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ANNOTATED GAME
Dubious novelty against the accelerated dragon
icehawk (1722) vs. rygeren (1669)
Annotated by: icehawk (1200)
Chess opening: Sicilian (B27), Hungarian variation
icehawk (1722) vs. rygeren (1669)
Annotated by: icehawk (1200)
Chess opening: Sicilian (B27), Hungarian variation
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1. e4 |
This game was perhaps not the most exciting from an artistic point of view, but there was a lot of tension and fighting spirit. The quality of play was higher than in most of my games, with no side making any serious mistake. | ||||
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1... c5 2. Nf3 g6 |
The accelerated dragon is understandably very popular nowadays. | ||||
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3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Bg7 5. Nc3 |
5.c4, heading for a Maroczy bind is also an interesting try. White has good practical results with that approach. | ||||
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5... Nc6 6. Be3 Nf6 7. Bc4 |
The bishop is a little exposed on this diagonal, but it prevents black's d5 push for the moment. For instance, 7.Be2 0-0 8.0-0 d5! is unpleasant for white. | ||||
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7... O-O 8. Bb3 |
Nxe4, with equality, was threatened. | ||||
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8... d6 9. h3 |
To counter the threat of Ng4, white had to play either f3 or h3. Entering the Yugoslav attack with 9.f3 is probably the most critical, but it can be very painful to play white, at least in a game with less time on your clock. I used to think this h3 move was a good practical choice, but after some games, including this one, I've changed my mind. Now I believe the Maroczy bind is a better practical choice against the accelerated dragon if you want to avoid the complications of the Yugoslav attack. | ||||
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9... Na5 10. O-O b6 |
Both players go for the most principled continuations. White players are having difficulties with this black setup. | ||||
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11. Re1 Bb7 12. Bg5 Nxb3 13. axb3 h6 14. Bxf6 |
A novelty which I had analyzed extensively beforehand. It doesn't look natural at all to give away this bishop, but there is some logic behind the move. Eliminating the f6 knight takes away some pressure from e4. White had to depart with his last bishop, but it would have been badly placed anyway. Now he is hoping to use the extra tempo to start an attack on the queenside. He is also trying to prove the claim that two well placed knights in the centre can be just as strong as the two bishops. | ||||
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14... Bxf6 15. Qd3 Bg7 16. b4 |
White has a clear plan with b5 followed by doubling the rooks on the a-file. Thus black has only one move to prevent a serious white advantage. | ||||
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16... a6 17. h4 |
White is using his pawns as spearheads in a desperate try to create weaknesses in the black camp. | ||||
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17... e6 |
The black position is now so solid that he can play this move without having to fear for his d6 pawn. His queen will now enter on the kingside. | ||||
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18. h5 Qh4 |
! I was naively expecting gxh5 when white has at least managed to create some targets. It is gradually becoming clear that white has to fight for survival. | ||||
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19. hxg6 fxg6 20. Nf3 Qf4 21. Rad1 Rad8 22. Re3 g5 |
h5 was also interesting. | ||||
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23. Qe2 g4 24. Nd4 Rde8 25. g3 |
Further weakening the kingside, but it was very hard to defend with the enemy queen on f4. | ||||
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25... Qg5 26. b5 axb5 27. Qxb5 |
A knight capture on b5 would have been problematic after Ba6. | ||||
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27... Be5 28. Re2 |
On 28.f4 gxf3 29.Rxf3 Bxe4! was a killer. Now white is pretending to threaten it, but it's unclear if such a loose move is ever good. | ||||
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28... Qg6 29. Qb4 |
It was possible to capture on b6. Black doesn't really care, since he has a serious attack on the kingside and the white pawns are going nowhere. Still, it might have been objectively best. | ||||
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29... Qf6 30. Qxb6 |
Why take this pawn now, you might ask, but white has few sensible moves anyway. | ||||
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30... Rf7 |
30...Rb8 looked good, but after 31.Ndb5! Bxe4 32.Nxe4 Rxb6 33.Nxf6 the endgame is drawish. | ||||
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31. Ndb5 |
White has achieved something. Now he is starting to make threats himself. | ||||
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