Sicilian Defence, Dragon Variation

In chess, the Dragon Variation[1] is one of the main lines 7...Bd7 as white can play Qxg4 due to the pin on the d7
of the Sicilian Defence and begins with the moves:
bishop, or winning an exchange and pawn after 7...Nc6
8.Nxc6 bxc6 9.Bxc6+ forking king and rook.
1. e4 c5
7... 0-0 8. Qd2 Nc6
2. Nf3 d6
3. d4 cxd4

and now there are fundamentally two distinct branches

with 9. 0-0-0 leading to more positional play while 9.
Bc4 leads to highly tactical double-edged positions.

4. Nxd4 Nf6
5. Nc3 g6

The Yugoslav Attack exemplies the spirit of the Dragon

with race-to-mate pawn storms on opposite sides of the
board. White tries to break open the Black kingside and
deliver mate down the h-le, while Black seeks counterplay on the queenside with sacricial attacks. Typical
White strategies are exchanging dark-squared bishops by
Be3h6, sacricing material to open the h-le, and exploiting pressure on the a2g8 diagonal and the weakness
of the d5 square.

In the Dragon, Black anchettoes their bishop on the h8

a1 diagonal, building a home for the king on g8 while
aiming the bishop at the center and queenside. White
frequently seeks to meet Blacks setup with Be3, Qd2
and Bh6, exchanging o the dragon bishop, followed by
launching a kingside pawn storm with h4h5 and g4. To
involve the a1 rook in the attack, White usually castles
queenside, which however places the White king on the
semi-open c-le. The result is often some blood-curdling
chess where both sides attack the others king with all
available resources: either Blacks king bites the dust, or
his counterplay arrives just in time that White gets mated
instead. The line is one of the sharpest and most aggressive variations of the Sicilian Defence, making it one of
the sharpest of all chess openings.[2]

Black will typically counterattack on the queenside, using the queenside pawns, rooks, and dark squared bishop.
Black sometimes plays h5 (the Soltis Variation) to defend
against Whites kingside attack. Other typical themes
for Black are exchanging Whites light-square bishop by
Nc6e5c4, pressure on the c-le, sacricing the exchange on c3, advancing the b-pawn and pressure on the
long diagonal. Black will generally omit ...a6 because
White will generally win in a straight pawn attack since
Black has given White a hook on g6 to attack. In general, White will avoid moving the pawns on a2/b2/c2, and
so Blacks pawn storm will nearly always be slower than
Whites on the kingside. Black can frequently obtain an
acceptable endgame even after sacricing the exchange
because of Whites h-pawn sacrice and doubled pawns.

The modern form of the Dragon was originated by German master Louis Paulsen around 1880.[3] It was played
frequently by Henry Bird that decade, then received general acceptance around 1900 when played by Harry Nelson Pillsbury and other masters.
The name Dragon was rst coined by Russian chess
master and amateur astronomer Fyodor Dus-Chotimirsky
who noted the resemblance of Blacks kingside pawn
structure to the constellation Draco.[4]

1.1 Yugoslav Attack with 9.0-0-0

Yugoslav Attack: 6.Be3 Bg7 7.f3

0-0 8.Qd2 Nc6

Position after 16...Be6!

After years of believing Whites best play and chance for

The Yugoslav Attack is considered to be the main line advantage lay in the main line with 9. Bc4, this older main
that gives maximum chances for both sides. It continues: line made a major comeback. White omits Bc4 in order
to speed up the attack. It used to be thought that allow6. Be3 Bg7 7. f3
ing 9...d5 here allows Black to equalize easily but further
analysis and play have proven that things are not so clear
The point of Whites last move is to safeguard e4 and to cut. In fact, recently Black experienced a time of distop Black from playing ...Ng4 harassing Whites dark- culty in the 9...d5 line facing a brilliant idea by Ivanchuk
squared bishop. Black cannot play 6.Be3 Ng4?? imme- which seemed to give White the advantage. Some Black
diately because of 7.Bb5+ either winning a piece after players began experimenting with 9...Bd7 and 9...Nxd4.
1

