HOW TO PLAY How To Play The Chinese Dragon GM BryanSmith | Jun 11, 2015 | 1964 views | 3 comments
How To Play The Chinese Dragon
- GM BryanSmith
- | Jun 11, 2015
- | 1964 views
- | 3 comments
In the early 21st century, a new permutation of the evergreen Sicilian Dragon appeared: rather than place the queen's rook, obviously, on the open c-file, to put it instead on the closed b-file, supporting an advance of the b-pawn:
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.Bc4 Bd7 10.0-0-0 Rb8!?
At the critical branching point at move nine, White has a major choice between castling queenside or playing 9.Bc4. The latter prevents Black from breaking out with ...d5, but also has some downsides. The bishop is vulnerable on the c-file, and also vulnerable to an advance of the black pawns on the queenside.
Until the arrival of the Chinese Dragon, Black had almost always played the natural 10...Rc8 (or 10...Qa5 followed by ...Rfc8) here. But there was a conceptual precursor: 10...Qb8!? had been played, with a similar idea -- to push the b-pawn, if necessary, as a pawn sacrifice.
Apparently, the move 10...Rb8 was first played in the game Sirotkin-Kosenkov, USSR 1957. Like many games from those times, all I can find about this game is a small mention in a New In Chess Yearbook, but it is allegedly the first game featuring what was to be called the Chinese Dragon.
Although the move 10...Rb8 was used several times in the 20th century, it was amazingly unknown until in 2002, when the Belgian master Luc Henris wrote an article about the variation for New in Chess. In this article, he christened the variation the "Chinese Dragon," since he was living in China when he began to analyze the move.
It might have been hard for Dragon aficionados to give up their thematic ...Rxc3 sacrifice, but it was not long before the Chinese Dragon took off, and new positional and tactical themes began to be elucidated. By 2009 the move 10...Rb8 was no longer an unusual sideline, but perhaps the main line of the 9.Bc4 Dragon.
In particular, a key idea, which some creatively-positional minds came up with, was to put the knight on a5 rather than e5 (on a5 the knight could capture a bishop on b3, while it also left the e5 square free for the black pawn), meet Bh6 with ...Bxh6, followed by a combination of ...b5-b4 and ...e7-e5. Thus, the advance ...e7-e5 -- normally unacceptable in most Dragon positions -- could be played, due to the exchange of the dark squared bishops.
Black then could create real pressure on the c-file, while defending the kingside.
11. Bb3This preventative retreat is the main line; naturally White can begin with 11.h4 or 11.Kb1, but it is generally considered that after 11... b5, White should not capture the pawn but instead play 12.Bb3 anyway.
(11. h4b5!?If Black does not want to sacrifice, then 11...Na5 is possible, but then White has at his disposal the alternative retreat 12.Be2. 12. Ndxb5(12. Bb3Na5would transpose to normal lines. )12... Ne513. Be2Qa5)11... Na5In the Chinese Dragon, the knight is better on a5. As we will see, the capture of the bishop on b3 is an important theme (and the doubling of the white pawns does not actually make his king position safer), as well as ...e7-e5. Thus 11.. .Ne5 is not as good.
12. Bh6Trading the Bg7 is, of course, a key attempt.
(12. h4b513. Bh6This move order avoids the 13...e5 move I mention later. )12... Bxh6!Normally Black will not capture after Bh6 in the Dragon; bringing the queen to h6 only lends force to the h4-h5 advance. However, here it is different. Black will be following up with ...e7-e5, which will allow him to defend along the second rank. Meanwhile, the quick ...b7-b5-b4, along with the white queen's removal from the defense, will allow Black to create threats against the white king very quickly.
13. Qxh6b5(13... e5!?Playing this move immediately is another possibility, with Black sacrificing the d-pawn for quick attacking chances on the c-file. 14. Nde2b515. Rxd6b416. Nd5Nxb3+17. axb3Nxd518. Rxd5Qc7This shows a typical theme of the variation: White is up a seemingly sound pawn, but Black will quickly create threats along the c-file. ...Rfc8 and ...Be6 are coming, along with moves such as ...Rb6, with ideas of ...Ra6 or ...Rc6, or perhaps ...a5-a4. The white knight looks quite poor here. )14. h4Later we will see 14.g4, which stops 14...e5.
