Download PGN of December '14 Dragon Sicilian games
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Accelerated Dragadorf [B75]
Clearly 1.Nf3 c5 2.e4 d6 3.d4 Nf6 4.Nc3 cxd4 5.Nxd4 g6 6.Be3 a6 7.f3 b5 wasn't your standard Reti opening in Giri - Ivanisevic! It was, of course, an Accelerated Dragadorf where actually after 8.Qd2 Bb7, we see 9.g4 for the first time on this site:
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That's not though significant in itself, as plenty of transpositions are possible and, indeed, 9...h6 10.0-0-0 Nbd7 11.a3 Rc8 12.h4 does reach a position that we are familiar with. I have to say that I don't like the selected 12...Qa5?! here, with her majesty moving too much for my liking in the game continuation of 13.Nb3 Qc7 14.Qf2 e6 15.Kb1 Qb8. Yep, even after 16.Bh3, the standard exchange sac 16...Rxc3 doesn't repair the damage for me, and the star of the future is utterly clinical in dispatching his (no slouch of an!) opponent.
Yugoslav Attack 9 g4 e6 [B76]
The first half of the game Olsarova - Mudra was very entertaining, with some fantastic variations in the notes by way of missed opportunities. We are, of course, now on to the Yugoslav Attack and specifically 9 g4 where here we have a site debut response of 9...e6 and Black clearly eager to get in the break ...d5:
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Well, that is exactly what happened after 10.Ndb5 i.e. 10...d5 after which 11.g5 Nxe4 12.fxe4 d4 13.Nxd4 Nxd4 14.0-0-0 e5 15.h4 Bg4 16.Be2 Nxe2+ 17.Nxe2 Qc7! was definitely in Black's favour. Okay I'll leave you to play through that annotation, but it looks as though next time we should focus instead on 10 0-0-0, the basis of which is covered in the game's notes.
Yugoslav Attack 9 0-0-0 Nxd4 [B76]
An old variation, yes (of which I've revisited for an update in theory), but McDonald - Corsino was a bit of a strange game with inaccuracies and missed opportunities for both sides. We are talking 9.0-0-0 Nxd4 10.Bxd4 Be6 11.Kb1 Qc7 12.h4 Rfc8 13.h5 Qa5 14.hxg6 hxg6 15.a3 Rab8 16.Bd3 and after 16...Bc4, the good old 17.Bxc4 Rxc4 18.Qc1 that we investigated quite a lot a long while back:
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The conclusion was that 18...e6 is Black's best move, but this game saw 18...Rbc8?, giving White the opportunity to play 19 Nd5! That was eschewed, and in my opinion the sequence 19.Bxf6 Bxf6 20.Nd5 Rxc2 21.Qxc2 Rxc2 22.Nxf6+ exf6 23.Kxc2 was far from flawless and in fact there were a few more errors between now and the end of the game that saw my fellow chesspublishing site host ultimately triumph.
Yugoslav Attack 9 0-0-0 d5 10 Qe1 [B76]
We all remember and of course can still see Gawain's contributions to this site in terms of annotations, but even though he has left us in that department, you can see that he still plays a part in ChessPublishing.com as I am always on the case of his Dragon encounters! He won't be so proud of Edouard - Jones, which was the 2nd game played in a special challenge match that was being held at the London Classic Kensington Olympia venue this year.
Of course it was a Yugoslav, and following 9.0-0-0 d5 10.Qe1 e5 11.Nxc6 bxc6 12.exd5 Nxd5 13.Bc4 Be6, the move 14.Kb1 was a little different. A transposition to more usual paths was still not unlikely, but through 14...Rb8 15.Ne4 f5, Black's approach took the fight straight to his opponent:
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There was a bit of cat and mouse through 16.Ng5 Bc8 17.h4 h6 18.Ne4 Be6 and I guess 19.Nc5 Bf7 offered about equal chances. A game worth checking out though as Black's position deteriorated and Mr Jones was somewhat fortunate to escape with a draw.
Yugoslav Attack 9 0-0-0 d5 10 exd5 Nxd5 11 Nxc6 bxc6 12 Bd4 Bxd4 [B76]
Yes, I'm not going to lie to you; the high level game Efimenko - Van Kampen isn't a barrel of laughs and definitely no fun for Black to play.
We have seen plenty of 9.0-0-0 d5 10.exd5 Nxd5 11.Nxc6 bxc6 12.Bd4 Bxd4 13.Qxd4 Qb6 14.Na4 Qc7 15.Bc4 Rd8 16.Nc5 and even 16...Bf5 17.Bb3 Nf4 18.Qf2 Rxd1+ 19.Rxd1 Rd8 before, but 20.Re1 is new:
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White probably needed some good news in this variation and at the very least I think this game should act as a reminder to the Black player that he does have queenside weaknesses and plenty of endgames may prove unpleasant. Certainly 20...Nd5?! 21.g3 h5 22.a3 Qb6 23.Qd4 Nf6 24.Qc3 Qc7 25.Qe5 Qxe5 26.Rxe5 turned out that way!
Yugoslav Attack 9 Bc4 with 10 h4 [B77]
I explain in the annotation Kuchar - Pulpan why I couldn't resist including this encounter in this month's update, just to show that such games still take place! Despite the eventual outcome, actually White's play is quite logical, starting with the decision to advance the h-pawn in favour of castling, as we know to side-step the Chinese Variation.
Essentially then we have a 9 Bc4 Yugoslav Attack and following 9...Bd7, the immediate 10 h4 and after 10...Rc8 11 Bb3 Ne5, 12 h5. Okay, you know what, I'm not going to ruin the rest of the 'story'! Below is a position from the game, but check it out to get all the action!
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And that's it from me for 2014. As I won't be back beforehand...
Happy New Year! Chris
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To get in touch with me subscribers can email me at Chris Ward@ChessPublishing.com.