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Dragon − Yugoslav Attack [B79] Written by GM Chris Ward XABCDEFGHY 8rsnlwq-trk+( 7zpp+-zppvlp' 6-+-zp-snp+& 5+-+-+-+-% 4-+-sNP+-+$ 3+-sN-vLP+-# 2PzPPwQ-+PzP" 1tR-+-mKL+R! xabcdefghy You have arrived at the real deal; the cutting edge of contemporary chess opening theory. For years this aggressive system, countering an equally bold defence has been scrutinised by Masters and Amateurs alike. Even those that could never even reach the positions in practical play have spent hours of enjoyment analysing the almost unlimited resources at the disposal of both White and Black. Hopefully you will discover some truths here, but do not let that stop you working on things for yourself. In fact quite the opposite. I am not so arrogant as to believe that I possess all the answers. I have many ideas; some of which are probably good and some of which probably aren't! Compared to the other sections of this web site, you will no doubt observe in the early stages of this project's development, that there is at present a lower percentage of annotations here. First of all I believe it is because (and this is not meant to detract from my other sections) 'generalised waffle' is not so applicable here. In games where one slip can mean the end, variations are all important. Furthermore it is inevitable that in future months the Yugoslav Attack is where most attention is going to be focused. This is where you, the subscriber come into it. 2 If there is a line or unannotated game here that particularly takes your fancy or a question that relates to one, then please feel free to utilise the 'feedback function'. In time then, full annotations will be provided to these games, as well as other theoretically important ones that will undoubtedly surface. A word of warning though. Whilst the comparatively recent introductions of wicked computer analysis modules has made cut−throat lines even more precise, I am a only a human! Assessments of critical variations have constantly been changing and they still continue to do so. Yes even here that is not unlikely to be the case, but after all isn't that what adds to the attraction? All the games given in blue can be accessed via ChessPub.exe, simply head for their respective ECO code. 3 Contents 1.e4 c5 2.¤f3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.¤xd4 ¤f6 5.¤c3 g6 6.¥e3 ¥g7 7.f3 0-0 7...¤c6 8.¥c4 0-0 (8...£b6 Dragon−Yugoslav Attack:/8 ¥c4 £b6 and Irregular [B75]) 9.¥b3 ¥d7 Dragon−Yugoslav Attack:/8 ¥c4 0-0 9 £e2 and irregular [B76] 8.£d2 XABCDEFGHY 8rsnlwq-trk+( 7zpp+-zppvlp' 6-+-zp-snp+& 5+-+-+-+-% 4-+-sNP+-+$ 3+-sN-vLP+-# 2PzPPwQ-+PzP" 1tR-+-mKL+R! xabcdefghy 8...¤c6 9.¥c4 9.0-0-0 d5 (9...¥d7 Dragon−Yugoslav Attack:/9 0-0-0 ¥d7 and 9 g4 ¥d7 [B75] 9...¤xd4 10.¥xd4 ¥e6 Dragon−Yugoslav Attack/9 0-0-0 ¥e6 and 9...¤xd4 10 ¥xd4 ¥e6 [B76]) 10.exd5 (10.£e1 Dragon−Yugoslav Attack/9 0-0-0 d5 10 Others [B76]) 10...¤xd5 11.¤xc6 bxc6 Dragon−Yugoslav Attack/9 0-0-0 d5 10 exd5 [B76] 9.g4 Dragon−Yugoslav Attack:/9 g4 without 9...¥d7 [B76] 9...¥d7 10.0-0-0 XABCDEFGHY 8r+-wq-trk+( 7zpp+lzppvlp' 6-+nzp-snp+& 5+-+-+-+-% 4-+LsNP+-+$ 3+-sN-vLP+-# 2PzPPwQ-+PzP" 1+-mKR+-+R! xabcdefghy 10.h4 Dragon−Yugoslav Attack/9 ¥c4 irregular [B77] 4 10...