3/31/2026 – In this episode of The Monthly Dragon, Chris Ward takes a close look at the newest Dragadorf developments and shows why these modern Dragon setups are becoming such a practical weapon for Black. Using fresh blitz examples and clear strategic ideas, he explains how early ...h5, flexible piece play and typical Dragadorf plans can leave White struggling to find a convincing setup. A particularly striking highlight is an unexpected knight retreat that turns out to be a powerful positional idea and perfectly captures the fresh creativity in today's Dragon theory. | Photo: John Upham

2/28/2026 – Chris Ward flips the usual “Monthly Dragon” perspective by studying why White wins against the Sicilian Dragon, using the classic Karpov–Korchnoi game to highlight recurring mating themes. He then shows how those same ideas transfer across openings and how he used the lessons in his own games to punish opponents who weren’t aware of the patterns—especially tactics involving sacrificesand mating nets. The takeaway for Dragon players: don’t avoid White’s best wins, learn the “warning signs,” so you can prevent them and steer the positions toward Black’s counterplay instead.| Photo: John Upham

1/30/2026 – GM Chris Ward opens the Monthly Dragon with a sharp refresher on a classic Classical Dragon position, showing how certain White sidelines can be punished, especially with the key idea …Qb6 and the tactical “Zollner gambit” packed with pins, forks, and long-diagonal themes. He then moves to a second highlight: Arne’s very first Classical Dragon, played as a delayed Vietnamese Dragon to surprise a Dragon expert, with a practical discussion of move orders of h5 vs. e5. The game itself is a model attacking performance: Black builds dark-square pressure, opens lines, and finishes with a direct king hunt and checkmate. | Photo: John Upham

12/29/2025 – This end-of-year edition of the Monthly Dragon with Chris Ward wraps up 2025 by diving deep into early deviations against the Sicilian Dragon, with a special focus on the tricky and provocative Knight d5 idea. Ward explains why grabbing the e4-pawn is often a trap, illustrates the dangers with classic games and sharp tactical examples, and shares practical recommendations for Dragon players to stay calm and choose safer setups like …Nxd5 or …Bg7. Blending serious opening theory with anecdotes, humour, and historical games, the episode delivers a memorable “anti-Christmas variation” lesson to take into the new year. | Photo: John Upham

11/25/2025 – In this episode, Arne briefly “takes over” the Monthly Dragon and, together with Chris, uses ChessBase 26’s new Opening Report to explore the history and current relevance of major Dragon and Dragadorf setups, checking how fashionable they are today across different rating levels. They showcase the tactics feature on Dragon positions, with Chris solving sharp combinations live and demonstrating how ChessBase automatically extracts tactical exercises from large databases. The show culminates in an instructive 1951 Averbakh Dragon game, where a dynamic pawn sacrifice and queenside pressure lead to a superior rook endgame. | Photo: John Upham

10/29/2025 – In this second October Monthly Dragon, Chris Ward let Arne pick two games. Game 1 (Yugoslav, Chinese variation) shows classic opposite-wing play, while Game 2 (Yugoslav, with g3) is a model Dragon win. The episode highlights practical Dragon themes—pawn sacs on the queen side, neutralizing Bh6 ideas, pinned-knight motifs on d5, and the power of coordinated rooks and queen on the b-file. | Photo: John Upham

10/10/2025 – The delayed September edition reviews a single slow-play game in the mainline Sicilian Dragon, Yugoslav Attack with Bc4 and 10.Bb3. Chris outlines White’s three plans: all-out h4–h5, positional a4, or the “halfway house”, and shows the typical imbalances after Bxe6 followed by fxe6 and the tactical motif Rb4. But, our viewers have to be strong, since this episode it is White who actually wins | Photo: John Upham

8/30/2025 – In the newest episode of Monthly Dragon, Chris Ward explores recent games in the Dragon, focusing on the fianchetto system where White plays g3. He analyzes key ideas, such as when White captures on c6 and pushes e5, showing how Black can calmly defend and even gain the upper hand, illustrated through a game where an English IM defeated a GM. Finally, Ward highlights a Magnus Carlsen game in the hyper-accelerated Dragon, where Magnus outmaneuvered his opponent with patient queen shifts, central tactics, and a brilliant finish, proving once again the richness of the Dragon.| Photo: John Upham

