Download PGN of September ’23 Dragon Sicilian games
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Sicilian Dragon 6 h4 [B70]
From time to time I do like to see offbeat approaches but although after 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 Nf6 4.Nc3 cxd4 5.Nxd4 g6, viewing 6.h4 transported me back to my good old Dragon days when I used to face such deviations. Although in Maghsoodloo, P - Zakhartsov, V Black for me has several reasonable choices, I do like the played 6...h5 blocking White’s pawn and grasping the g4-square. Indeed after 7.Bc4 Bg7 8.Bb3 Nc6 once we establish that trading knights on c6 followed by e4-e5 isn’t in White’s favour, the 9.Be3 Ng4 10.Nxc6 bxc6 11.Bg5 Ba6 12.Qd2 Qb6 13.f3 Ne5 of the game to me just looks nice for Black:
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Play continued with 14.Na4 Qb7 15.Rd1 when 15...Bb5 16.Nc3 Nc4 wasn’t really necessary and 17.Bxc4 Bxc4 18.b3 Qb4 19.Nb1 Qxd2+ 20.Bxd2 was an approximately equal endgame.
Hungarian Dragon 6.Be3 Nc6 7.f3 h5 8.Qd2 Nxd4 9.Bxd4 Bh6 10.Bb5+ Kf8 [B72]
A continued trendy variation, Dvoirys, S - Tzidkiya, Y is the first of two Hungarian Dragon encounters in this month’s update with 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 g6 6.Be3 Nc6 7.f3 h5 8.Qd2 Nxd4 9.Bxd4 Bh6 10.Bb5+ a familiar occurrence. Here though instead of 10...Bd7 (intending the ...Bc6 that won’t allow a white steed to reside on d5) Black escaped the check through 10...Kf8. This deployment suggests that Black won't be too inconvenienced by not being able to castle kingside. Certainly the h8-rook could potentially prove handy on the h-file and the monarch may soon have e7 as well as g7 for choices for a home.
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Play continued 11.Qf2 Qa5 when White tried to dissuade a central black thrust through 12.Rd1 but 12...e5! was forthcoming anyway. After 13.Be3 Bxe3 14.Qxe3 Be6 Black had calculated that his backward d-pawn wouldn’t be a problem and indeed through 15.Rxd6?! Qb4! 16.Rd3 Rc8 17.Ba4 Bc4 18.a3 Qxb2 19.Nd1 Qa1 20.Rd2 Kg7 he had basically been proven right!
Hungarian Dragon 6.Be3 Nc6 7.f3 h5 8.Qd2 Nxd4 9.Qxd4 [B72]
In Karthik, V - Matinian, N after 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 g6 6.Be3 Nc6 7.f3 h5 8.Qd2 Nxd4 something new is brought to the ChessPublishing table in the form of 9.Qxd4:
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One would automatically suggest that deliberately bringing the queen to the firing line of where the Dragon bishop typically resides isn't the brightest idea but the counter argument is that in the Hungarian Dragon this bishop typically overshoots to h6.
Now though it continued to its traditional post through 9...Bg7 and after 10.Bc4 0-0 her majesty was forced to retreat i.e. 11.Qd2 I’m not sure then about 11...Be6 though because after 12.Bxe6 fxe6 I feel that 13 Ne2! would have been annoying, keeping the black queen out of a5 and offering up both Nd4 and Nf4. Nevertheless 13.0-0 occurred when 13...Qa5! 14.Rfd1 Rac8 15.Bd4 Rc4 was quite comfortable for Black who had set up some central tactics. White attempted to avoid those with 16.Qe3?! but after 16...e5! 17.Bxa7 Ra8 18.Bb6 Qb4 19.Rab1? Rc6! his bishop was in a bit of a pickle.
Yugoslav 9.0-0-0 d5 10.Nxc6 bxc6 11.Bh6 Bxh6 12.Qxh6 Rb8 13.e5 Nd7 14.Re1 [B76]
I couldn't resist covering the Dragon double (well two in one game) Nepomniachtchi, I - Erigaisi, A featuring two giants of the chessboard. Despite being blitz games, the fact that one of them followed just as I had speculated previously regards an endgame and the other something new to the whole World made such coverage even more appealing.
We’re talking 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 d5 10.Nxc6 bxc6 11.Bh6 Bxh6 12.Qxh6 Rb8 13.e5 Nd7 and in the game I chose as the main one (the side one referencing an endgame) White deployed 14.Re1?:
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This total novelty of course protects the attacked e5-pawn but it is simply too slow and the regular challenger for the World Championship crown ultimately gets brutally punished for this approach. Yes 14...Qa5 15.Qd2 Nc5 16.a3 Rxb2! 17.Kxb2 Na4+ 18.Ka1 Nxc3 19.Qc1 Be6 20.Qb2 c5 21.h4 Na4 and White was got a right battering in this visual outing.
Yugoslav 9.0-0-0 d5 10.exd5 Nxd5 11.Nxc6 bxc6 12.Bd4 Nxc3 13.Qxc3 Bxd4 [B76]
The game Azarya, J - Tzidkiya, Y trod a familiar path of 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 g6 6.Be3 Bg7 7.f3 0-0 8.Qd2 Nc6 9.0-0-0 d5 10.exd5 Nxd5 11.Nxc6 bxc6 12.Bd4 Nxc3 13.Qxc3 but something different (for the site) was about to happen...
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Yes, rather than 13...Bh6+ 14 Be3 Bxe3+ 15 Qxe3 Qb6 offering up the e7-pawn in a manner that we are well accustomed to, Black instead simply continued with 13...Bxd4?!. Well this is too much simplifying for me and after 14.Rxd4! Qb6 15.Bc4 Ba6 16.Rhd1 c5 17.Rd7 Bxc4 18.Qxc4 Rab8 19.b3 White had a comfortable endgame advantage. Sitting well too passively, I can’t imagine any self-respecting Dragon player would really want to play in this manner even if this grim endgame scenario was defendable!
Yugoslav 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 Bf5 17.Bb3 Nb6 18.Qe3 Rxd1+ 19.Rxd1 Qxh2 [B76]
Gee, in Rozen, E - Kargin, A we are getting deep, deep, deep into the still fashionable variation of 6.Be3 Bg7 7.f3 Nc6 8.Qd2 0-0 9.0-0-0 d5 10.exd5 Nxd5 11.Nxc6 bxc6 12.Bd4 Bxd4 13.Qxd4 Qb6 14.Na4 Qc7 with 15.Bc4 Rd8 16.Nc5 Bf5 17.Bb3 Nb6 18.Qe3 Rxd1+ 19.Rxd1 Qxh2 20.g4 Nd5 21.Qd2 Qxd2+ and now 22.Kxd2! looking for an endgame advantage:
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The point is that White can meet 22...Be6 with 23 Re1 and so probably 22...Bc8 is forced. The black rook and bishop are far from ideally placed but I guess he does have a pawn for his troubles. It looks as though this pawn can be returned to acquire equality but not via 23.c4 Nc7?! 24.Ba4 Ne6 25.Bxc6 Rb8 26.Nxe6 Bxe6 27.Kc3 Rb6 28.Bd7 Bxd7 29.Rxd7 which left a winning (and entertaining!) rook and pawn ending for White.
Back real soon! Chris
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