£a5 10...¦c8 11.¥b3 ¤e5 (11...¤xd4 12.¥xd4 b5 Dragon−Yugoslav Attack:/9 ¥c4 ¥d7 with ...¤xd4 [B78]) 12.h4 (12.¢b1 Dragon−Yugoslav Attack:/...¦c8 with 12 ¢b1 and 12 g4 [B78]) 12...¤c4 (12...h5 Dragon−Yugoslav Attack:/Soltis variation [B78]) 13.¥xc4 ¦xc4 Dragon−Yugoslav Attack:/...¦c8 with 12 h4 ¤c4 [B78] 10...¤e5 11.¥b3 b5 Dragon−Yugoslav Attack:/10 0-0-0 ¤e5 11 ¥b3 b5 [B78] 10...£b8 Dragon−Yugoslav Attack:/9 ¥c4 ¥d7 with ...£b8 [B78] 11.¥b3 ¦fc8 XABCDEFGHY 8r+r+-+k+( 7zpp+lzppvlp' 6-+nzp-snp+& 5wq-+-+-+-% 4-+-sNP+-+$ 3+LsN-vLP+-# 2PzPPwQ-+PzP" 1+-mKR+-+R! xabcdefghy 12.h4 12.¢b1 ¤e5 13.¥g5 (13.g4 Dragon−Yugoslav Attack:/...£a5 with ¢b1 and g4 [B79]) 13...¦c5 Dragon−Yugoslav Attack:/...£a5 with ¢b1 and ¥g5 [B79] 12...¤e5 13.h5 13.g4 Dragon−Yugoslav Attack:/...£a5 with h4 and g4 [B79] 13.¢b1 Dragon−Yugoslav Attack:/...£a5 with ¢b1 and h4 [B79] 13...¤xh5 14.¤d5 Dragon−Yugoslav Attack:/...Qa5 with h4−h5 [B79] Press F5 to toggle the Navigation Pane, then click on the appropriate bookmark to go straight to that section. Ctrl + 2 resizes the page. 5 Dragon − Yugoslav Attack: 8 Bc4 Qb6 and Irregular [B75] Last updated: 08/02/02 by Chris Ward 1 e4 c5 2 ¤f3 d6 3 d4 cxd4 4 ¤xd4 ¤f6 5 ¤c3 g6 6 ¥e3 ¥g7 7 f3 ¤c6 7...a6 8 £d2 ¤bd7 9 g4 b5 10 0-0-0 ¥b7 11 h4 h5 12 g5 ¤h7 13 f4 ¤c5 14 ¥g2 b4! : Moreno Carnero,J−Del Rio Angelis,S/Cala Mendia, Mallorca ESP 2001. 8 ¥c4 8 £d2 h5 XABCDEFGHY 8r+lwqk+-tr( 7zpp+-zppvl-' 6-+nzp-snp+& 5+-+-+-+p% 4-+-sNP+-+$ 3+-sN-vLP+-# 2PzPPwQ-+PzP" 1tR-+-mKL+R! xabcdefghy (8...¥d7 9 0-0-0 a6?! 10 g4 b5 11 h4 h5 : Atakisi,U−Erdogan,H/Yerevan ARM 2000.) 9 0-0-0 (9 ¥c4 ¥d7 10 ¥b3 ¦c8 11 0-0-0 ¤a5 12 ¢b1 a6 13 h3 h4 : Khalifman,A− Shabalov,A/Moscow RUS 2001.) 9...¥d7 10 ¢b1 ¦c8 Kobalija,M− Aseev,K/Moscow RUS 2001. 8...£b6 6 XABCDEFGHY 8r+l+k+-tr( 7zpp+-zppvlp' 6-wqnzp-snp+& 5+-+-+-+-% 4-+LsNP+-+$ 3+-sN-vLP+-# 2PzPP+-+PzP" 1tR-+QmK-+R! xabcdefghy A tactical tempt to dissuade White from the positional Yugoslav Attack line where he puts his queen on e2. Though placing his queen in the firing line, Black has threats revolving around White's d4−knight. 9 ¤cb5 9 ¤f5 £xb2 10 ¤xg7+ ¢f8 11 ¤d5 ¤xd5 12 ¥xd5 ¢xg7 13 0-0 : Zhang Pengxiang−Liang Chong/Beijing CHN 2001. 9...£a5+ 10 c3 0-0 11 0-0 a6 XABCDEFGHY 8r+l+-trk+( 7+p+-zppvlp' 6p+nzp-snp+& 5wqN+-+-+-% 4-+LsNP+-+$ 3+-zP-vLP+-# 2PzP-+-+PzP" 1tR-+Q+RmK-! xabcdefghy Kunte,A−Macieja,B/Istanbul TUR 2000. 7 Dragon − Yugoslav Attack 9 0-0-0 Be6 and 9...Nxd4 10 Bxd4 Be6 [B76] Last updated: 08/02/02 by Chris Ward 1 e4 c5 2 ¤f3 d6 3 d4 cxd4 4 ¤xd4 ¤f6 5 ¤c3 g6 6 ¥e3 ¥g7 7 f3 ¤c6 8 £d2 0-0 9 0-0-0 XABCDEFGHY 8r+lwq-trk+( 7zpp+-zppvlp' 6-+nzp-snp+& 5+-+-+-+-% 4-+-sNP+-+$ 3+-sN-vLP+-# 2PzPPwQ-+PzP" 1+-mKR+L+R! xabcdefghy 9...¤xd4 9...¥e6 10 ¤xe6 fxe6 11 g3 ¤e8!? Re−routing the knight and hitting the f3−pawn. 12 f4 £a5!? 13 ¥c4 ¤c7 14 ¤b5 £a4!? : Valenti,G−Farago,S/Budapest HUN 2000. 10 ¥xd4 ¥e6 11 ¢b1 £c7 11...a6?! 12 g4 b5 13 h4 is the uninspirational Middelburg,T−Afek,Y/Groningen NED 2001. 12 g4 12 ¥b5 a6 13 ¥a4 b5 14 ¥b3 b4 15 ¤d5 ¥xd5 16 exd5 : Tebb,D−Ward,C/British Champs 1998. 