8/1/2025 – In this episode, the focus is on typical errors made in Sicilian Dragon games, illustrated through instructive examples from recent tournaments. Chris covers common move-order mistakes, thematic tactics like the exchange sacrifice on c3, and a brilliant underdog win by a 2033-rated player over a 2369-rated opponent using precise Dragon play. The discussion also touches on repertoire-building advice, the importance of playing openings that suit your style, and an amusing anecdote about meeting the young "Vietnamese Dragon" prodigy at the Biel Chess Festival. | Photo: John Upham

6/30/2025 – GM Chris Ward dissects a high-level Dragon game between Hikaru Nakamura and Frederik Svane, showcasing a sharp variation known as the h5 Dragadorf. Alongside detailed tactical motifs - like knight sacrifices, queen traps and pawn breaks - Chris emphasizes how even small imprecisions can lead to brutal consequences in this complex opening. He also revisits viewer questions from the previous episode. The episode is highlighting the Dragadorf's growing strength and teasing the potential for a full ChessBase course on this potent setup. | Photo: John Upham

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

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

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

2/28/2025 – In the main line of the Yugoslav Attack, the ninth move Bc4 is nearly as popular as castling long. While Bd7 remains the most common response, Chris has some excellent alternative suggestions that can give Black an edge. Interestingly, Bc4 recently proved to be a nightmare for co-host Arne Kaehler, as Chris thoroughly enjoyed predicting and countering Arne’s "amateur" plans. | Photo: John Upham

1/17/2025 – It's still the Year of the Dragon according to the Chinese zodiac, but on the 29th of January, it will turn into the Year of the Snake. But for Chris Ward, every year is the Year of the Dragon, and new games continue to show up month by month. In this episode, Chris examines the variation without f3 for White. What are the plans? How should they be countered? The English GM knows it all. | Photo: John Upham

12/13/2024 – The mainline in the Yugoslav attack, is constantly played on a higher level. But what happens, if instead of moving the queen to d2, it goes to e2? Chris Ward says, shows us how to play against this attempt, and gain a good advantage for Black. Furthermore, the English GM has a recent, super entertaining game for us, where two chess legends battle it out - dragon style! | Photo: John Upham

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

10/11/2024 – The Olympiad in Budapest is over, and of the 7000+ games, a couple of stunning dragons were on the board. Chris selected the 5 most interesting, and beautiful examples, and analysed them. A sixth game was also added, as a special surprise - Especially for co-host Arne Kaehler ... | Photo: John Upham

8/6/2024 – Chris Ward gathered not one, not two, but three beautiful Dragon examples for us. The key features in this episode are the d5 break, the Rook on the c-file, and the explosive c4 square! In typical fashion, Chris explains his thoughts, plans, ideas and more about the most recent Sicilian games. | Photo: John Upham

7/11/2024 – We all love the dragon for it's attacking play against the king on the queen-side. But how can one attack the king on the king-side? Chris Ward has not only an answer to that, but actually dives deep into the the psychology of king-side attacking, and how to actually get an advantage on the queen-side instead. Furthermore, the example game shows nicely how a material imbalance harmonizes against White. | Photo: John Upham

6/6/2024 – Three wonderful features are presented in the game, which Chris Ward has chosen for us. Interestingly, he found a game, in which "The ChessNerd" streamer Max Weidenhoefer lost against the Sicilian. In this particular game, a variation of the Dragadorf is used, in which the King stays in the centre for quite some time. And that can be excellent, at times! Chris explains it all in the video. | Photo: John Upham

5/19/2024 – The Sicilian Dragon is full of options for White, after the first 8-12 moves have been played. One of them is, to place the Knight on e4. But is this a good idea for White? Chris Ward doesn't think so, and shows us a couple of ideas for Black to deal with this unusual progression. Luckily, a Dragon player is in for some fun because some tactics are rolling in. | Photo: John Upham

4/29/2024 – After the little excursion to plenty of Anti-Sicilians, and how Chris Ward suggested countering them, we got back on track with a real Dragon game. Real? Well, this time, the British GM chose a very positional game, and points out, that it doesn't always have to be a tactical back and forth in this opening. Uncomplicated, straightforward chess is possible!| Photo: John Upham

2/13/2024 – Month by month, we learn how to master, and tame the powerful Dragon, with Dragon expert Chris Ward. But do you know what's really annoying? When nobody wants to accept the Dragon against you! Chris heard all of your cries for help, and made a special episode of the basics, ideas, plans, traps, and more for plenty of Anti-Sicilians, and other openings, which try to dodge our beloved Sicilian Dragon. A "Must Watch" episode for everyone, who experienced something similar. (And we know, you have ...) | Photo: John Upham