Be3 followed by Qd2 in the Sicilian Dragon

Could somebody explain the play of Be3 followed by Qd2 in the Yugoslav Attack for White?

White intends to castle Queen-side, then throw his King-side pawns up the board attacking on the h-file and sometimes particularly the h6 square.

Well, white intends to castle queenside and he will try to launch a kingside pawn storm at black king. He may also play Bh6 (if possible) at correct time to exchange the dragon bishop.

There are 2 main variations, I prefer the 9. 0-0-0

http://home.comcast.net/~danheisman/Articles/Dragon%20Yugoslav.htm

http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessopening?eco=b78

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sicilian,_Dragon,_Yugoslav_attack,_9.Bc4

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yugoslav_attack

Here's another fun game (for me, anyway ):

Well, Yugoslav is so strong, someone might wonder if there is a some fire left in the dragon

Why not Bf4 then instead of Be3

"Why not Bf4 then instead of Be3"

....e5!

Edit: e3 is a good square for the Bishop, he sits on two good diagonals and is safe from attack.

On e3, the bishop guards the d4 knight and is safe from attack from black's f6 knight (6... Ng4 is a blunder from black due to 7. Bb5+).  As Prawn mentioned, Bf4 loses to ...e5.  [Edit: I'm stupid.]

Prawn, in your second game, isn't there a forced mate on move 29?  Or am I missing something? (wouldn't be surprising...)  29.Rh8+ Kf7 30.fxg6+ Ke8 31.Bb5+ Nc6 32.Bxc6+ Kd8 33.Bb6+ Kc8 34.Rxf8#

"On e3, the bishop guards the d4 knight and is safe from attack from black's f6 knight (6... Ng4 is a blunder from black due to 7. Bb5+).  I'm not sure why placing the bishop on f4 would improve anything."

The move Bf4 is a blunder, walking into a pawn fork.

"Prawn, in your second game, isn't there a forced mate on move 29?  Or am I missing something? (wouldn't be surprising...)  29.Rh8+ Kf7 30.fxg6+ Ke8 31.Bb5+ Nc6 32.Bxc6+ Kd8 33.Bb6+ Kc8 34.Rxf8#"

Indeed, a forced mate, well spotted. I guess I was fixated with my plan.

Dur...  Sometimes it would help to actually look at the position I'm talking about.    Please ignore my momentary idiocy.

Re: plans: the forced mate was easy for me to spot because my first thought after Bd4 was to use the bishop and rook on the h8 square -- and I was actually a bit surprised that it (seemingly) wasn't your plan.  Funny (and frustrating) how that can work sometimes...

Actually, one of the points of Qd2 and Be3 is to prepare Bh6 to trade of the key "Dragon Bishop"

How is the dragon bishop vital that white has to trade it off??

White doesn't have to trade it off. Black may (sometimes) avoid the exchange by playing Re8 then after Bh6 will play Bh8. Don't get hung up on exchanging the dark squared Bishops, it's only one plan.

As to why White sometimes seeks that exchange: the Bishop on g7 is seen as Black's best minor piece, it sits on a good diagonal to attack the c3 square {combining with a Black Rook on c8} and also performs vital defensive duties {holding the dark squares around Black's King}.

Here's a game where I persue the exchange plan... I muck things up pretty badly, get a lost position and then pull off a "cheapo" to win the game:

My lucky day!