Clearly that pawn could be a strength as Black may get tied up on the back rank or of course a weakness if it just drops off! All in all, with or without the h-pawns on I think that I always considered these scenarios to be unclear but with all those pawns to push, definitely more fun for Black!) Note via this move order though 17...Bxf3!? 18.hxg7 Rc8 is a perfectly viable alternative for Black. 18.Bg2 Nxe4 19.Rd3 Nxc3+ 20.Rxc3?! White must stay in the frying pan with 20.Kb2! 20...Bxc3 21.Rh4 Bd7 22.Rc4 Rc8! 23.Rxc8+ Bxc8 saw Hikaru convert because of his impressive pawn majority in Zugic,I (2477)-Nakamura,H (2647) Miami USA 2007. 17...Nxe4 18.Kc1 18.Rd3 Nxc3+ (a position I've reached a few times) 19.Kb2 19.Rxc3 Bxc3 20.hxg6 hxg6 21.Bxa7 eventually ended in a draw in Wang,Z (2530)-Ward,C (2490) London 1997 19...Rc8 19...Nd1+!? 20.Ka3 And not 20.Kc1? Nxe3 21.Rxe3 Bh6 20...Nb2 is totally bonkers! 20.h6 led to... Bf6 21.Nd4 Ne2 22.c3 Ng3 23.Rc1 a6 24.Bd2 Nf5 25.Nxf5 Bxf5 and then... 26.Bh3 Bxh3 27.Rxh3 Rc4 28.Kc2 b5 29.Rb1 Ra4 30.Kd1 Be5 31.c4 Rxa2 32.cxb5 axb5 33.Rxb5 f5 34.Rb7 Bf6 35.Bc3 Ra3 36.Kc2 Kf7 37.Bxf6 Rxh3 38.Bxe7 Ke6 39.Bg5 Rh5 40.Re7+ Kd5 41.Bd2 g5 42.Rxh7 f4 43.Rg7 Rxh6 44.Rxg5+ Ke4 45.Rg1 Rf6 46.Re1+ Kf3 47.Kd3 Kg2 48.Re2+ Kf1 49.Bc3 f3 50.Re1+ Kg2 51.Bxf6 f2 becoming... 52.Re2 Kf3 53.Re3+ Kg2 54.Re2 Kf3 55.Re3+ Kg2 56.Re2 1/2-1/2 (56) Mueller,K (2500)-Ward, C (2490) Germany 1997 18.h6 Nxc3+ 19.Kc1 Bf6 19...Nxd1!? also deserves attention as 20.hxg7 Nxe3 21.gxf8Q+ Kxf8 22.Ne1 or equally 22.Nh2!? Nxg2 23.Nxg4 h5 but I'd prefer a bishop over a knight. 22...Nxg2 23.Nxg2 h5 also looks like a lot of fun for Black. 20.Rd3 Bf5 21.a3 Bxd3 22.cxd3 Nd5 23.Bg5 Bxg5+ 24.Nxg5 Nf4 saw Black convert another crazy imbalanced endgame in Hansen,T-Djurhuus,R/NOR 2002. Finally 18.Bd4 looks best met by e5 18...Nxc3 19.Rde1 Nxa2+ 20.Kb1 Now 20.Kd2 Bc3+ 21.Ke2 or 21.Kd3 Bf5+ 22.Ke2 Bxe1 23.Kxe1 Be4!? 24.Rh4 f5 with a fantastic bishop and pawns ready to roll! 21...Bxe1 22.Rxe1 Rc8 would definitely be in Black's favour. 20...Nc3+ 21.Kc1 gxh5 Most would have expected 21...Bxh5 to retain more passed pawns but the anti-positional text has something to be said for it too as the main game shows. 22.Bd4 22.Bxa7 Ra8 23.Bd4 Bxf3 24.Bxg7 Bxg2 25.Bxc3 Bxh1 26.Rxh1 e5 is another fun possibility. Who says there's no endgames in the Dragon!? 22...Bxd4 23.Nxd4 e5 24.Nb3 or 24.Nf3 f5 24...b5 Looking to secure the knight on c3 whilst ensuring it remains 6 (or five and a half!) pawns for the rook for a while longer! 25.Kd2 Hitting the knight whilst clearing the way for a white rook to seek activity along the a-file. b4 26.Ra1 f5 27.Rxa7 f4 With a rook behind one of a few passed pawns, Black is now primed for ...f3 and ...e4. 28.Ra8 Upon 28.Bc6 Rf7 29.Rxf7 Kxf7 if White tries to get active with his rook immediately via 30.Ra1 then Kf6 31.Ra8 d5! 