4 HARRINGTONGLEK VARIATION: 6.BE3 BG7 7.BE2 0-0 8.QD2

Fortunately for Black, the 9...d5 line has been doing better in practice. A brilliancy found for White one day is
soon enough overturned by some new resource for Black.
A case in point is the following line where the evaluation
of a major line was turned upside down overnight because
of a queen sacrice played by GM Mikhail Golubev, an
expert on the Dragon: 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 Be6!, where Black has
almost sucient compensation for the queen.

1.2

Yugoslav Attack with 9.Bc4

Main article: Sicilian, Dragon, Yugoslav Attack, 9.Bc4

The Soltis Variation of the 9.Bc4 Yugoslav Attack

After 7. 0-0 White has a choice of e3 and g5 for

their bishop. If it is placed on e3, the game will usually transpose into the lines above. In his book Starting Out: The Sicilian Dragon, Andrew Martin calls
Be3 the traditional way of handling the variation,
and describes Bg5 as being much more dangerous
and Whites best chance to play for a win in the
Classical Dragon. As with Be3, after Bg5, White
will normally place their knight on b3, avoiding an
exchange on d4.

3 Levensh Variation: 6.f4

The Levensh Variation, 6. f4, is named after Russian
GM Grigory Levensh who recommended it in the 1937
Russian Chess Yearbook. It is not currently very common in the highest levels in chess. White prepares 7.e5
attacking Blacks f6-knight therefore in the pre-computer
era 6... Nc6 or 6... Nbd7 were considered mandatory to
meet the Levensh variation. However, it has transpired
that after 6... Bg7 7. e5 Nh5 8. Bb5+ Bd7 9. e6 fxe6
10. Nxe6 Bxc3+ 11. bxc3 Qc8 Black might actually be
better.

The purpose of 9.Bc4 is to prevent Black from playing

the freeing move ...d6d5. The variations resulting from
this move are notorious for having been heavily analysed.
In addition to covering d5, Whites light-squared bishop
helps cover Whites queenside and controls the a2g8 diagonal leading to Blacks king. However, the bishop is
exposed on c4 to an attack by a rook on c8, and usually
has to retreat to b3, giving Black more time to organize
his attack. Common in this line is an exchange sacrice
on c3 by Black to break up Whites queenside pawns, and
Variation:
sacrices to open up the long diagonal for Blacks bishop 4 HarringtonGlek
on g7 are also common. An example of both ideas is the
6.Be3 Bg7 7.Be2 0-0 8.Qd2
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!
The HarringtonGlek Variation is another option for
17. Qe3 Rxc3!.
White. Named after Grandmaster Igor Glek who has
The Soltis Variation was the main line of the Dragon up devoted considerable eort evaluating the resulting pountil the late 1990s. Garry Kasparov played the move sitions for White. 6. Be3 Bg7 7. Be2 0-0 8. Qd2!?
three times in the 1995 World Championship against GM John Emms wrote, Although its dicult to beat
Viswanathan Anand, scoring two wins and a draw. The the Yugoslav in terms of sharp, aggressive play, 7.Be2
line goes 9. Bc4 Bd7 10. 0-0-0 Rc8 11. Bb3 Ne5 0-0 8.Qd2!? also contains a fair amount of venom ...
12. h4 h5 (the key move, holding up Whites kingside Whites plans include queenside castling and a kingside
pawn advance). Other important deviations for Black attack. And theres a major plus point in that its much,
are 10...Qa5 and 12...Nc4. More recently, White players much less theoretical!"[5]
have often avoided the Soltis by playing 12.Kb1, which
has proven so eective that Black players have in turn After the main moves 8... Nc6 9. 0-0-0 we reach a tabiya
tried to dodge this with 10... Rb8, known as the Chinese for the position.
Dragon.
Position after 9.0-0-0

Classical Variation: 6.Be2

The Classical Variation, 6. Be2, is the oldest White response to the Dragon. It is the second most common
White response behind the Yugoslav Attack. After 6...
Bg7, White has two main continuations:
After 7. Be3 Nc6 8. 0-0 0-0, Whites two main
responses are 9. Nb3 and 9. Qd2. The knight move
is a very common one in the Classical Variation and
Qd2 is well met with 9... d5.

