Annotated chess game: How to Slay a Dragon

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ANNOTATED GAME

How to Slay a Dragon
zetsuna (1548) vs. mlane (1591)
Annotated by: desertfoxxx (1200)
Chess opening: Sicilian (B27), Hungarian variation

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This annotation is about my favorite attack against the Sicilian Defense-Dragon Variation.. It's called the Yugoslav attack.. I think it is the strongest line against the Sicilian Dragon which many consider as black's sharpest and most aggressive defense.. In this game my opponent played the Sicilian Hungarian Variation (also called the hyper-accelerated dragon) but it has some similarities with the Sicilian Dragon Variation so I think I'll just stick with my title..

1. e4	In this game, I played e4 or the King's Pawn Opening..



1... c5	My opponent responded with c5 or the Sicilian Defense..



2. Nf3	This is one of the main lines of the Sicilian defense.. The knight is in a good position as it controls the e5 square and supports the thrust of the d-pawn on d4.. Now I could have played d4 at this point but I wanted to play it safe so I opted to play Nf3 instead..



2... g6	Black was preparing to fianchetto his bishop to g7.. Black was also intending to play the Sicilian Hungarian Variation or should I say the hyper-accelerated dragon..



3. d4	I played d4 to open up the lines..



3... Bg7	Black fianchettoed his bishop to g7 and looked to play a hypermodern style of play and control the center of the board from the flanks..



4. Nc3	I played Nc3 to control the d5 square and at the same time protect the e4 pawn..
	6 comments blake78613 (1200) on 07-May-12: White's best here is 4.c4 establishing a Maroczy bind. The idea behind the accelerated Dragon is for Black to be able to play ...d5 in one move instead of two. 4.Nc3 plays right into Blacks hands and if White makes Yugoslav type moves he will be a tempo down in the Yugoslav attack. desertfoxxx (1200) on 07-May-12: Interesting.. I was hoping to play Bc4 at some point in the game which is one of the main lines of the Yugoslav attack followed by Bb3 so I didn't consider c4.. But if I played Bc4 right away it could be harassed by the ff. moves a6 and b5 for instance.. I would like to try c4 in my future games.. Thanks.. l-d-j (1747) on 07-May-12: 4.c4 is quite different from the Yugoslav lines, but it is a good line indeed. dmaestro (1647) on 07-May-12: Agreed, c4 is best marinvukusic (2161) on 07-May-12: Actually 4. dc5, Qa5; 5. c3, Qc5; 6. Be3 (or 6. Bd3) is pretty good for White. 4. Nc3 is fine though. tiger_lilov (1200) on 15-May-12: Actually, the best line theoretically and statistically is 4.dxc5 Qa5+ 5.c3 Qxc5 6.Na3! with an edge to white. 6...Bxc3+? 7.bxc3 Qxc3+ 8.Qd2! Qxa1 9.Nb5! with a clear advantage to white. 4.c4 is a solid alternative, but does not give as much practical chances as taking. playing 4.Nc3 is OK, but not as comfortable usually.


4... cxd4 5. Nxd4 Qa5	Getting the queen out this early in the game has some risks as it exposes the queen to enemy attacks.. Better continuation would be 5. ... Nc6..
	3 comments liam1260 (1826) on 08-May-12: Your e4 pawn is now unprotected. desertfoxxx (1200) on 08-May-12: The e4 pawn is not unprotected because it can be supported by f3 which is also one of the main lines of the Yugoslav attack prior to Be3.. Besides, it's not even attacked at the moment.. -_- tiger_lilov (1200) on 15-May-12: Why don't you just transpose into the line with 5...Nc6 6.Be3 Nf6. Check out my annotation vs crafty. I almost beat a GM level computer here, if it wasn't for time trouble.


6. Be3	My favorite attack against the Sicilian Dragon, the Yugoslav attack (although this game is not a Sicilian Dragon Variation but rather a Hungarian Variation a.k.a. hyper-accelerated dragon).. The plan is to exchange the white's dark square bishop with black's dark square bishop on g7 by playing Qd2 on the next move connecting the queen and bishop on c1-h6 diagonal, then Bh6 afterwards.



6... Nc6 7. Qd2	Proceeding with my plan..