12 h4 ¦fc8 13 h5 £a5 8 XABCDEFGHY 8r+r+-+k+( 7zpp+-zppvlp' 6-+-zplsnp+& 5wq-+-+-+P% 4-+-vLP+-+$ 3+-sN-+P+-# 2PzPPwQ-+P+" 1+K+R+L+R! xabcdefghy 14 hxg6 (14 a3?! ¤xh5! 15 ¥xg7 ¢xg7 16 g4 ¦xc3! : Kummerow,H−Sievers,S/Bundesliga 1997. 14 h6 ¥h8 15 a3 ¤d7 16 ¤d5?! : Psakhis,L−Ward,C/Copenhagen 2000.) 14...hxg6 (14...fxg6 15 a3 ¦ab8 : Zapata,A−Cabrera,A/Cartagena de Indias COL 2001.) a) 15 a3 ¦ab8 16 ¥d3 b5 (or 16...¥c4 17 ¥e3!?) 17 £g5! £c7 : Rios,A−Clavijo,J/Medellin COL 2000. b) 15 g4 15...¦xc3 : Erdogdu,M−Green,E/Internet ICC 2000. 12 ¤d5 ¥xd5 13 exd5 ¦ac8 14 ¦c1 (It is necessary to defend the c2−pawn as for example 14 g4? drops a pawn to 14...¤xd5! Observe 15 ¥xg7 ¢xg7 16 £xd5?? £xc2+ 17 ¢a1 £c1+ with mate next go.) 14...a6 15 g4 e6 16 dxe6 fxe6 17 h4 £c6 18 ¥g2 : Vasiesiu,D− Jianu,V/Targoviste ROM 2001. 12...¦fc8 13 h4 £a5 14 a3 14 £g5 XABCDEFGHY 8r+r+-+k+( 7zpp+-zppvlp' 6-+-zplsnp+& 5wq-+-+-wQ-% 4-+-vLP+PzP$ 3+-sN-+P+-# 2PzPP+-+-+" 1+K+R+L+R! xabcdefghy a) 14...£c7 15 £d2 £a5 16 £g5 b5 17 £xb5 £c7 18 £a4 ¦ab8 19 ¥a6 ¥d7 20 £a3 : Ernst,S−Van de Mortel,J/op, Groningen NED 1995. b) 14...b5 15 £xb5 £c7 16 £a4 ¦ab8 17 ¢a1 : Lakos,N−Shahade,J/Istanbul TUR 2000.(17 ¥a6 ¥d7 18 ¤b5 ¥xb5 19 ¥xb5 a6 20 ¥d3 : Votava,J−Kersten,U/Pardubice CZE 2000. ) c) 14...£xg5 15 hxg5 ¤d7 16 ¥xg7 ¢xg7 17 ¦h4 ¦c5 : Leko,P−Shirov,A/Bordeaux FRA 1999. 9 14...¦ab8 15 h5 15 ¤e2 £a4!? 16 ¤f4 b5!? : Fritz−Ward/Rogers/Bromley Rapid 1999.(16...¤xe4 17 fxe4 ¥xd4 : Adams,M−Ward,C/Wood Green vs Slough 1996.) 15...b5 16 h6 b4 XABCDEFGHY 8-trr+-+k+( 7zp-+-zppvlp' 6-+-zplsnpzP& 5wq-+-+-+-% 4-zp-vLP+P+$ 3zP-sN-+P+-# 2-zPPwQ-+-+" 1+K+R+L+R! xabcdefghy Harris,R−Ward,C/Wood Green Vs Mushrooms 1999. 10 Dragon − Yugoslav Attack: 9 g4 without 9...Bd7 [B76] Last updated: 08/02/02 by Chris Ward 1 e4 c5 2 ¤f3 d6 3 d4 cxd4 4 ¤xd4 ¤f6 5 ¤c3 g6 6 ¥e3 ¥g7 7 f3 ¤c6 8 £d2 0-0 9 g4 XABCDEFGHY 8r+lwq-trk+( 7zpp+-zppvlp' 6-+nzp-snp+& 5+-+-+-+-% 4-+-sNP+P+$ 3+-sN-vLP+-# 2PzPPwQ-+-zP" 1tR-+-mKL+R! xabcdefghy 9...¤xd4 9...¥e6 a) 10 ¤xe6?! In my view this is only good for White if his pawn is back on g2. Although it gains a knight for a bishop, the new arrival pawn on e6 helps control d5 and being gifted a half−open f−file, the f3−pawn is an obvious target 10...fxe6 11 ¥c4 11 XABCDEFGHY 8r+-wq-trk+( 7zpp+-zp-vlp' 6-+nzppsnp+& 5+-+-+-+-% 4-+L+P+P+$ 3+-sN-vLP+-# 2PzPPwQ-+-zP" 1tR-+-mK-+R! xabcdefghy 11...d5!? (11...£c8 12 ¥b3 ¤a5 Varga,Z−Golubev,M/Tusnad 1997.) 12 exd5 ¤e5 : Varga,Z− Pirisi,G/Hungarian Team Ch 1992. b) 10 h4 ¤xd4 (10...d5! 11 ¤xe6 fxe6 12 0-0-0 : Ramalho,J−Guimaraes,R/Lisbon 1999.) 11 ¥xd4 £a5 12 h5 ¦fc8 13 a3 ¦ab8 : Egoroff,J−Vescovi,G/Brazil Open 1997. c) 10 0-0-0 10...¤e5 11 h4 (11 ¢b1 ¦c8 12 h4 h5 13 ¥h6 : 0-1 Tarasov,I−Hachian,M/Russia Cup II 1996.) 11...£a5 12 a3 (Not falling for 12 ¢b1? ¤xf3 13 ¤xf3 ¤xe4 14 ¤xe4 £xa2+ 15 ¢c1 £a1#) 12...¦ac8 13 h5 ¦xc3 : Degraeve,J−Lobzhanidze,D/Groningen 1997. 9...¥xg4 10 fxg4 ¤xg4 11 ¥g1 e6 12 h4 h5 : Fyllingen,R−Thorsteinsson,A/Gausdal 1997. 