Here Black has tested several options and here they are
listed in order of popularity:
9... Nxd4 This move can lead to both positional
and attacking chances for both sides. White must
keep aware that Black may have opportunities to offer an exchange sacrice on c3 in order to exploit
the unprotected e4 pawn. 10.Bxd4 Be6 11.Kb1! a
good preparatory move in many lines of the Sicilian Dragon. White wants to be able to play Nd5
if the situation becomes conducive. Whites king is
also getting away from the open c-le which is where

3
much of Blacks counterplay can develop. 11...Qa5
With this move we reach a position where chances
are roughly balanced and play can take on a life of
its own.

f7 and help defend the white king (though the 9.0-0-0

variation of the Dragon shows that this is not completely
necessary), and if White plays f4 and then castles queenside, they must always be on guard for Ng4 ideas, something which the move f3 in traditional Dragon positions
9... Bd7 This move allows Black to keep all his usually discourages. Nonetheless, a Yugoslav-style attack
pieces on the board to mount an attack. 10.h4! h5! is still playable after both 6.Be2 g6 or 6.f4 g6.
Black needs to keep Whites pawns from making a
breaking capture. 11.f3 Rc8 12.Kb1 Ne5 13.Bg5! Some famous exponents of the Dragon are Veselin
Black can now go for broke with 13...b5!? with an Topalov, Andrew Soltis, Jonathan Mestel, Chris Ward,
Sergei Tiviakov, Alexei Fedorov, Mikhail Golubev the
interesting position to contest with over the board.
late Tony Miles and Eduard Gufeld. Garry Kasparov
9... Ng4 This move is played to pick up the bishop used the Dragon with success as a surprise weapon against
pair by exploiting the absence of f3 in Whites open- world title challenger Viswanathan Anand in 1995 but did
ing. White is usually ne with allowing the trade of not use it subsequently. The Dragon saw its popularity
bishop for knight considering that his light-square declining in the late 1990s as a result of White resuscibishop does little in this line in comparison with the tating the old line with 9.0-0-0, however recently there
f6-knights defensive abilities and White also will has been a resurgence with moves such as the Chinese
gain the use of f2f3 to drive Black back after he re- Dragon 10.0-0-0 Rb8!? and an injection of new ideas in
captures with his bishop. 10.Bxg4 Bxg4 11.f3 Bd7 the 9.0-0-0 line by Dragon devotees.
12.Kb1 Ne5 13.b3! Rc8 14.h4 Re8! Again, both
sides have good chances.
9... d5!? A pawn sacrice similar to lines in the 6 ECO codes
more common Yugoslav mainlines. 10.exd5 Nxd5
11.Nxc6 bxc6 12.Nxd5 cxd5 13.Qxd5 Qc7! giving The Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings (ECO) has ten
up two rooks for the queen but keeping attacking codes for the Dragon Variation, B70[1] through B79. Afchances. 14.Qxa8! Bf5 15.Qxf8+ Kxf8 16.Bd3! ter 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6, there is:
Be6 17.Kb1
9... a6 10.Kb1 Nxd4 11.Bxd4 b5 12.h4! h5 13.f3
Be6 14.g4! J.Van der Wiel vs. H. Eidam, Gran Canaria 1996.