32.Ke1 h4 33.Rf8+? Kg7 34.Ra8 h3 would highlight how useful that h-pawn is (and of course ... gxh5 accelerated how far down the board it started!). 28...Rxa8 28...d5 29.Rxf8+ Kxf8 being equally plausible. 29.Bxa8 Kg7 30.Na5?! The white knight is after the black b-pawn and to be fair, netting that soon is probably the only way that White would be able to win. He should probably be looking to draw though and with that in mind perhaps objectively best is 30.Nc1 e4 31.Rf1 f3 Rather than 31...e3+? 32.Ke1! dropping the f-pawn. 32.Na2! i.e. Nxa2 33.Bxe4 Kf6 34.Bxf3 Ke5 35.Bxg4 hxg4 36.Rh1 which should comfortably hold. 30...Kf6 31.Nc6 Bf3 Logical but missing a stronger continuation in 31...Ne4+! 32.Ke1 and then Bf3 33.Rh2 or 33.Rg1? Ng5‼ when the h-pawn will run. 33...Ng3 Either way the long diagonal pin is awkward for White. 32.Ra1 h4 33.Nxb4 Also achieving that cherished draw should be 33.Nxe5 Bxa8 34.Nd7+! Kg5 or 34...Ke7 35.Rxa8 Kxd7 36.Ra7+ Ke6 37.Rxh7 35.Rxa8 h3 36.Rg8+! Not 36.Rh8? Ne4+! 37.Ke1 h5 36...Kh4 37.Nf6 (threatening mate!) h2 38.Rh8 Kg3 39.Rxh7 f3 40.Ke3 Nd1+ 41.Kd2 Nc3 42.Ke3 Nd1+ and a repetition! 33...Bxa8 34.Rxa8 Ne4+ 35.Ke2 h3 36.Kf3 Ng3 37.Nd3 With ... h2 a giant threat it's all hands to the pump! h2 38.Nf2 h1Q+ 39.Nxh1 Nxh1 40.Rh8 Kf5 There's no point in 40...Kg7 41.Rd8 41.Rf8+ Ke6 42.Rh8 Ng3 43.Rxh7 Kd5 44.Rc7 Nf5 Teeing up a handy ... Nd4 but it's not going to happen! 45.c3 Ne3 46.Rc8 Connected passed pawns sound attractive but it's not so easy for Black to make progress. Nc4 47.Rc7 Nb6 48.Rb7 Na4 49.Rb5+ Kc6 50.Rb8 Nb6 51.Re8 Kd5 52.Rb8 Nd7 53.Rc8 Nc5 54.Rb8 Nd3 Or 54...Kc4 55.Rb6 d5 56.Rc6 Kb5 57.Rd6 Kc4 58.Rc6 etc. 55.Rb5+ 55.Rf8 intending Kc4 56.Rc8+ Nc5 57.Ke2 Kxc3 58.Rc6 should also draw. 55...Kc4 56.Rb6? And suddenly it looks as though White might be losing. Mind you I'm not even certain that 56.Rb8 d5 Upon 56...Kxc3 White has 57.Rd8 which must draw. 57.Rc8+ Kb3 58.Ke2 e4 59.Kd2 is holding. I'm just enjoying the spectacle like (hopefully) everyone else! 56...e4+? And sadly after all that work it seems there was some sort of brain fade. Instead 56...d5! 57.Rc6+ Kb5 58.Rd6 e4+ 59.Ke2 Kc5 60.Rd8 Ne5 and Black is threatening ...f3+ with a ...Ng4 follow up to prevent the white king from blockading. 57.Kxe4 d5+ 58.Kf3 Kxc3 With split pawns the draw is easily obtainable. 59.Rc6+ Kd4 60.Rc8 Ke5 61.Re8+ There is nowhere constructive for the black king to hide. ½–½
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Yip,C2357Escalante Ramirez,B2468½–½2023B76Pan-Am Intercollegiate4

 

Full analysis by Chris Ward

We have a bundle for you below, including Powerbook & Powerbase of the Sicilian Dragon, with over 5000 games.

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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