10 ¥xd4 ¥e6 11 0-0-0 £a5 12 a3 ¦fc8 13 h4 ¦ab8 XABCDEFGHY 8-trr+-+k+( 7zpp+-zppvlp' 6-+-zplsnp+& 5wq-+-+-+-% 4-+-vLP+PzP$ 3zP-sN-+P+-# 2-zPPwQ-+-+" 1+-mKR+L+R! xabcdefghy 14 ¢b1 14 h5 b5 a) 15 h6 b4 (Instead 15...Bh8 would offer White a favourable endgame (and having sealed the h−file that's obviously what he's after!) with 16 Nd5 but the odd−looking 15...¥f8!? would guarantee preserving the bishops and is definitely deserving of some consideration. ) 16 hxg7 bxa3! : Zude,A−Riemersma,L/Germany 1996. 12 b) 15 hxg6 15...fxg6 (15...b4 !? or ?!) 16 g5 ¤h5 : Sax,G−Relange,E/Euro Team Ch 1997. 14 ¤d5 £xd2+ 15 ¦xd2 ¥xd5 (15...¤xd5 16 ¥xg7 ¢xg7 17 exd5 ¥d7 18 ¦d4 Hera,I− Kahn,E/Budapest 1998.) 16 exd5 b5 17 g5 Upon (17 ¥xa7?! Black can regain the pawn with interest via 17...¦a8 18 ¥d4 b4 because of the mate on a1.) 17...¤h5 18 ¦g1 f6! Jansa,V−Ward,C/Isle Of Man 1998. 14...b5 15 ¤d5 15 ¥xf6 ¥xf6 16 ¤d5 b4! 17 g5?! ¥c3!! : Goncharov,V−Kabanov,N/Omsk RUS 2001. 15...£xd2 16 ¦xd2 XABCDEFGHY 8-trr+-+k+( 7zp-+-zppvlp' 6-+-zplsnp+& 5+p+N+-+-% 4-+-vLP+PzP$ 3zP-+-+P+-# 2-zPPtR-+-+" 1+K+-+L+R! xabcdefghy 16...¤xd5 Polgar,J−Anand,V/Dortmund 1997. 13 Dragon − Yugoslav Attack: 9 0-0-0 Bd7 and 9 g4 Bd7 [B75] Last updated: 08/02/02 by Chris Ward 1 e4 c5 2 ¤f3 d6 3 d4 cxd4 4 ¤xd4 ¤f6 5 ¤c3 g6 6 ¥e3 ¥g7 7 f3 ¤c6 8 £d2 0-0 9 0-0-0 ¥d7 XABCDEFGHY 8r+-wq-trk+( 7zpp+lzppvlp' 6-+nzp-snp+& 5+-+-+-+-% 4-+-sNP+-+$ 3+-sN-vLP+-# 2PzPPwQ-+PzP" 1+-mKR+L+R! xabcdefghy 10 g4 10 ¢b1 ¦c8 (10...£a5 A rare continuation that hasn't been seen at any sort of top level since 1963. 11 ¤b3 £c7 : Filipenko,A−Yevseev,D/Pardubice CZE 2001.) 11 h4 ¤e5 12 ¥h6 ¥xh6 13 £xh6 ¦xc3! 14 bxc3 £c7 : Christensen,T−Ward,C/Copenhagen KS 1997. 10...¦c8 11 h4 ¤e5 14 XABCDEFGHY 8-+rwq-trk+( 7zpp+lzppvlp' 6-+-zp-snp+& 5+-+-sn-+-% 4-+-sNP+PzP$ 3+-sN-vLP+-# 2PzPPwQ-+-+" 1+-mKR+L+R! xabcdefghy 12 ¢b1 12 h5 £a5 (12...¤c4? : Kiselev,A−Golovchenko,G/St Petersburg RUS 2000.) a) 13 ¥e2 b5 14 ¤b3 £a6 (14...£c7 15 hxg6 fxg6 16 g5 b4! : Golts,R−Pert,R/Orapeso 1999.) 15 ¢b1 ¤c4 0-1 McShane,L−Duncan,C/4NCL, Wigan ENG 1997. b) 13 ¢b1 13...¦xc3 : Mueller,K−Ward,C/Germany 1997. 12...b5 12...£a5 13 ¥e2 (13 ¤b3 £c7 14 ¥e2 b5 15 h5 b4 16 ¤d5 : Fressinet,L−Polzin,R/Magdeburg GER 2001.) 13...¦xc3 : Sutovsky,E−Hodgson,J/Oxford 1998. 12...h5!? 13 g5 White can consider several alternatives to this rather kingside blocking−up move. Indeed I have looked at 13 Bh6, 13 Bg5, 13 Be2, 13 Nd5 and 13 gxh5. 13...¤e8 : Visweswaren,K−Ward,C/Politiken Cup 2001. 13 ¤cxb5 13 h5 ¤xf3 14 ¤xf3 ¥xg4 15 ¥e2 b4 16 ¤d5 ¤xe4 17 £xb4 Gallagher,J− Summerscale,A/Cannes 1997. 13...¦b8 15 XABCDEFGHY 8-tr-wq-trk+( 7zp-+lzppvlp' 6-+-zp-snp+& 5+N+-sn-+-% 4-+-sNP+PzP$ 3+-+-vLP+-# 2PzPPwQ-+-+" 1+K+R+L+R! xabcdefghy Baker,C−Pert,R/Birmingham 2000. 16 Dragon − Yugoslav Attack 9 0-0-0 d5 10 Others [B76] Last updated: 08/02/02 by Chris Ward 1 e4 c5 2 ¤f3 d6 3 d4 cxd4 4 ¤xd4 ¤f6 5 ¤c3 g6 6 ¥e3 ¥g7 7 f3 0-0 8 £d2 ¤c6 9 0-0-0 d5 10 £e1 XABCDEFGHY 8r+lwq-trk+( 7zpp+-zppvlp' 6-+n+-snp+& 5+-+p+-+-% 4-+-sNP+-+$ 3+-sN-vLP+-# 2PzPP+-+PzP" 1+-mKRwQL+R! xabcdefghy 10 ¤xc6 bxc6 11 ¥h6 XABCDEFGHY 8r+lwq-trk+( 7zp-+-zppvlp' 6-+p+-snpvL& 5+-+p+-+-% 4-+-+P+-+$ 3+-sN-+P+-# 2PzPPwQ-+PzP" 1+-mKR+L+R! xabcdefghy (11 e5?! ¤d7 12 ¥h6 ¥xe5!? Schlander,S−Gheng,J/Miercurea Ciuc ROM 2000.) 11...¥xh6 12 £xh6 £b6!? : Rogovski,V−Golubev,M/Ordzhonikidze 2001. 