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 000000                               000010Black tries to force white to  000011block his pawn on c2 with his  000012knight on b1.                  000024give rise to great tactical    000025complications.                 000027As a tradeoff for having such  000028an active piece, black's king  000029position has been weakened.    000100Black wastes no time in        000101getting castled. He has no     000102real chance of castling Q-side 000103in this variation. He posts    000030This is the most popular move  000031in this position. White has    000032not committed himself as to    000033which side he will castle on.  000034Most likely he will look to    000035exchange off black's dragon    000036bishop with the moves Qd2 and  000037Bh6. Tactically, white sets a  000038trap. If black plays Ng4 to    000039trade off pieces, white will   00003:reply Bb5+ and win a piece !   000040White announces his intention  000041of trying to trade off dark    000042squared bishops by playing     000050Black develops a piece which   000051controls the center. He also   000052aids his Queen side            000053development. Black generally   000054relies on full-scale           000055Queenside counterplay.         000056Tactically, this prevents      000057white from trying to exchange  000058bishops now. For example,      000060White escorts his king to the  000061q-side in order to start his   000062pawn storm. He also threatens  000063to try and exchange dark       000064squared bishops once again now 000065that the knight is doubly      000072piece will exert control over  000073the center, and aims at the    000074critical f7 square near the    000075King. If white were to push    000076his h pawn and exchange it for 000077black's g pawn, black would    000078be forced to re-take with      000079his h pawn leaving him with    00007;could use to attack his king.  00007<Move also prevents d5 by black 00007:an open rook file which white  000080Modern theory prefers this     000081development of the bishop.     000083An older line went Nxd4,Bxd4,  000084Be6, but it was discovered     000085over time that white seemed to 000086have much better chances.      000088Black is now almost fully      000089developed and can think        00008:about starting his Queenside   00008;counterplay.                   000090White brings the rook to       000091bear down on the d-file,       000092whisks his king to "safety",   000093and prepares to launch an      000094all-out mating attack on       000095black beginning with a pawn    000096storm (h4,h5,hxg6,etc.)        000098Now that white has doubly      000099protected his knight on        00009:d4, Bh6 becomes a possibility  00009;once again.                    000470This is the most common move   000471for black to make at this      0000a0This akward looking move has   0000a1the merit of threatening the   0000a2pawn sacrifice b5 !?           0000a3This would open lines for      0000a4black to assualt the white     0000a5king position.                 0000a7On a more practical level,     0000a8the move is slightly offbeat   0000a9and many white players will    0000a:be caught unprepared to        0000a;handle its intricacies.        0000b0White opens lines in the       0000b1center resulting in greater    0000b2space control and easy         0000b3development.                   0000b5The price that white must pay  0000b6is trading a nice center       0000b7pawn for blacks flank pawn.    0000b9Black will be able to          0000b:use the half open c file       0000b;to attack white by moving      0000b<a rook over to c8.             0000c0The sicilian defense is one    0000c1of the most aggresive systems  0000c2in the black arsenal.          0000c4The games that result tend     0000c5to be very unbalanced, and     0000c6frequently wind up being very  0000c7complicated both tactically    0000c8and strategically.             0000c9The main line we are covering  0000c:begins at move 10. Only a few  0000c;fringe variations are covered  0000d0White prepares to open the     0000d1center by advancing his d pawn 0000d3This move is quite flexible    0000d4since white has not committed  0000d5a piece to a square unlikely   0000d6to be used later. Premature    0000d7at this point would be a       0000d8Bishop move, for example.      0000d9Until black announces his      0000d:setup, white does best to      0000d;avoid such committal moves.    0000e0Black opens a line for his     0000e1bishop and prepares to develop 0000e2his king knight. If he tried   0000e3to move it now, it would be    0000e4forced to waste time by moving 0000f0Black follows the general rule 0000f1of destroying the white center 0000f2and obtaining a half open c    0000f3file to attack white.          0000f5If black omitted this move,    0000f6white could gain a healthy     0000f7advantage in space by pushing  000014If white were allowed to move  000015his c pawn forward two         000016squares, it would have a       000017cramping effect on black's     000018position.                      000020This is the trademark move of  000021the Dragon. Black will control 000190White could protect his king   000022the long dark diagonal with    000104his bishop to its logical      000105position where it will eye the 000106long critical "dragon"         000107diagonal.                      000630This move is part of a system  000631of attack by white called the  000632classical dragon. It is a      000633perfectly sound way to meet    000634the dragon, and may appeal to  000635players of the white pieces    000636who wish to avoid the long     000637critical variations that       000110This is to prevent black from  000111trying to attack the bishop    000112with his f6 knight. The tactic 000113Bb5+ will not work anymore     000114because black can move his     000115king out of check.             000116White will follow up by        000117clearing the queen off the     000120This is the move most likely   000121to be encountered in practical 000122play and is not quite adequate 000123for white.                     000124White is pursuing his ready    000125made pawn storm. White will    000126typically sacrifice this pawn  000127for an open h file. Then the   000128dragon bishop will be traded   000129and white will bring his       00012:queen over to join the final   00012;assault. All this assumes that 000130Black assails his opponent     000131like a ram ! If white takes    000132the pawn, black will have      000133open lines. If white declines  000134the pawn, then black will use  000135this pawn as a lever to pry    000136open the white king position.  000140Tactically this is incorrect   000141and allows black to gain a     000142slight edge.                   000150This is the correct method for 000151punishing whites last move.    000153Notice how the white bishop is 000154attacked three times, and      000155only defended once. This makes 000160White does not have many good  000161choices here.                  000163Black can now play Nxf3  and   000164gain his pawn back, as well    000165as break the force of white's  000166attack.                        000175back his sacrificed pawn.      000177Evaluation : -/+               000290A very deceptive yet cunning   000291move. Black has a masked       000292threat on the Bishop, and      000293creates sacrificial chances    000294on whites knight at c3.        000180Virtually forced. White could  000181capture with his queen, but    000182this is a whole different line 000183of play than covered here.     000185Besides, white's queen would   000186immediately be harrased by     000187black's queen knight.          000191Pawn by advancing his f        000192pawn, but this leaves his      000193knight somewhat exposed to a   000194possible advance of blacks e   000195pawn and no good place to   .  000196retreat.                       000198If the white knight retreats   000199back to his b3, it will        00019:be in a passive position out   00019;of the center and away from    00019<the action.                    0001a0Black brings his king to       0001a1to safety and activates his    0001a2h rook.                        0001a4Other developing moves are     0001a5possible at this point, but    0001a6there is no real reason to     0001a7delay castling. Black's        0001a8position, thought slightly     0001a9weakened, contains many        0001a:possibilities for counter      0001a;attack.                        000043his bishop to h6. Black could  0001b0This line is not currently     0001b1considered totally sound for   0001b2white. Better is QNxP.         0001b4The text move will meet with   0001b5a tactical twist that gives    0001b6black rather good chances.     0001c0Black develops his rook to     0001c1its most logical square and    0001c2threatens a masked attack on   0001c3the white bishop.              0001c5Black will get the upper hand  0001c6with correct play. All of his  0001c7pieces are poised for a        0001c8direct attack.                 0001d0This move is the most direct   0001d1and provides the kingside with 0001d2a small measure of defense     0001d3while keeping an eye on the    0001d4critical Q5 and KB7 squares.   0001e0Black now unleashes his fury.  0001e1He is as ready for an attack   0001e2as he is going to get. He must 0001e3not waste any time or white    0001e4will get organized.            0001f0Forced. Others drop material.  000200Black now pursues his own      000201king side attack. He will try  000202to harras the light squared    000203bishop. Most likely he will    000204cause white to make a          000205weaking pawn move to save the  000206bishop.                        000210While not entirely pleasant,   000211there are few satisfactory     000212choices.                       000214White must hold up the attack  000215and try to complete his own    000216pawn storm.                    000220Black takes advantage of the   000221akward knight. The slight      000222drawback is that black has     000223blocked his own powerful       000224dragon bishop and he has a     000225weak square at his Q4. He      000226also has a potentially         000227weak pawn at his Q3.           000229These are endgame problems if  00022:he survives. Black is banking  00022;on knocking white out before   00022<then.                          000230Terrible move ?? Black now     000231wins a piece with QxB !!       000233++/--                          000240This move is forced as N-K2    000241would drop a bishop to QxN.    000243The fact that whites moves are 000244more or less forced should     000245give the impression that       000246black is calling the shots.    000248He is.......                   000250Black finally gets to use      000251that bishop he posted so many  000252moves back. He is attempting   000253to remove potential defenders  000254so he can better attack white. 000256Over the next couple of moves  000257he will start to bring up the  000258heavy pieces for a final       000259assualt.                       000260Forced.                        000270Black wins back the pawn       000271which he sacrificed many moves 000272back. He is now threatening    000273QxB.                           000275Black has excellent attacking  000276chances.                       000278Evaluation : -/+ (GM Gufeld)   000280This move is the best of the   000281bunch, but not great.          000283Black will obtain good chances 000284on the open file.              000286With very accurate and alert   000287defense, white may survive.    000296This position is tactically    000297very complex, and black has    000298full compensation for his      000299pawn with accurate play.       0002e0This move is questionable.     0002e1Black can force the exchange   0002e2of knight for bishop, and      0002e3disturb the white pawn         0002e4cover. Black can follow up     0002a0White protects his bishop      0002a1from attack. However his       0002a2pieces are somewhat cramped.   0002b0Black uncovers an attack on    0002b1the white knights. Notice the  0002b2hidden possibilities of the    0002b3following moves :              0002b51) Bxb5                        0002b62) Rxc3                        0002c0Because of the weaknesses      0002c1created in the white king side 0002c2and the open lines for black,  0002c3black will have excellent      0002c4attacking chances.             0002c6Evaluation : -/+ (GM Gufeld)   0002d0At first glance, this move may 0002d1seem to hold, but black has    0002d2a strong reply in Rxc3 !       0002d4After that move, white can     0002d5probably hang it up ! As a     0002e5with the pawn charge a5.  .    0002f0black prepares two possible    0002f1plans :                        0002f21) move the knight to c4       0002f3threatening to knock out the   0002f4dark squared e3 bishop. White  0002f5could play Bxc4 allowing       0002f7the recapture Rxc4.            0002f:pawns guarding the king.       000340This is a nice forcing line    0002f9directly, and upsetting the    0002f;White knight on b5 is attacked 0002f6black to develop a rook with   0002f82) Nxb3 capturing the bishop   0002f<two times and defended once.   000341since it involves a check.     000330More or less forced.           000300Get rid of this line ! It drop 000301s a piece !!! yuck             000343White is left with no real     000344choice of reply other than     000345axb3.                          0002b73) Nxa2+                       0002b84) a5                          000350Forced.                        000360black has a nice ready made    000310This is a nice forcing move    000311since it involves a check. It  000312does not allow white much      000313choice of reply.               000315It also eliminates another     000316defender of the white          000317position and disrupts the      000318pawn cover.                    000320Forced. K-N1 simply drops a    000321piece for nothing.             000361attack. White will find it     000362quite difficult to organize    000363a reasonable defense.          000365Even if it dosen't lead to     000366a forced win for black, it     000367will cause white to become     000368tired and discouraged,         000369provided he's not a computer.  00036;Evaluation : -/+ (IM Sapi)     000370A nice try. Black has many     000371ways to go wrong, but a nice   000372way to go right !              000380This move brings the problem   000381with whites last move to the   000382surface. However, this move    000383would be very hard to find     000384over the board for black.      000386Knowledge is power ! In the    000387dragon, knowledge is critical. 000390Threatens the white queen, and 000391the K7 pawn. It seems to force 000392black to play BxN, but that is 000393not correct.                   000395The correct reply by black at  000396this critical juncture, will   000397probably bring home the        000398bacon.                         0003a0It is very important to keep   0003a1in mind the power of the       0003a2dragon bishop. Many tactics    0003a3arise from the possibility     0003a4of uncovering this             0003a5wonderfully posted piece.      0003a7Here the bishop eyes the       0003a8critical N2 square very        0003a9near and dear to the king !    0003b0If you are not familiar with   0003b1this line, you are probably    0003b2wondering how black will       0003b3get himself out of this        0003b4"mess".                        0003b6the answer is simple-look      0003b7to the power of the dragon     0003b8bishop !                       0003c0Another nice forcing move !    0003c2There are some nice geometric  0003c3relationships that make this   0003c4move possible.                 0003d0White can try this, but he     0003d1still can't quite justify      0003d2this line.                     0003d4With accurate play, black      0003d5will get a better game.        0003e0This is one of the geometrical 0003e1relationships in the dragon    0003e2that black must be aware of.   0003e4Now he will get back all of    0003e5his material and then some !   0003f0Material is equal, and blacks  0003f1pawn structure is slightly     0003f2superior. With opposite        0003f3colored bishops the game is    0003f4somewhat likely to end in      0003f5a draw.                        0003f7Evaluation : =                 00012<black plays passively.         000400This is the correct move for   000401white. With proper play he     000402will wind up with a slightly   000403superior position.             000405In practice, it may be hard    000406for white to find this move    000407because normally the move h4   000408is usually seen as the         000420This database is specifically  000421designed to teach below-master 000422level chessplayers how to      000423play a particular line of      000424the sicilian dragon defense.   000426In general, black will advance 000427his c pawn two squares and     000428exchange it for white's d      000429pawn. Then black will advance  00042:his d and g pawns one square   00042;and develop his Bishop on f8   0000e5again after white advances his 0000e6king pawn.                     0000e8Another way of preparing to    0000e9develop the king knight would  0000e:be to develop the b8 knight.   0000e;That move is part of another   0000e<form of the dragon variation.  0000f8his d pawn.                    000430This move contains a tactical  000431flaw. White can immediately    000432win material by giving check   000433with the king bishop.          000435If black interposes with the   000436Q knight white will trade      000437knights and give check again   000438winning a rook. If black       000439interposes a bishop, white     00043:can capture the knight with    00043;his queen as the black         00043<bishop will be pinned.         000118back rank, castling, and then  000119pushing his h and g pawns      00011:toward the weakened            00011;black king position.           000044preserve his bishop by moving  000045it back to h8, but he would be 000046forced to lose his f8 rook for 000047a bishop. There are certain    000048lines where black can play     000049to keep his bishop, giving up  00004:the rook, but we are too early 000059Bh6 ?,Bxh6,Qxh6,Nxd4 ! winning 00005:a piece.                       000070White develops his last piece  000440Many masters consider this a   000441poor choice of move. After     000442black recaptures with a pawn   000443toward the center, he will     000444have excellent chances of      000445pushing his Q pawn into the    000446center of the board and        000447freeing his position.          000449Tactically however, this does  00044:once again threaten black with 00044;the exchange of dark bishops.  00044<Evaluation : =                 000066protected.                     000068The reason that many masters   000069avoid this move, is that black 00006:can now advance his queen      00006;pawn and sacrifice it for an   00006<easy game. Evaluation : =      000450This is a provocative move.    000451White starts to attack         000452before bringing his king to    000453safety. the reason he might    000454try this is to "save" a tempo  000455by omitting to castle.         000457In general, black should       000458seek to open the center with   000459a q-pawn push soon.            00045:This is a very dangerous line  00045;for both players.              00045<Evaluation : =                 00042<to g7 and control the diagonal 0000c<before then.                   000023his king's bishop. This will   00004;in the game to consider such   00004<a double-edged idea.           000071to an aggresive post. This     000472point, but is not the line     000473we are covering in this        000474database. In order to play     000475Rc8, black needs an almost     000476encyclopediac knowledge and    000477memory regarding dragon        000478variations.                    000409starting move for white as     00040:he attempts his pawn storm.    000144True, it looks like black will 000145lose a pawn, but he will get   000146compensation because of the    000147half open b file.              000149Notice that white does not     00014:yet have any half-open files   00014;to attack black, while black   00014<already has two (b & c files)  000156white's move pretty much       000157forced.                        000170Black has now obtained a       000171position with excellent        000172chances for attack. White's    000173pawn storm has been somewhat   000174shattered and black has gained 0002b95) Nxe4 (uncovering bishop)    0002b:6) Qxb2+                       0002b;Black has no shortage of       0002b<interesting ideas to try.      000480White must either protect his  000481knight on b5, move it to d4,   000482or counter threaten a black    000483piece.                         000485If he moves his knight to d4,  000486then the moves Rxc3 ! and      000487Nxa2+ ! are pretty much        000488fatal for white.               000490This is where the the move     000491Bd7 comes in handy ! White     000492has been forced to make        000493a weakening pawn move in       000494front of the king, and         000495now the defenders are slowly   000496being methodically removed !   0004a0This is the main line for      0004a1white. White cannot afford     0004a2to leave the threats of        0004a3Rxc3 and Nxa2+ on the board.   0004a6Notice how white has not       0004a7really had much of a chance    0004a8to attack, but has spent much  0004a9time defending.                0002d6minimum, he would have to      0002d7fight pretty hard for a        0002d8draw.                          0002d;Evaluation : -/+               0002d<(IM's Sapi & Schneider)        0004b0Black has now wiped out two    0004b1potential defenders with his   0004b2once-passive bishop on d7 !    0004b4Not too bad....                0004c0White has moved another        0004c1defender. Black will have      0004c2pretty decent chances for      0004c3attack now.                    0004d0This move is suspect for white 0004d2Black could follow up with a   0004d3later Rxc3 because the Queen's 0004d4support has been removed.      0004d6Evaluation : -/+ (Smith)       0004e0This move is occasionally      0004e1played, however many masters   0004e2do not like this move for      0004e3white. The problem is that     0004e4it fails to put additional     0004e5pressure on the d5 square      0004e6and allows black to play       0004e7the move d5 on his next turn.  0004e8True, it involves a pawn sac,  0004e9but black gets adequate comp.  0004e:This variation is quite        0004e;complex and is not covered     0004e<in this database.              0004f0This move is interesting, but  0004f1probably not best. White       0004f2attempts to trade off one of   0004f3black's key kingside defenders 0004f4either with the idea of direct 0004f5attack, or heading to a "safe" 0004f6endgame.                       0004f8Black should have no major     0004f9problems in meeting with       0004f:this variation.                000500It's probably best to get this 000501capture over with right away.  000502If black dosen't exchange, he  000503will have to watch for a Nxf6+ 000504from white, knocking out his   000505defender at no loss of tempo   000506because of the check.          000508Another reason for getting rid 000509of white's d5 knight, is that  00050:black could then place his     00050;queen on c7 in order to double 00050<pieces, or bring up the f rook 000510This has the advantage of      000511opening the e file for white   000512to attack the weak e7 pawn.    000513It also forces black to move   000514his nicely placed knight on    000515c6. The problem is that        000516black can transfer his knight  000517to e5 and the bishop on c4     000518will be hanging. Therefore     000519black really doesen't lose     00051:any time.                      000520This move gains time for black 000521because the c4 bishop is loose 000523Now white has to figure out    000524where best to place the bishop 000526On b3, black can harass it     000527with a5,a4,etc. On d3, black   000528can play Nxd3+ removing it.    00052:On e2, it is somewhat out of   00052;play.                          00052<Evaluation : = (IM Sapi)       000530This move avoids the bishop    000531harassing Ne5 of the other     000532line. However with best play,  000533black will be able to come out 000534with a slight plus.            000540The idea here for black is to  000541make room for his king rook to 000542join the action over on the    000543Queenside. Also black could    000544double up one of his rooks     000545behind the Queen for attack.   