The Monthly Dragon - The Vietnamese Dragon

by Arne Kaehler
5/28/2025 – Chris Ward and Arne dive into recent developments in the Dragon and Dragadorf variations of the Sicilian Defence, analysing three instructive games. They focus particularly on hybrid lines like the Dragadorf, where Black mixes ideas from both the Dragon and Najdorf, experimenting with early ...a6 and ...h5 setups. A major highlight is the analysis of a game by a 14-year-old Vietnamese IM, who has become the most prominent adopter of a unique variation still lacking a formal name. The episode is filled with tactical lessons, strategic insights, and humorous commentary, all while inviting viewers to help name the emerging system. | 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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1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 g6 6.Be3 Bg7 7.f3 a6 8.Qd2 h5 The most common move here is 8...Nbd7 keeping all options open but the text has now twice as many practical encounters with it than the original Dragadorf continuation 8...b5 Perhaps that's because that allows White to challenge with a2-a4 whereas .. .h5 of course prevents White's g2-g4 thrust. 9.Bc4 Nbd7 Still not quite committing although regards 9...b5 a transposition is naturally very possible. 10.0-0-0 Qc7 Typically here we'd see 10...b5 11.Bb3 after which Black tends to choose between Bb7 e.g. 12.Kb1 Rc8 and 11...Nc5. 11.Bb3 b5 12.Kb1 Bb7 So we have a very similar scenario to ones commonly reached with Black though having prioritised ...Qc7 over ...Rc8. A pretty solid option but without a future exchange sac on c3 available. 13.h3 White has seemingly decided that he wants to force through g2-g4 anyway and regards plans in general, it's probably this one and 13.Rhe1 that suggest themselves, the latter hoping to be able to make a breakthrough in the centre which would be especially rewarding if that's where the black king remains. 13...Ne5 14.g4 Nfd7 A touch of prophylaxis. Alternatively 14...Rc8 and only if then 15.g5 deploying Nfd7 seems very reasonable. The game suggests though that White wants to crack open the kingside. 15.gxh5 Case in point! Rxh5 I think this is okay for Black. The rook is safe here for now and with White now having more pawn islands, long term the h3-pawn could be a target. Of course Black can't castle kingside but the king could always wander over that direction if necessary. 16.Qg2 Sure, supporting h3 and f3 but far more relevantly looking to drum up threats around g6, f7 and e6, sadly something that Black doesn't quite appear to appreciate. Nc4?? And indeed to the contrary is rather obliging. White's plan was f3-f4 to dislodge Black's superbly placed knight so as to facilitate what follows, but whilst c4 is in general a great square for a black steed, alas White's threat now trumps Black's. Instead 16...Nf6 and 16...Nc5 both handy moves preventing what now follows, look absolutely fine. 17.Ne6‼ Forking the black queen and Dragon bishop and if the latter falls, it too is with another fork. fxe6 17...Na3+ would save the day in the event of 18.bxa3? Qxc3 but alas 18 Kc1! leaves Black facing the same situation. 18.Qxg6+ Kd8 Hanging around to protect the bishop is going to end in tears and perhaps a visual mate e.g. 18...Kf8 19.Qxh5 Nxe3 20.Bxe6 (threatening mate on f7) Ne5 21.Rhg1! 21.Qh7 Nf7 22.Rhg1 also being rather good. 21...Nxd1 22.Qh8+ Bxh8 23.Rg8# 19.Qxg7! 19.Qxh5?! Nxe3 would in contrast be rather unclear. 19...Nde5 After 19...Nxe3 somewhat convincing would be 20.Qg8+ Nf8 21.Bxe6! e.g. Qc6 22.Qxf8+ Qe8 23.Rxd6+‼ exd6 24.Qxd6+ 20.f4 Nxe3 20...Nc6 21.Bxc4 bxc4 would leave Black in a grim position and for the record, a pawn down! 21.fxe5 Nxd1 22.Rxd1 Now White is the exchange (for a pawn) down but with a very strong initiative. Qd7 23.exd6 exd6 24.Qf6+ Kc7 25.Bxe6 Rf8 25...Qc6 would simply drop the rook to 26.Qf7+ whilst 25...Qh7 26.Rg1 threatens a simple fork with Kb8 27.Rg7 Qh6 28.Qd8+ Ka7 29.Rxb7+ Kxb7 30.Bd5+ Ka7 31.Qc7# a cute way the game could end. 26.Qxf8 Qxe6 27.a4 Actually 27.Rxd6! Qxd6 28.Qf7+ would have been relatively straightforward but in a way it seems odd that the game is still going on. 27...b4 28.Nd5+ Bxd5 29.exd5 Rxd5 30.Rg1! The bottom line is that the black king is still exposed. Rf5 Highlighting my last point we have: 30...Qxh3 31.Rg7+ Kb6 32.Qb8+ Ka5 or 32...Kc5 33.Qa7+ Kc4 34.Rg4+! Qxg4 35.b3+ Kc3 36.Qe3+ Rd3 37.Qxd3# 33.Qc7+ Kxa4 34.Qc6+ Rb5 35.Qxa6+ Ra5 36.Qc6+ Rb5 37.Ra7# 31.Rg7+ Kc6 32.Qa8+! Kb6 Note 32...Kc5 33.Qxa6 also covers Black's own back-rank mate threat. 33.Qd8+ Kc6 Or 33...Kc5 34.Qa5+ Kd4 35.Qxb4+ 34.Qc7+ Kd5 35.Qa5+ Mate is inevitable. 1–0
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Deepan,C2394Grigoryan,K25561–02025B752nd Namma Bengaluru Open4.1
Martin,N2181Gunnarsson,J24390–12025B75Reykjavik Open 20253.44
Aldar Burentegsh2196Dau Khuong Duy24230–12025B72Asian Zonal zt 3.3 20252.7

Full analysis by Chris Ward

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

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Topics: Chris Ward, Fritztrainer, Sicilian Dragon
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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See also

The Monthly Dragon - Deep Diving with a new Dragadorf!

4/29/2025 – GM Chris Ward introduces a fresh and evolving variation in the Sicilian Dragon, humorously dubbed the "Accelerated Dragadorf", which merges dragon setups with thematic ideas from the Najdorf. He analyzes a complex game featuring this system, highlighting tactical motifs, a strong bishop on e5, and a dominant performance by young Vietnamese IM Dau Khuong Duy. The second part covers a clean positional win in a more traditional Dragon, culminating in a delightful rook endgame puzzle, followed by Chris sharing personal insights on his early use of chess engines like Fritz. | Photo: John Upham
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The Monthly Dragon - GM Chris Ward’s INSANE 1987 Dragon Sacrifice

3/27/2025 – In this special March edition of the Monthly Dragon, GM Chris Ward takes us on a nostalgic yet deeply instructive journey through two of his own classic games. Rather than focusing solely on cutting-edge theory, Chris highlights the enduring value of tactical motifs, pattern recognition, and sharp attacking ideas — all with the fiery flair of the Dragon! | Photo: John Upham
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Video

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For a long time the Scotch opening was considered harmless and rarely played. This changed in 1990 when Garry Kasparov successfully employed the Scotch opening in his World Championship match against Anatoly Karpov. But that was 25 years ago. Now, there is no need to panic if you want to play 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 and need a line against the Scotch. On this 60 Minutes renowned and successful coach Adrian Mikhalchishin gives simple practical tips how to neutralize and counter the Scotch.
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