7... d6 8. Nb3	I decided to attack his queen to alleviate the pressure on c3 and to kick his queen out with a tempo.. I expected his next move would be 8. ... Qd8.. If 8. ... Bxc3 then 9. Nxa5! Bxd2 10. Bxd2 Nxa5 11. Bxa5, I would have a pair of bishops in an open position which would give me a huge advantage in the game..
	4 comments blake78613 (1200) on 07-May-12: With 7...d6 the game transposes to the Yugoslav attack. liam1260 (1826) on 09-May-12: Black's DSB shouldn't be coming out so early but with regard to the variation you've given what about 8...Bxc3, 9.Nxa5 Bxa5 and now Queen is pinned to King on e1-a5 diagonal. There is a trade with White Queen and DSB Bishop, White can afford 0-0-0 at best I think. But Black has a piece up. Be wary of presuming equal exchanges. It was worth Black's while bringing the Queen out to a5. @zetsuna sure you've responded differently. because of a different exchange. 10.c3 was not in the original variation. elyhim (1200) on 09-May-12: It turns out that 5. ...Qa5 was a big fat waste of time. Now white has gained space and tempo on the Queen. desertfoxxx (1200) on 11-May-12: What? 8... Bxc3 9. Nxa5 Bxa5?? 10.c3! blocks the pin.. Be wary of presuming you're right.. %-6 Of course I would respond differently as you suggested another variation than mine.. Think through your comment as it doesn't make sense..


8... Qb4	This was an error.. I think Qd8 was much safer.. He was then forced to exchange queens on my next move.. Not 9.a3!? Bxc3!, if 10.bxc3 Qxe4 and if 10. Qxc3 Qxc3 11.bxc3 and Black would be in a good shape because of white's doubled pawns on the c-file.. Or if 10. axb4 Bxd2 11. Bxd2 Nf6 12. Bc3 e5! and black would equalize with a strong center and good attacking chances..



9. Nd5	Now he was forced to exchange queens..



9... Qxd2+ 10. Bxd2	Now, if 10. ... Bxb2 then 11. Rb1 and his bishop is in danger and at the same time the knight on d5 threatens Nc7+ forking the rook and the black king..



10... Kd7	I don't know if this was a good move.. Although it defends the c7 square, it exposes the king to enemy attacks.. Better was Kd8..



11. O-O-O	Not only this move protects the b2 pawn but it also puts the rook in the center and controls a semi-open file.. It also places the king into safety..



11... Nf6	I was thinking of 12. Bc3.. Then I saw this variation.. 12. Bc3 Nxe4 13. Bxg7 Rg8! 14. Bd4 Nxd4 15. Nxd4 Nxf2 forking the two white rooks.. Hmm... But what I didn't see was that even though I would be down a point in the exchange I would have 4 pieces against his three pieces and all of my pieces would be active and his king would still be stuck in the middle.. This is the possible continuation 16. Bb5+ Kd8 17. Rhf1 Nxd1 18. Rxd1.. Maybe it's worth the gamble or maybe not.. What do you think?
	2 comments l-d-j (1747) on 07-May-12: Interesting variation, but it seems to me that there are no clear weaknesses to attack in the black position.. I think it would probably lead to a draw. cdm75 (1200) on 12-May-12: 12.Nxe4?? 13.Bxg7 Rg8 14.Bd4 Nxd4 15.Rxd4! and now if 15...Nxf2 16.Rg1 f5! Black's Knight can now return to a strong outpost on e4. But after 17.Bc4 Black has to move his King's Rook on account of the discovered attack, (e.g. 17...Ne4?? 18.Nxe7 etc) and White has completed his development, has very active pieces and is a piece for two Pawns up!


12. f3	So I decided to play f3 instead, bolstering the e4 pawn..



12... a6	And then my opponent made a blunder.. The best continuation would be Nxd5 to eliminate white's centralized knight..
	1 comment l-d-j (1747) on 07-May-12: Just awful. How could he miss the weakness of the b6 square?


13. Nb6+	My opponent resigned...
	1 comment l-d-j (1747) on 07-May-12: Acceptable, as he has no way to win back the knight: 13...Kc7 14.Nxa8+ Kb8 15.Nb6 and White exchanges it for the black bishop if he needs to and wins easily.