B70 5.Nc3 g6
B71 5.Nc3 g6 6.f4 (Levensh Variation)
B72 5.Nc3 g6 6.Be3

Other options

Other options on Whites sixth move include 6. Bc4, 6.

f3, and 6. g3.
When Black adopts the Dragon formation without 2...d6,
White must watch out for ...d5 which often immediately equalises. 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).
Another option for Black is to play what has been called
the Dragodorf, which combines ideas from the Dragon
with those of the Najdorf Variation. While this line may
be played via the Dragon move order (see the Yugoslav
Attack with 9.Bc4). Black can arrive at it with a Najdorf
move order: 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6
5.Nc3 a6 6.Be3 g6 (or 5...g6 6.Be3 a6), with the idea of
Bg7 and Nbd7. Such a move order would be used to try
to avoid a Yugoslav type attack; for instance, after 1.e4 c5
2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6, White could
play 6.Be2 or 6.f4. In both cases, especially the latter, a
Yugoslav-style attack loses some momentum. Usually the
bishop is more ideally placed on c4, where it can pressure

B73 5.Nc3 g6 6.Be3 Bg7 7.Be2 Nc6 8.0-0 (Classical

Variation)
B74 5.Nc3 g6 6.Be3 Bg7 7.Be2 Nc6 8.0-0 0-0
9.Nb3
B75 5.Nc3 g6 6.Be3 Bg7 7.f3 (Yugoslav Attack)
B76 5.Nc3 g6 6.Be3 Bg7 7.f3 0-0
B77 5.Nc3 g6 6.Be3 Bg7 7.f3 0-0 8.Qd2 Nc6 9.Bc4
B78 5.Nc3 g6 6.Be3 Bg7 7.f3 0-0 8.Qd2 Nc6 9.Bc4
Bd7 10.0-0-0
B79 5.Nc3 g6 6.Be3 Bg7 7.f3 0-0 8.Qd2 Nc6 9.Bc4
Bd7 10.0-0-0 Qa5 11.Bb3 Rfc8 12.h4

7 See also
List of chess openings

10

References

[1] Sicilian, Dragon Variation (B70)". Chess openings.

Chessgames.com. Retrieved 2007-04-25.
[2] Wol, Patrick (1997). 9. The Complete Idiots Guide to
Chess. Patrick Wol. p. 147. ISBN 0-02-861736-3.
[3] Hooper, David; Whyld, Kenneth (1987). The Oxford
Companion to Chess. Oxford University Press. p. 95.
ISBN 0-19-281986-0.
[4] Martin, Andrew (2005). Intro. Starting Out: The Sicilian Dragon. Everyman Chess. p. 5. ISBN 1-85744-3985.
[5] Dangerous Weapons:The Sicilian

Further reading
Miles, Tony; Moskow, Eric (1979). Sicilian Dragon:
Yugoslav Attack. Batsford Books. ISBN 0-71342029-4.
John Emms; Richard Palliser (2006). Dangerous
Weapons:The Sicilian. Everyman Chess. ISBN 1
85744 423 x.
Levy, David (1976). The Sicilian Dragon. Batsford.
ISBN 0-19-217571-8.
Ward, Chris (1994). Winning With the Dragon.
Batsford. ISBN 0-7134-7210-3.
Gufeld, Eduard (1998). Secrets of the Sicilian
Dragon. Cardoza. ISBN 0940685922.
Golubev, Mikhail (1999). Easy Guide to the Dragon.
Everyman Chess. ISBN 978-1857442755.
Ward, Chris (2001). Winning With the Sicilian
Dragon 2. Batsford. ISBN 0-7134-8236-2.
Dearing, Edward (2005). Play The Sicilian Dragon.
Gambit. ISBN 1904600174.
Martin, Andrew (2005). Starting Out: The Sicilian
Dragon. Everyman Chess. ISBN 1857443985.
Williams, Simon (2009). The New Sicilian Dragon.
Everyman Chess. ISBN 978-1-85744-615-9.

10

External links

Pablo Arguelles. Sicilian Defense. Chess Series.