17 10 ¢b1 ¤xd4 11 e5 ¤f5 12 exf6 ¥xf6 13 ¤xd5 £xd5 14 £xd5 ¤xe3 15 £d2 ¤xd1 16 £xd1 XABCDEFGHY 8r+l+-trk+( 7zpp+-zpp+p' 6-+-+-vlp+& 5+-+-+-+-% 4-+-+-+-+$ 3+-+-+P+-# 2PzPP+-+PzP" 1+K+Q+L+R! xabcdefghy a) 16...¥e6 17 ¥d3 ¦fd8 18 h4 (18 £e2 ¦d6 19 h4 : Lip,C−Moylan,L/Gold Coast AUS 1999.) 18...¦d6 19 h5 : Papp,G−Pashikian,A/Litohoto GRE 1999. b) 16...¥f5 17 ¥c4 b5! : Acosta,A−Clavijo,J/Fusagasuga COL 1999. 10...e5 10...e6 11 h4 £c7 12 h5 ¤xh5 13 exd5 exd5 14 ¤db5 : Szieberth,A−Rajlich,V/Budapest HUN 2001. 11 ¤xc6 bxc6 12 exd5 ¤xd5 12...cxd5 13 ¥g5 ¥e6 14 ¥c4 £c7 15 ¥xf6 dxc4 : Mueller,M−Berndt,S/Porz GER 1998. 13 ¥c4 13 ¥c5 ¥h6+ 14 ¢b1 ¤xc3+ 15 bxc3 : Szieberth,A−Rajlich,V/Budapest HUN 2001. 13...¥e6 14 ¤e4 £c7 18 XABCDEFGHY 8r+-+-trk+( 7zp-wq-+pvlp' 6-+p+l+p+& 5+-+nzp-+-% 4-+L+N+-+$ 3+-+-vLP+-# 2PzPP+-+PzP" 1+-mKRwQ-+R! xabcdefghy 15 ¤g5?! 15 ¥c5 ¦fd8 16 g4 ¤f4 17 ¥xe6 ¤xe6 18 ¥d6 £b6 19 £c3 ¤d4 : Weide,K− Sylvan,J/Copenhagen DEN 1999. 15...¤xe3 16 ¤xe6 £b6! XABCDEFGHY 8r+-+-trk+( 7zp-+-+pvlp' 6-wqp+N+p+& 5+-+-zp-+-% 4-+L+-+-+$ 3+-+-snP+-# 2PzPP+-+PzP" 1+-mKRwQ-+R! xabcdefghy Timman,J−Fedorov,A/Wijk aan Zee NED 2001. 19 Dragon − Yugoslav Attack 9 0-0-0 d5 10 exd5 [B76] Last updated: 27/03/02 by Chris Ward 1 e4 c5 2 ¤f3 d6 3 d4 cxd4 4 ¤xd4 ¤f6 5 ¤c3 g6 6 ¥e3 ¥g7 7 f3 ¤c6 8 £d2 0-0 9 0-0-0 d5 10 exd5 ¤xd5 11 ¤xc6 bxc6 XABCDEFGHY 8r+lwq-trk+( 7zp-+-zppvlp' 6-+p+-+p+& 5+-+n+-+-% 4-+-+-+-+$ 3+-sN-vLP+-# 2PzPPwQ-+PzP" 1+-mKR+L+R! xabcdefghy 12 ¤xd5 12 ¥d4 a) 12...¤xc3 13 £xc3 ¥h6+ 14 ¥e3 ¥xe3+ 15 £xe3 £b6 20 XABCDEFGHY 8r+l+-trk+( 7zp-+-zpp+p' 6-wqp+-+p+& 5+-+-+-+-% 4-+-+-+-+$ 3+-+-wQP+-# 2PzPP+-+PzP" 1+-mKR+L+R! xabcdefghy 16 £xe7 ¥e6 (16...¦b8 17 £e5 ¥e6 : Kutuzovic,B−Kinez,I/Pula CRO 1999.) 17 £a3 £f2 18 £a5 ¦ab8 : Grischuk,A−Shahade,G/Internet ICC 2000. b) 12...¥xd4 13 £xd4 XABCDEFGHY 8r+lwq-trk+( 7zp-+-zpp+p' 6-+p+-+p+& 5+-+n+-+-% 4-+-wQ-+-+$ 3+-sN-+P+-# 2PzPP+-+PzP" 1+-mKR+L+R! xabcdefghy 13...£c7 A recent attempt. Black is happy to sacrifice a pawn and as he suspects White won't trade queens on b6, he settles for nudging it just one square and vacating d8 for a rook. (13...£b6 14 ¤a4! : Popovic,P−Werner,C/Strasbourg FRA 1999.) 14 ¥c4 (14 £c5 ¤xc3 15 £xc3 ¥e6 16 ¥d3 Svidler,P−Fedorov,A/Shenyang CHN 2000.) 14...¤b6 Shirov,A−Fedorov,A/Eu Team Ch 1999. c) 12...e5 13 ¥c5 c1) 13...¥e6 14 ¤e4 21 XABCDEFGHY 8r+-wq-trk+( 7zp-+-+pvlp' 6-+p+l+p+& 5+-vLnzp-+-% 4-+-+N+-+$ 3+-+-+P+-# 2PzPPwQ-+PzP" 1+-mKR+L+R! xabcdefghy The variation that I still consider to be the main line of 9 0-0-0 d5. c1a) 14...¦b8 15 ¥c4 (15 g4 f5 16 gxf5 gxf5 17 ¦g1 fxe4 18 £h6 £f6 : Arnold,L− Rajlich,V/Budapest HUN 2001. (18)) 15...¦e8 16 h4 h6 : David,A−Ward,C/Monarch Assurance 1997. c1b) 14...¦e8 c1b1) 15 h4 h6 16 g4 c1b11) 16...£c7 17 g5 h5 18 ¥c4 ¦ed8 19 £f2 £b7!? :Palac,M−Kolev,A/Skopje MKD 2002.(19...a5 20 a4 £b7 is more common with White then usually choosing between the likes of 21 Rhe1, 21 Rd3 and 21 b3.) c1b12) 16...a5 17 a4 The drawback of this otherwise natural move is that with a gaping hole on b4, budging the knight with c4 is less appetising. 17...