Just this morning I read in The Wisest Things Ever Said About Chess by Andrew Soltis this: "It's impossibe to play the Dragon only from time to time." Soltis goes on to say this was spoken by a true a Dragonista, Gennady Sosonko. He wrote that openings like the Dragon Variation of the Sicilain are so theory-driven that it makes it almost impossible to play them with any success unless one stays continually in touch with the latest new moves.
Exchange sac in the dragon and other attacking options?
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That is what I am trying to do with the dragon, stay in touch with the newest moves. It is just such a great attacking weapon, I can't help but play it. Of course the najdorf is another attacking option, but it doesn't seem as agressive.
If I were a Dragon player, I'd probably model my play on Magnus Carlsen, who is very successful with the opening. You probably should look through his games, so
1) Go to chessgames.com
2) Choose "Carlsen" from the 'player' pulldown
3) Choose "Sicilian - Dragon" from the 'Opening is' pulldown
4) Press "Find Chess Games!"
You should get around 44 games by Carlsen, his record with the opening is outstanding.
Okay, thanks for that. I was pretty sure that Carlsen had a great record with the opening but I wasn't sure whether he won his games with the dragon through his positional knowledge, or whether it was his attacks that led him to victory.
Dec 26, 2010
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#6
wildbulltamer wrote:
Okay, thanks for that. I was pretty sure that Carlsen had a great record with the opening but I wasn't sure whether he won his games with the dragon through his positional knowledge, or whether it was his attacks that led him to victory.
Yes, thanks for that. I am not fimilar with the Dragon and I would like to learn more about it.
Whenever you can double pawns with the "exchange" sac, calculate it - it usually is a good indication that such a move is required.
The question is whether this helps Black:
can black maneuver his knights to a good square/outpost? (probably c4, because after bxc3 the b pawn cannot move to b3 to kick off the knight) - or a4
after bxc3 (white accepts the exchange sacrifice), the g8-a2 diagonal is weakened, so ...Be6 might come into play.
if black can follow up with another (sacrifice!) leading to a capture on c3 (the pawn grave of the former knight), then black is almost always winning.
good luck with the dragon :)
Yes, I have seen a few games where someone has sacked on c3 and then landed their knight on c4. Thanks.
True. Any other comments?
Out of curiosity, has Carlsen ever faced the 10. Kb1 line in the Yugoslav Attack which is considered one of white's best tries?
Nunn was actually talking from the White point of view in his book Beat The Sicilian. What he said was "The true Dragon player will analyse six exchange sacrifices on c3 before breakfast, and White needs to be constantly on the alert for combinations based on blowing open the long diagonal."
Both sides need to be constantly considering the consequences of the Black exchange sacrfice on c3, and it should always be one of Black's candidate moves. If you are unwilling to make the sacrifice, you probably should find another defense.
echecs06 wrote:
Sacking in the Sicilian makes no sense to me.
Perhaps losing a tempo shouldn't either. Here's what I mean:
Yeah, if you are going to play the d5 line in the dragon after you have already played d6, it is probably best for you to do that in one shot, instead of wasting a move to do it. But I haven't heard of that quote though... And as far as sacking in the sicilian goes, it makes sense when you need counterplay but of course you don't sack for no reason.
Does anyone know anything about the idea of just sacking the b pawn(...b5) so they can open up that file once white takes it with his knight and you kick it away with a6?
The Dragon, to me, seems like a two-edged sword - it cuts both ways. The point is are you ready to cut as well as be cut?
Hello everyone,
The Sicilian Dragon is an extremely agressive defense to white's 1.e4, and while white goes for a pawn storm on the kingside, black seeks for counterplay on the queenside as well as for an attack on white's king, if it is in fact castled on the queenside due to the fact that white opted for a yugoslav. So, my questions basically are:
1. If white castles queenside in the yugoslav dragon, then what other ways are there to become agressive and attack the queenside rather than an exchange sac on c3? (for example, giving up the b-pawn to open up that file, etc.)
2.If black does want to do an exchange sac on c3, what are the correct conditions for one (for example, what if white moves his knight on d4 to b3, etc.), and for that matter, how does black go about accurately sacking so he can get an advantage?
3.Lastly, If white decides to castle on the kingside and go for some other variation in the dragon, is there a way to attack, despite the fact that your fianchettoed bishop(as black), is pointing toward the queenside and that a pawn storm is not possible(right?)?
Thanks