Google Video. Retrieved 2007-04-25.
Sicilian, Dragon Variation by Bill Wall
Mikhail Golubev Experimenting With the Dragon

EXTERNAL LINKS

11
11.1

Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses

Text

Sicilian Defence, Dragon Variation Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sicilian_Defence%2C_Dragon_Variation?oldid=752973778

Contributors: Webhat, No Guru, H Padleckas, Mooseboy, Martpol, Modargo, ZeroOne, Knucmo2, Gene Nygaard, Mandarax, Graham87,
Quale, Bubba73, Ucucha, Jmw0000, WTHarvey, Krakatoa, Cobblet, Fetofs, B00P, Sim man, Shalom Yechiel, Justin Staord, Galactor213,
JoeBot, Banedon, Storeye, ScottM84, Rugops, Maurice Carbonaro, Anonywiki, Moondoll, Billebrooks, VolkovBot, Malinaccier, Soler97,
Goliadkin, Randy Kryn, Swedish fusilier, Rhododendrites, Sun Creator, Rossen4, Lab-oratory, MystBot, Addbot, LaaknorBot, Lightbot, Ben Ben, Luckas-bot, Yobot, Gongshow, AnomieBOT, Ulric1313, LilHelpa, MrsHudson, Adrignola, DespicableLiar, Iceman9gem,
H3llBot, Orange Suede Sofa, Ihardlythinkso, Movses-bot, Frietjes, Green Rain, Helpful Pixie Bot, BG19bot, Toccata quarta, ChrisGualtieri,
Phigknotpig, Monkbot, Canyafeeltheluv and Anonymous: 64

11.2

Images

File:Chess_bdt45.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/98/Chess_bdt45.svg License: CC-BY-SA-3.0 Contributors: This vector image was created with Inkscape. Original artist: en:User:Cburnett
File:Chess_blt45.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b1/Chess_blt45.svg License: CC-BY-SA-3.0 Contributors: This vector image was created with Inkscape. Original artist: en:User:Cburnett
File:Chess_kdt45.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f0/Chess_kdt45.svg License: CC-BY-SA-3.0 Contributors: This vector image was created with Inkscape. Original artist: en:User:Cburnett
File:Chess_klt45.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/42/Chess_klt45.svg License: CC-BY-SA-3.0 Contributors: This vector image was created with Inkscape. Original artist: en:User:Cburnett
File:Chess_ndt45.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ef/Chess_ndt45.svg License: CC-BY-SA-3.0 Contributors: This vector image was created with Inkscape. Original artist: en:User:Cburnett
File:Chess_nlt45.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/70/Chess_nlt45.svg License: CC-BY-SA-3.0 Contributors: This vector image was created with Inkscape. Original artist: en:User:Cburnett
File:Chess_pdt45.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c7/Chess_pdt45.svg License: CC-BY-SA-3.0 Contributors: This vector image was created with Inkscape. Original artist: en:User:Cburnett
File:Chess_plt45.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/45/Chess_plt45.svg License: CC-BY-SA-3.0 Contributors: This vector image was created with Inkscape. Original artist: en:User:Cburnett
File:Chess_qdt45.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/47/Chess_qdt45.svg License: CC-BY-SA-3.0 Contributors: This vector image was created with Inkscape. Original artist: en:User:Cburnett
File:Chess_qlt45.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/15/Chess_qlt45.svg License: CC-BY-SA-3.0 Contributors: This vector image was created with Inkscape. Original artist: en:User:Cburnett
File:Chess_rdt45.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/ff/Chess_rdt45.svg License: CC-BY-SA-3.0 Contributors: This vector image was created with Inkscape. Original artist: en:User:Cburnett
File:Chess_rlt45.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/72/Chess_rlt45.svg License: CC-BY-SA-3.0 Contributors: This vector image was created with Inkscape. Original artist: en:User:Cburnett
File:Chessboard480.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d7/Chessboard480.svg License: CC0 Contributors:
Own work Original artist:
File:Wikibooks-logo-en-noslogan.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/df/Wikibooks-logo-en-noslogan.
svg License: CC BY-SA 3.0 Contributors: Own work Original artist: User:Bastique, User:Ramac et al.

11.3

Content license

Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0