£c7 18 g5 h5 19 ¥c4 ¦ed8 20 £h2 ¦ab8 21 b3 ¥f5 : Perez Candelario,M−Gonzalez,Y/Havana CUB 2001. c1b2) 15 g4 ¤f4 16 £c3 ¥h6! 0-1 Van Riemsdijk,H−Felgaer,R/Mar del Plata ARG 1999. c1b3) 15 ¥c4 15...£c7 16 g4 ¦ed8 17 £f2 ¦d7 1-0 Gallagher,J−Elsness,F/Gausdal NOR 2001. c2) 13...¦e8 14 ¤xd5 cxd5 15 £xd5 £xd5 16 ¦xd5 ¥e6 17 ¦d6 ¥xa2 18 b4 a5 : Blees,A− Tiviakov,S/Haarlem NED 1999. 12...cxd5 13 £xd5 £c7 13...¦b8 14 b3 £c7 15 £c5 Wagener,C−Cruz,F/Istanbul TUR 2000. 14 £c5 22 XABCDEFGHY 8r+l+-trk+( 7zp-wq-zppvlp' 6-+-+-+p+& 5+-wQ-+-+-% 4-+-+-+-+$ 3+-+-vLP+-# 2PzPP+-+PzP" 1+-mKR+L+R! xabcdefghy 14...£b7 Hardly Houdini!: 'Of course this site has also seen plenty of 14...Qb7.' 14...£b8!? 15 £a3 ¥e6 16 ¥a6 (16 ¥d3 £e5 is no real improvement: Krivokapic,M− Dimitrijevic,A/Obrenovac YUG 2002.) 16...£e5 17 g3 ¦ad8 18 ¥f4 £f6 Adams,M− Fedorov,A/Wijk aan Zee NED 2001. Hardly Houdini!: 'was the high profile game Adams,M−Fedorov,A/Wijk aan Zee NED 2001. The text could be an attempted improvement but I'm not sure that it hits the mark.' 15 £a3 ¥f5 16 ¥d3 ¦ab8 16...¦fb8 17 b3 (Rather more accurate than 17 c3 ¥xc3!) 17...a5 18 ¥xf5 gxf5 19 ¦d3 ¦c8 20 ¦hd1 £c7 21 c4 a4 1-0 Gunnarsson,J−Salmensuu,O/Torshavn FAI 2000. 17 b3 ¦fc8 18 ¥xf5 gxf5 19 ¦d3 £c6 20 c4 XABCDEFGHY 8-trr+-+k+( 7zp-+-zppvlp' 6-+q+-+-+& 5+-+-+p+-% 4-+P+-+-+$ 3wQP+RvLP+-# 2P+-+-+PzP" 1+-mK-+-+R! xabcdefghy 20...£g6!? 23 A sneaky idea. Previously 20...Qf6 has been seen but after 21 Rhd1 Black apparently had little more than a check on a1. 20...f4 21 ¥xf4 £f6 Giaccio,A−Hoffman,A/Buenos Aires ARG 2001. 21 f4?! £xg2 Zakharstov,V−Timofeev,A/Elista RUS 2001. 24 Dragon − Yugoslav Attack: 8 Bc4 0-0 9 Qe2 and irregular [B76] Last updated: 08/02/02 by Chris Ward 1 e4 c5 2 ¤f3 d6 3 d4 cxd4 4 ¤xd4 ¤f6 5 ¤c3 g6 6 ¥e3 ¥g7 7 f3 ¤c6 7...0-0 8 £d2 ¤c6 (8...d5?! 9 e5 ¤fd7 10 f4 : Dgebuadze,A−Afek,Y/Sonnevanck NED 2000.) 9 h4?! d5! : Bergez,L−Maitesian,S/Fourmies FRA 2001. 8 ¥c4 0-0 9 ¥b3 9 £e2 XABCDEFGHY 8r+lwq-trk+( 7zpp+-zppvlp' 6-+nzp-snp+& 5+-+-+-+-% 4-+LsNP+-+$ 3+-sN-vLP+-# 2PzPP+Q+PzP" 1tR-+-mK-+R! xabcdefghy 9...¤a5 10 ¥d3 (Inferior is 10 ¥b3 as Black can take control in the centre with 10...e5!) 10...a6 11 0-0-0 b5 12 g4 e5!? 13 ¤b3 ¥e6 : Sylvan,J−Ward,C/Politiken Cup 1997. 9...¥d7 10 h4 25 XABCDEFGHY 8r+-wq-trk+( 7zpp+lzppvlp' 6-+nzp-snp+& 5+-+-+-+-% 4-+-sNP+-zP$ 3+LsN-vLP+-# 2PzPP+-+P+" 1tR-+QmK-+R! xabcdefghy 10...h5 10...¤xd4 11 ¥xd4 b5 12 h5 b4 : Kovacevic,A−Gonzalez,B/Mallorca ESP 2000. 11 £e2 ¤a5 11...¤xe4 12 ¤xc6 ¤xc3 13 ¤xd8 ¤xe2 14 ¤xf7 ¤g3 15 ¤e5+ ¢h7 16 ¤xd7 ¦fd8 is equal according to Tiviakov. 12 0-0-0 ¦c8 13 g4 XABCDEFGHY 8-+rwq-trk+( 7zpp+lzppvl-' 6-+-zp-snp+& 5sn-+-+-+p% 4-+-sNP+PzP$ 3+LsN-vLP+-# 2PzPP+Q+-+" 1+-mKR+-+R! xabcdefghy Shirov,A−Topalov,V/Monaco MNC 2001. 26 Dragon − Yugoslav Attack 9 Bc4 irregular [B77] Last updated: 08/02/02 by Chris Ward 1 e4 c5 2 ¤f3 d6 2...¤c6 3 d4 cxd4 4 ¤xd4 g6 5 ¤c3 ¥g7 6 ¥e3 ¤f6 7 ¥c4 0-0 8 ¥b3 d6 9 f3 ¥d7 10 £d2 ¦c8 (Featuring the same 2 players, a line that has evolved in the new century is 10...¤xd4 11 ¥xd4 b5 12 h4 a5 13 a4 bxa4 14 ¤xa4 ¥e6 15 ¤b6 ¦a6 16 ¤d5 ¥xd5 17 exd5 £c7 18 ¦a4 ¦b8 19 ¢f2 h5 20 ¦e1 ¤e8 21 ¥xg7 ¤xg7 22 g4 £d8 23 ¢g2 ¦a7 24 £e3 ¦ab7 25 ¦e4 ¦b4 26 £g5 ¦xe4 27 ¦xe4 ¦b4 28 ¦xb4 axb4 29 £e3 £c7 30 £d4 £a5 31 £e3 £c7 32 £d4 £a5 33 £e3 ½-½ Shirov,A−Topalov,V Moscow 2001 and in truth Black has scored very well with it. The point is of course that via this move order White volunteers Bb3 ahead of schedule, thus facilitating an easy ...b5.) 11 0-0-0 ¤xd4 12 ¥xd4 b5 XABCDEFGHY 8-+rwq-trk+( 7zp-+lzppvlp' 6-+-zp-snp+& 5+p+-+-+-% 4-+-vLP+-+$ 3+LsN-+P+-# 2PzPPwQ-+PzP" 1+-mKR+-+R! xabcdefghy Shirov,A−Topalov,V/Moscow RUS 2001.These positions are very similar to the ...Nxd4 line covered under the [B78] ECO code. 3 d4 cxd4 4 ¤xd4 ¤f6 5 ¤c3 g6 6 ¥e3 ¥g7 It's worth noting that an attempt to hassle the bishop immediately with 6...¤g4?? loses to 7 ¥b5+ i.e. 7...¥d7 8 £xg4 7 f3 ¤c6 8 £d2 0-0 9 ¥c4 27 XABCDEFGHY 8r+lwq-trk+( 7zpp+-zppvlp' 6-+nzp-snp+& 5+-+-+-+-% 4-+LsNP+-+$ 3+-sN-vLP+-# 2PzPPwQ-+PzP" 1tR-+-mK-+R! xabcdefghy 9...¥d7 9...a6? 10 0-0-0 ¥d7 11 h4 : Hamdouchi,H−Aalders,H/Andorra AND 2000. 9...¤xd4 10 ¥xd4 ¥e6 11 ¥b3! Capturing on e6 may double Black's pawns, but it opens up the f−file and more importantly hands over control of d5. 11...£a5 12 0-0-0 b5 13 ¢b1 : Fischer,R−Larsen,B/Portoroz 1958. 10 h4 £c7 XABCDEFGHY 8r+-+-trk+( 7zppwqlzppvlp' 6-+nzp-snp+& 5+-+-+-+-% 4-+LsNP+-zP$ 3+-sN-vLP+-# 2PzPPwQ-+P+" 1tR-+-mK-+R! xabcdefghy 11 ¥b3 ¤a5 12 h5 ¤c4 13 ¥xc4 £xc4 14 0-0-0 b5 15 hxg6 b4?! 28 XABCDEFGHY 8r+-+-trk+( 7zp-+lzppvlp' 6-+-zp-snP+& 5+-+-+-+-% 4-zpqsNP+-+$ 3+-sN-vLP+-# 2PzPPwQ-+P+" 1+-mKR+-+R! xabcdefghy Hakki,I−Mueller,L/Istanbul TUR 2000. 29 Dragon − Yugoslav Attack: Soltis variation [B78] Last updated: 08/02/02 by Chris Ward 1 e4 c5 2 ¤f3 d6 3 d4 cxd4 4 ¤xd4 ¤f6 5 ¤c3 g6 6 ¥e3 ¥g7 7 f3 ¤c6 8 £d2 0-0 9 ¥c4 ¥d7 10 0-0-0 After 10 h4 h5 11 ¥b3 ¦c8 a very weak attempt at a refutation was later attempted with 12 ¤xc6?! bxc6 13 ¥h6 , but it all went horribly wrong 13...c5 14 ¥c4 £b6 15 ¥xg7 ¢xg7 16 b3 ¥e6 17 ¤d5 ¥xd5 18 exd5 e5! 19 dxe6? (opening things up with his king still in the middle, but the alternative 19 0-0-0 would have allowed the e−pawn to have changed from a weakness on e7 to a strength on e5). 19...d5 20 ¥e2 c4 21 c3 ¦ce8 22 bxc4 ¦xe6 23 ¢f1 ¦fe8 24 ¥d3 dxc4 25 ¥xc4 ¤e4! #(26 fxe4 Rf6+ is crushing) 0-1 Anand,V−Kasparov,G PCA World Ch final, New York 1995 (game 25). 10...¦c8 11 ¥b3 ¤e5 12 h4 h5 XABCDEFGHY 8-+rwq-trk+( 7zpp+lzppvl-' 6-+-zp-snp+& 5+-+-sn-+p% 4-+-sNP+-zP$ 3+LsN-vLP+-# 2PzPPwQ-+P+" 1+-mKR+-+R! xabcdefghy 13 ¢b1 13 ¥g5 ¦c5 30 XABCDEFGHY 8-+-wq-trk+( 7zpp+lzppvl-' 6-+-zp-snp+& 5+-tr-sn-vLp% 4-+-sNP+-zP$ 3+LsN-+P+-# 2PzPPwQ-+P+" 1+-mKR+-+R! xabcdefghy a) 14 ¢b1 b5 (14...¦e8 15 ¦he1 £a5 16 a3! was Anand,V−Kasparov,G World Ch (game 17) New York 1995. ) 15 ¦he1 a5 16 f4 ¤c4 : Plaskett,H−Gallagher,J/4NCL Birmingham 2001. b) 14 g4 14...hxg4 15 h5 (15 f4 ¤c4 16 £d3 b5 17 f5 : Sorial,H−Hakki,I/3rd Golden Cleopatra Closed 1999.) 15...¤xh5 16 ¤d5 ¦e8 17 f4 ¤c4 18 £f2 b5 : Kravtsov,S− Solovjov,S/St. Petersburg RUS 1999. 13 ¥h6 XABCDEFGHY 8-+rwq-trk+( 7zpp+lzppvl-' 6-+-zp-snpvL& 5+-+-sn-+p% 4-+-sNP+-zP$ 3+LsN-+P+-# 2PzPPwQ-+P+" 1+-mKR+-+R! xabcdefghy 13...¥xh6 (13...¤c4 14 ¥xc4 ¦xc4 15 ¥xg7 ¢xg7 16 ¤d5 : Milos,G−Hausrath,D/Groningen 1997.) 14 £xh6 ¦xc3 15 bxc3 £a5 (15...