14... e5!Having traded the dark-squared bishops, Black gains a foothold in the center while chasing the white knight to a bad square. He will now also capture on b3, forcing White to recapture with the pawn. The "weakness" of the d6-pawn is not relevant at all - as we saw in the last variation, even the loss of this pawn is often not a big deal for Black.
15. Nde2b416. Nd5Nxb3+17. axb3White has to make an important decision here. Of course, we are still in the realm of theory. 17.cxb3 is the alternative, with the white king - in a way - being safer once it goes to b1. But the temporarily exposed position leads to some changes in the tactics.
(17. cxb3Nxd518. Rxd5Be6Now a big difference is that 19.h5 is not possible - since Black will protect the seventh rank with gain of tempo by 19...Qc7+ and capture the rook. 19. Rd2Rb6Black has ideas of ...Ra7. In general, the position is very good for him - h5 can be met by ...g5!, a common theme, trapping the white queen. Meanwhile, the white knight is quite bad. )17... Nxd518. Rxd5Be618...Rb6 is a critical, and very interesting, alternative.
(18... Rb619. h5g5This is the point - the queen is ensconced. 20. Rxd6(20. f4!?Bg4!leads to some more critical complications. )20... f621. Rhd1Rxd622. Rxd6Qe7This position has been reached a few times. I think I had it once in a rapid tournament, for instance, as well as some blitz games. Black should be happy - down a pawn, but the white queen is stuck. Lets imagine White manages to play Ng3-f5. Black captures on f5, and White recaptures with a pawn. Then the rooks are traded on d8. In some cases, Black might win the queen and pawn ending, despite being down a pawn! Honestly, there is some beauty in taking opening explorations to this level - in its own way. )19. h5Rb7I think Black is playing for a win with this move. 19...Qc7 leads to a known draw (although it was probably not known yet at that time).
(19... Qc720. hxg6fxg621. Rxd6Rfc822. Rc6Qxc623. Qxh7+Kf824. Qh6+Kf725. Qh7+Kf626. Qh4+g527. Qh6+Kf728. Qh7+)20. Rb5As before, Black cannot capture this rook because then 21.hxg6 forces mate.
20... Qc721. Rxb7Qxb7Black has come out with a perfectly good position. The king is defended along the seventh rank, while Black will create his own threats on the c- or a-files. The white knight is also - as usual - very hard to activate.
22. g4Qe723. Qd2a524. Ng3Kh8A strange move - I don't know why this is needed, but it doesn't really change anything.
25. Nf1Ra826. Kd1Facing too many problems on the queenside, White has to run out to the middle of the board.
(26. Ne3a4)26... d5!Bu carries out this critical advance with the help of tactics, and now gets a clear initiative.
27. Qh2(27. exd5Bxd5Only makes things worse, and of course White cannot capture the bishop due to 28...Rd8. )27... Qc728. Qh4dxe429. hxg6?This leads to a troublesome ending for White. He had to plunge into the complications, keeping the queens on the board by 29. Nd2!
(29. Nd2Rc8)29... Qd8+Black is just in time to trade the queens.
30. Nd2Qxh431. Rxh4exf332. Rxh7+(32. Nxf3fxg633. Nxe5Kg7This ending is not easy for White. The bishop has a huge advantage in mobility, combined with Black's kingside majority and the weak g-pawn. )32... Kg833. Ne4It was natural for White to look for counterattack, but it won't be sufficient.
33... Rd8+34. Ke1fxg635. Nf6+Kf836. g5Rc8!The knight might look strong, but it is being sufficiently covered by the black bishop. Meanwhile, that old problem for White in this line - c2 - rears its ugly head.
37. Rh8+(37. Kd2f238. Rh1Bh3wins. )37... Ke738. Rxc8Bxc839. Kf2Bb740. Ke3Ke641. c4Kf542. Nd7e4White has a blockade, but it won't be enough to hold back three pawns.
43. c5Kxg544. Ne5Kh445. c6Bxc646. Nxc6Kg347. Nd4Kg2!Not 47...f2?? 49.Ne2+.
48. Ne6g5!Again 48...f2?? 49.Nf4+ would draw. But now White cannot stop ...f2-f1.
White was not particularly successful in these positions, and later another method of combating the Chinese Dragon became more common: by playing an early g2-g4, White managed to prevent ...e7-e5, since then the reply N(d4)-f5 would be too strong. Black then needed to switch plans. By 2009, the number-one player and future world champion was already playing the Chinese Dragon:
