Ideas behind the Sicilian Dragon
Submitted by
Hammerschlag on Sun, 06/14/2009 at 2:11pm.
I am not an expert chess player or an expert on the Sicilian; I have just started to learn the Sicilian starting with the Dragon Variation. It is one of the main variations of the Sicilian Defense. There are lots of ideas and theories behind it; there are many variations on the defense as well which will be a lot to study.
p.s. This is meant for beginners and I hope people find this helpful.
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The ideas here in this article are not mine; it only deals with the Dragon Variation and covers the general ideas behind it. If you wish more information, you may have to purchase a book. It is from an article on the net I found and studied; I have tried to condense the ideas to keep the article as short as possible.
I also added the ECO codes for those that I know. The ECO has ten codes for the Dragon Variation from B70-79
Move order: 1) e4 c5 2) Nf3 d6 3) d4 cxd4 4) Nxd4 Nf6 5) Nc3 g6
DIAGRAM 1.o
The name of the defense comes from the constellation Draco as it resembles the star formation.
The Yugoslav Attack a.k.a. the Rauzer Attack (ECO B75)
6) Be3 Bg7 {called the Dragon’s Breath) 7) f3 {safeguards e4 and stops Nf6-g4} 0-0 8) Qd2 Nc6
9) 0-0-0
or
9) Bc4
DIAGRAM 2.o
In the Yugoslav, each side attempts to storm with their pawns on opposite sides; White with a King-side attack and Black with a Queen-side attack.
White typically exchanges the dark-squared Bishop playing Bh6 to open the h-file; exploits the a2-g8 diagonal and the weakness of the d5 square. White will avoid moving paws on a2/b2/c2 where possible to maintain King-safety since the King-side attack is generally faster for White.
Black typically plays h5 to defend against White’s King-side assault. Exchanging White’s light-square Bishop with Nc6 to e5 and Nxc4 then creates pressure along the c-file, possible sacrificing the exchange on c3 and advancing on the b-pawn (generally omitting a6 as it is too slow). Black can obtain an acceptable endgame.
The Yugoslav Attack with 9) 0-0-0
By omitting Bc4, White speeds up the attack on the King-side. The point of Bc4 is to prevent Black from playing the freeing move d5, which gives Black equality. Although upon further analysis (by GMs) this position is unclear. Black’s possible move other than d5…9)…Bd7 or 9)…Nxd4
DIAGRAM 3.o
The position after Black’s Queen-sacrifice with sufficient compensation.
9.0-0-0 d5 10.Kb1 Nxd4 11.e5 Nf5 12.exf6 Bxf6 13.Nxd5 Qxd5 14.Qxd5 Nxe3 15.Qd3 Nxd1 16.Qxd1
The Yugoslav Attack with 9) Bc4
The point of Bc4 is to help control the d5 square preventing Black from advancing the pawn and opening his position; this also helps in safeguarding White’s Queen-side. However this also exposes the Bishop to attack from a Rook on c8, which will then have to retreat to b3 giving Black extra time to organize his troops.
A common idea for Black is to sacrifice the exchange on c3 to break up White’s pawns and open up the long diagonal (a1-h8) for the Bishop on g7.
An example of both ideas is the line 9.Bc4 Bd7 10.0-0-0 Rc8 11.Bb3 Ne5 12.h4 Nc4 13.Bxc4 Rxc4 14.h5 Nxh5 15.g4 Nf6 16.Bh6 Nxe4 17.Qe3 Rxc3.
DIAGRAM 4.o
The Soltis Variation: 9.Bc4 Bd7 10.0-0-0 Rc8 11.Bb3 Ne5 12.h4 h5
Other deviations for Black: 10...Qa5 and 12...Nc4
White can avoid the Soltis by 12. Kb1 (to discourage this White King-move, Black can play 10…Rb8).
The Classical Variation (ECO B73)
The two main continuations for White: 6) Be3 or 6) 0-0 as Black will most likely play Bg7
After 7.Be3 Nc6 8.0-0 0-0, White can play either 9.Nb3 or 9.Qd2
Alternatively White can play Bg5 instead of e3, a more aggressive but dangerous move. In this line, White places his Knight on b3 and avoids an exchange on d4.
The Levenfish Variation 6) f4 (ECO B71)
Not very common in high level chess today. This move prepares e5 attacking the Knight on f6. When White plays f4, Black should typically play Nbd7 or e5 before continuing with the normal Dragon moves Bg7 followed by 0-0 (as there are traps at White’s disposal), although Bg7 is playable.
Other options on White's sixth move include 6.Bc4, 6.f3, and 6.g3
The Dragon formation without 2)…d6 --- Lines where Black does this include the Accelerated Dragon (1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 g6) and Hyper-Accelerated Dragon (1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 g6)
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