10...Rc8 is the way to go.
GM Negi's 1.e4 books appropriate for class players?
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which book would be the best to learn a lot about dragon? Since, there are a lot of books about dragon I'm not quite sure which one should I buy?
madamedhivya wrote:
which book would be the best to learn a lot about dragon? Since, there are a lot of books about dragon I'm not quite sure which one should I buy?
There are no good Dragon books for class players. The closest you can get is Andrew Martin's "Starting Out" Dragon book, which still is not very suitable: quite a few good and well annotated games, but little in explanations and basic ideas, excessive focus on lines which a class player will (almost) never meet OTB.
How about Chess Developments-the sicilian dragon ?? I see good reviews in jeremysilman.com
Airut wrote:
I have just looked on your game and first thing that came to my mind was to accept pawn sac 15...Nxh5. If i remember correctly, its quite common to accept it in Qa5 lines and I dont see why black shouldnt accept it here.
15...Nxh5 is extremely dangerous after 16.g4 Nf6 17.Bh6 (black is virtually forced sacrificing the exchange by 17...Bh8 to avoid being slaughtered), or maybe the direct 16.Bh6, threatening Rxh5.
Jan 28, 2015
0
#27
I'm pretty sure it was Nunn who said that in the Dragon, one must analyse seven impossible Rooks sacrifices on c3 before breakfast.
Actually, there are quite a few good books on the Dragon available for class players. In addition to Martin's book which Pfren has already mentioned, there are others that explain it well. Chris Ward wrote some good books that explain the concepts behind the Dragon very well and has several videos available on DVD and the internet.
Also, any class player who wants to play the Black side of the Dragon should also check out John Nunn's Beating the Sicilian series. Yes, I know that it's written from White's perspective, but it explains the Black side very well too.
Another book that gives a good sense of Black's endgame aspirations in the Dragon is one that few will think of on their own: Mastering the Endgame volume 1 by Shereshevsky has a fantastic chapter on endgames arising from the Dragon!
There's no lack of good books on the Dragon for class players. The problem is that everyone who plays 1.e4 in competitive chess (+1500 USCF) will have read something about it themselves and will know just about as much as the Dragon player will. And the Dragon still dramatically favors white both in theory and in practice, even in class tournaments!
Airut wrote:
@pfren
Thanks for your replies and one last question, as I didnt really pay attention to theory for quite long time and its interesting how some lines considered good for black three years ago are now under shadow. Whats current mainline and best variation for black in Rc8? I remember that Soltis(h4 h5) and Topalov(11...Nxd4, 12...b5) dragon were considered best tries. Is that still correct?
Yes, that is correct. However, Black can not rely at just one of them, as white has some move order tricks at his sleeve.
After 10.0-0-0 Black cannot force a Soltis, as 11.Bb3 Ne5 12.Kb1! has proved being quite troublesome. See previous comment on Stocek's exchange sac line. So, going for the Topalov seems the sensible thing to do.
After 10.h4, there's no way to play something like Topalov's line, since h4-h5 is a very annoying option. So, Black's wisest choice is going for a Soltis.
I think that Nielsen's advocations in his DVD are quite reasonable, but he does not deal at all with the Topalov (he analyses Stocek's line instead). Current correspondence praxis on that line hints that Black is alive, but not necessarily well.
Jan 28, 2015
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#29
I have several books on the Sicilian Dragon. For all-around usability I would recommend "Play the Sicilian Dragon" by Edward Dearing. Good explanations. Easy to navigate.
arnacman wrote:
@pfren : could you please tell me more about the 3 holes you have found?
I had a close look (with computer) at some specific French variations for a game preparation and I did not find any hole so far. I still find the book outstanding and I am sure that some lines proposed by Negi will become highly popular.
No, I won't disclose details. However, here is a serious omission, found by another player:
13.Nh5 is a Negi novelty, never played. He does not suggest any other move, and considers the position as advantageous for white, without analysing further. However, it's unclear how white should proceed after 13...Ndf6. 14.Nxg7+ seems obvious, but after 14...Kf8 white has to sac a knight: 15.Nxe6+ fxe6 16.Ng6+ Kg7 17.Nxh8 Kxh8, and I cannot see why white should be better, and even worse, how this can go without any analysis. The variation is critical, and if Black is fine here, then the whole system he advocates against the Caro mainline goes to the bin.
Suvorov84 wrote:
I've read a lot of good things about GM Negi's 1.e4 repertoire books, but as it's from Quality Chess' Grandmaster Repertoire series, I'm a bit hesitant on buying it. I loved Marin's 1...e5 series from QC, but I know that QC aims the GM series at higher rated players, and as a 1600 player OTB, I'm not sure if I would get much out of it. So for those who own it, is it worth a buy? (and please don't go off topic and say that I shouldnt use opening books at my level. I review most of my games and do tactics daily).
For the class player, investing money in books like this, is the same as running your games through a chess engine. It sounds realy cool to say you were up by .4 of a pawn, but if you dont understand what that means, it does you no good.
Feb 17, 2015
0
#32
A 1600 USCF player should be able to get quite a bit out of a really well written repertoire book. They may not get as much as the target audience for the series (~1800-2300 strength), but it doesn't have to be a waste of money.
As with almost all chess books, Negi's work is worth about as much as the person is willing to put into it. If the B player is just looking to memorize lines, he won't get much value. If he spends hours trying to understand the lines, then the book will be a great value.
arnacman wrote:
Regarding the 3 holes, I believe you would understand that I have some doubts regarding the lack of evidence.
Yes, I agree that when you don't have the other's work for free, then it's time to start doubting about its validity.
arnacman wrote:
pfren wrote:
I'd rather say to leave it alone. Granted, it's a superb book, but variation-heavy, and dedicating a lot of space into fine details, which are irrelevant to class players.
One of the common mistakes made with such content is making it a gospel (this is quite common with class players). The challenge for advanced players is finding analytical holes (they are always there, no matter how good the author is) and try repairing them. So far, I have found three holes at the French analysis (had no time to scrutinize the Caro and Philidor content), and I expect to find more. All three of those mistakes are too subtle for a class player to grasp, and revealing them requires quite some time, and proper silicon assistance (it's no secret that the vast majority of class players have no clue on how to use their silicon assistant properly).
@pfren : could you please tell me more about the 3 holes you have found?
I had a close look (with computer) at some specific French variations for a game preparation and I did not find any hole so far. I still find the book outstanding and I am sure that some lines proposed by Negi will become highly popular.
How many computers do you play in OTB tournaments?
Speaking of dragon, whats current status of Chinese dragon variation?
Not very good. The following game is "state of the art" theory- Black has problems. Shankland recently chose (following the same variation) 16.h6, which is also annoying (although he did not manage to win the game).