000547If white were to try and       000548dislodge the queen with Nb5,   000549black could move his Queen to  00054:b6 and cause some trouble.     000550White continues to pursue his  000551kingside attack. The problem   000552is that black has been given   000553just enough time to organize   000554counterplay and should have no 000555no problem equalizing or even  000556getting the upper hand.        000560Black's attack is now in full  000561swing. Black's immediate       000562tactical threat is             00056314. .... Nxd4                  00056415. Bxd4 Bxd4                  00056516. Qxd4 Qxc2++                000567If white chooses to exchange   000568knights, black can play        000569bxc6 gaining time by chasing   00056:the bishop.                    000570White must defend against the  000571threat of Nxd4, etc. discussed 000572last move.                     000580Black's idea is to swing the   000581knight over to c4 where        000582black will either eliminate    000583white's bishop on e3, or force 000584white to exchange it for his   000585bishop on b3.                  000590White continues to try and     000591open a file to attack the      000592black king. In other lines     000593of the sicilian dragon, this   000594pawn sacrifice has been shown  000595to be correct. In this line,   000596however, black's attack is     000597already rolling and white      000598can't get over to attack       000599black's king in time.          0005a0Black has achieved an ideal    0005a1attacking position.            0005a3White will now lose one of     0005a4his bishops by force.          0005a7Evaluation : =/+ (IM Sapi)     0005b0This move looks good, but      0005b1contains a tactical flaw.      0005b3White's queen is an overworked 0005b4piece-protecting both his      0005b5bishop and knight.             0005b7Black can play Nxd4 forcing    0005b8white to play Bxg7. Instead    0005b9of recapturing immediately,    0005b:black can play Nxf3 ! gaining  0005b;a pawn.  Evaluation : -/+      0005c0With this move, white          0005c1anticipates black's b5 pawn    0005c2push and tries to place the    0005c3bishop in a position to help   0005c4defend the king position.      0005c6This is a reasonable try for   0005c7white, and in most variations  0005c8results in roughly balanced    0005c9chances.                       0005d0Black naturally pursues his    0005d1attack on the exposed bishop.  0005d3If white moves the a-pawn      0005d4to defend, black will have     0005d5accomplished a minor victory   0005d6as this will weaken the pawn   0005d7structure surrounding the      0005d8white king.                    0005e0This move does not lose the    0005e1game for white, but may not    0005e2be the very best available.    0005e4In most variations, chances    0005e5remain fairly balanced. The    0005e6drawback is that there is now  0005e7a ready-made target for        0005e8black to shoot at - the        0005e9a-pawn.                        0005f0Black brings his rook over     0005f1to assist in the attack. This  0005f2is a common placement for this 0005f3piece is most variations of    0005f4the Qb8 dragon.                0005f6On the pessimistic side, this  0005f7move prevents the exchange of  0005f8dark-squared bishops by white  0005f9because if white now plays Bh6 0005f:black can play Bh8,preserving  0005f;the piece for attack.          000600White takes advantage of the   000601weakened b5 square. This also  000602prevents black from pushing    000603the b-pawn to b5 and opening   000604lines.                         000606Realistically, black will      000607probably have to use the       000608bishop on d7 to knock out      000609this knight in order to        00060:continue the attack.           000610Black uncovers his bishop to   000611attack white's newly placed    000612knight. He also takes          000613advantage of the weakened      000614square at b4, creating a       000615nice knight outpost.....       000616Near the king !!               000618This position is far from      000619being clear, but chances are   00061:about even.                    00061<Evaluation : = (IM Sapi)       000620White immediately takes        000621advantage of the weakened      000622square at b5. He also prevents 000623the pawn sac b5,keeping lines  000624temporarlily closed for black. 000638result from the move f3.       00063:This system of attack is not   00063;currently part of this         00063<database.                      000640Black tries to open the a-file 000641now that the b-file is         000642temporarily locked up.         000644With accurate play, black      000645should get good compensation   000646for his sacrificed pawn.       000650While it may not be entirely   000651clear, this appears to be the  000652best move order for white.     000654He accepts the pawn, and       000655reinforces the protection of   000656his knight on b5, which holds  000657up black's attack.             000660This move is not quite         000661adequate for white.            000663Black can now reply with       000664Na5, which will uncover an     000665attack on white's b5 knight,   000666and also threaten to           000667exchange off the bishop        000668on b3.                         00066:Evaluation : =/+ (IM Sapi)     000670An interesting choice for      000671black ! Now if white were      000672to play Bh6, trying to         000673exchange off the dragon        000674bishop, black could play       000675Bh8, preserving this           000676strong piece.                  000678This move also sets up         000679potential tactical threats.    00067:Notice how a later c6 knight   00067;move would uncover the rook    00067<and bishop.                    000680This move is often played by   000681white at some point in         000682many dragon variations. The    000683idea is to provide some        000684protection for the a2 pawn,    000685and get off the open c-file.   000687There are many lines where     000688omitting this move would       000689spell disaster for white.      000690This uncovers black's rook     000691and bishop. The sacrifice      000692Rxc3 has some potential later  000693on. Also, black threatens      000694Nc4, trading off the bishop    000695on e3.                         0006a0This is a common move in some  0006a1dragon variations. Generally,  0006a2white would rather give up his 0006a3bishop on b3 for the knight on 0006a4c4, rather than his bishop on  0006a5e3.                            0006a7If black pnow plays Nc4, white 0006a8can plan Bxc4.                 0006b0This is common dragon strategy 0006b1If white does not capture      0006b2this knight with his bishop on 0006b3b3, then black will play Nxe3. 0006b4Then black's dragon bishop     0006b5will remain uncontested.       0006b7If white captures the knight   0006b8with Bxc4, then black will     0006b9recapture with his rook, and   0006b:will double pieces on the      0006b;open c-file.                   0006c0White allows the exchange of   0006c1the e3 bishop, hoping that his 0006c2king on b1 will be safe        0006c3with all of the defending      0006c4pieces over there.             0006d0Black should jump at the       0006d1chance to take this            0006d2bishop ! Now his dragon        0006d3bishop on g7 will have no      0006d4worries.                       0006e0Forced.                        0006f0Black gets his heavy           0006f1pieces out for attack.         0006f3He must not play               0006f4passively as the initiative    0006f5will pass rapidly back to      0006f6white, and he will have        0006f7given up a pawn for            0006f8nothing.                       000700This piece must retreat as     000701it is attacked twice and       000702defended only once.            000704If white plays a4, or Na3      000705black can simply follow with   000706b5 !                           000710Black has a material deficit   000711of one pawn. In return he has  000712attacking chances, and is      000713better developed and organized 000715White still requires a few     000716pawn moves with the h,and g    000717pawns before his attack will   000718amount to much.                00071:Evaluation : = (IM Sapi)       000720This move is okay, but it      000721does not seem to present       000722black with any serious         000723problems.                      000725Black's best move seems to     000726be Bxc6, leaving the a and b   000727pawns to advance.              000729Evaluation : = (Smith)         000410Black continues with this      000411thematic pawn sacrifice.       000413Black seeks open lines as      000414quickly as possible. He has    000415no time to play "wait and      000416see" type moves.               000418In the dragon, the best        000419defense is truly a good        00041:offense !!                     000730This move contains a tactical  000731flaw. White must always keep   000732in mind the power of uncovered 000733attacks on pieces. In this     000734case, black can play Ne5       000735threating a couple of key      000736squares and pieces.            000740This is the correct way for    000741black to follow up. He is      000742attacking the bishop on c4,    000743the f3 pawn, and the b5 knight 000745Something must prove to be     000746overworked tactically.         000750White defends two points at    000751once, but he leaves a third    000752under attack !                 000760Black has regained his pawn,   000761and demolished white's         000762pawn wall set to later         000763advance against him.           000765Evaluation : -/+ (IM Sapi)     000770This move is not that hard for 000771black to meet. One should      000772always look for the move       000773Ne5 in such a position.        000775The f3 pawn, and the bishop    000776on c4 are both undefended.     000777This would almost force        000778white's reply. In the dragon,  000779anytime you can force your     00077:opponent's move, it is worth   00077;looking into.                  000780This move nearly forces        000781white's reply. Something       000782will have to give in           000783white's camp, as pieces        000784are being overworked           000785tactically.                    000790Unless white wants to allow    000791the automatic demolition of    000792f3 pawn, it needs protection.  000794The tactical problem is,       000795of course, that this bishop    000796is serving two masters. It     000797is providing support for the   000798f3 pawn, and the knight on b5. 0007a0Black takes immediate          0007a1advantage of the situation !   0007a3White will now have to part    0007a4with a pawn. This will         0007a5restore the material           0007a6balance, but will put          0007a7black in the drivers           0007a8seat !!                        0007b0More or less forced.           0007b1Recapture with the bishop      0007b2would only allow black the     0007b3Nxf3 ! move that he has been   0007b4looking at for so long....     0007b5Plus, with an attack on the    0007b6white queen, white would       0007b7lose further time moving       0007b8the queen.                     0007b:By knocking out the f3         0007b;pawn support, white's attack   0007b<would lose inertia.            0007c0Black gains back the material  0007c1he earlier sacrificed. He      0007c2also breaks the force of the   0007c3white attack somewhat.         0007c5After                          0007c615. Bxf3  Qxb5                 0007c716. e5    Rac8                 0007c8black has a fine game.         0007c:Evaluation : -/+ (GM Gufeld)   0007d0This falls into a tactic       0007d1common in this variation.      0007d3The idea is that black can     0007d4move his knight on c6,         0007d5knock out a support for b5,    0007d6and uncover his bishop to      0007d7attack b5. White's pieces      0007d8become overworked and          0007d9something must give !          0007e0this move will gain back       0007e1the pawn sacrificed earlier.   0007e3White's moves become more      0007e4or less forced.                0007f0Forced.                        000800Black has gained back his      000801pawn, and is now in a          000802commanding position. The       000803white pawn storm "wall"        000804has been shattered.            000806Evaluation : -/+ (GM Geller)   000810This move allows black to      000811develop his pieces to their    000812natural squares for attack.    000820Supports the knight under      000821attack, and brings a heavy     000822piece to a half-open file.     000824White can no longer attempt    000825to force an exchange of        000826dark-squared bishops with the  000827move Bh6, because black can    000828simply retreat his bishop      000829to h8. (before the rook        00082:moves on f8 this is not        00082;possible without giving up     00082<the exchange)                  000830This position was reached      000831in Mac-Gufeld 1962.            000833Evaluation : -/+ (GM Gufeld)   000840This move is best according    000841to current theory. Here the    000842bishop provides a measure      000843of defense to the white        000844king, but it still "eyes"      000845the black king for attack.     000847By retreating, white has       000848denied black an immediate      000849open file.                     000850black continues to advance     000851his attack. We are at the      000852stage of the game where        000853every tempo becomes            000854critical. Black must make      000855aggresive moves, if for        000856no other reason than to        000857intimidate his opponent.       000859White must not be given        00085:any time to organize.          000860this move aims at exchanging   000861some potential attackers,      000862and providing a point to       000863plant white's bishop-          000864on d5. Note that if white is   000865allowed Nxf6+, it will be      000866with check and will not lose   000867any time. This move will also  000868take out one of blacks' key    000869defenders.                     000870Black cannot afford any waste  000871of time. Besides this move     000872unleashes the power of the     000873"dragon" bishop. White will    000874be forced to recapture with    000875his bishop, or he will lose    000876it to black's a4.              000880White's position is a little   000881more comfortable right here.   000883Black can consider giving up   000884the exchange with Ne5, but     000885must be careful to get enough  000886compensation.                  000888Both sides have ready-made     000889attacks to pursue.             00088;Evaluation : +/= (Smith)      