£c7 16 ¢b1 b5 17 f4 ¤c4 : Lepelletier,B− Degraeve,J/French Ch 1997.) 16 ¢b1 ¦c8 17 ¦he1 £xc3 18 £d2 £c5 : Rogers,I− Fedorowicz,J/NY Open 1998. 13...¤c4 14 ¥xc4 ¦xc4 15 ¤de2 b5 16 ¥h6 £a5 31 XABCDEFGHY 8-+-+-trk+( 7zp-+lzppvl-' 6-+-zp-snpvL& 5wqp+-+-+p% 4-+r+P+-zP$ 3+-sN-+P+-# 2PzPPwQN+P+" 1+K+R+-+R! xabcdefghy Anand,V−Kasparov,G/PCA World Ch final, New York 1995. 32 Dragon − Yugoslav Attack: ...Rc8 with 12 h4 Nc4 [B78] Last updated: 27/03/02 by Chris Ward 1 e4 c5 2 ¤f3 d6 3 d4 cxd4 4 ¤xd4 ¤f6 5 ¤c3 g6 6 ¥e3 ¥g7 7 f3 ¤c6 8 £d2 0-0 9 ¥c4 ¥d7 10 0-0-0 ¦c8 XABCDEFGHY 8-+rwq-trk+( 7zpp+lzppvlp' 6-+nzp-snp+& 5+-+-+-+-% 4-+LsNP+-+$ 3+-sN-vLP+-# 2PzPPwQ-+PzP" 1+-mKR+-+R! xabcdefghy 11 ¥b3 ¤e5 12 h4 ¤c4 13 ¥xc4 13 £d3 ¤xe3 14 £xe3 h5 :Gruenfeld,Y−Stisis,Y/Tel Aviv ISR 2001. 13...¦xc4 33 XABCDEFGHY 8-+-wq-trk+( 7zpp+lzppvlp' 6-+-zp-snp+& 5+-+-+-+-% 4-+rsNP+-zP$ 3+-sN-vLP+-# 2PzPPwQ-+P+" 1+-mKR+-+R! xabcdefghy 14 h5 Adopting the 'Bobby Fischer' direct approach. There is no hanging around as White prizes open the h−file. 14 g4 b5 (There is also 14...Qc7 and 14...£a5 15 ¤b3 £a6 16 ¥h6 ¦xc3 17 ¥xg7 ¦xf3 as in Volzhin,A−Schneider,A/Budapest 1995.) 15 ¤dxb5 I do find this a little greedy and it is easy to see why 15 h5 is far more popular. Still it is a continuation that evidently must be considered. 15...£a5 16 ¤a3 Looking to gain a tempo on the rook although putting the knight on an odd square. 16 Nd4 essentially leaves Black with compensation for the pawn and well placed to seek action along three key queenside files. 16...¦b4 :Ali,S−Romi,I/Antalya TUR 2002. 14 ¢b1 £b8 14...b5, 14 ...h5 and 14...Qc7 are serious alternatives but 14...Qa5? of course runs into the old 15 Nd5 trick. 15 g4 b5 : Ardeshi,M−Hayrapetian,A/Fajr IRI 2001. 14...¤xh5 15 g4 ¤f6 XABCDEFGHY 8-+-wq-trk+( 7zpp+lzppvlp' 6-+-zp-snp+& 5+-+-+-+-% 4-+rsNP+P+$ 3+-sN-vLP+-# 2PzPPwQ-+-+" 1+-mKR+-+R! xabcdefghy 16 ¤de2 34 16 ¥h6 ¤xe4 17 £e3 ¦xc3 18 bxc3 ¤f6 19 ¥xg7 ¢xg7 20 ¦h2 ¦g8 21 ¤e2 ¢h8 22 ¤g3 ¥c6 23 c4 ¦g7 : Wallace,J−Karlsson,L/Stockholm 1997. 16 ¤d5 e6 17 ¤xf6+ £xf6 18 £h2 ¦fc8 19 £xh7+ ¢f8 20 ¢b1 e5 21 ¤f5 : Almasi,I− Schneider,A/Budapest 1995. 16 ¤b3 a) 16...¦e8 Designed to preserve the Dragon bishop in the event of (the also playable) 17 Bh6. 17 e5 A key idea for White in these type of positions. On the face of it, it may look crushing as the knight has no safe squares to go to whilst 17...dxe5 18 g5 will drop the knight or the bishop on d7. Essentially Black's strategy is now based around conceding a piece or more for a number of pawns. This naturally leads to a very exciting game. (17 £h2 ¦xc3! 18 bxc3 £c7 19 ¥d4 e5! 20 ¥e3 ¦c8 21 £d2 ¥xg4!? : Lindberg,B−Degerman,L/Rilton Cup, Stockholm SWE 1995.) 17...¤xg4 18 fxg4 ¥xg4 19 ¦dg1 dxe5!? : Kujala−Nesis/Corres 95/98 1995. b) 16...£c7 17 e5 dxe5 18 g5 ¥f5 : Royset,J−Harestad,H/Langesund NOR 1999. 16...£a5 Not the best. 16...Re8!?, facilitating 17 Bh6 Bh8! is deemed the correct response. A typical theme then (or indeed before 17 Bh6) involves White winning a piece with e5 (i.e. with ...dxe5 running into g5 when the d7−bishop is hanging), but Black acquiring several pawns for it with ...Nxg4. 17 ¥h6 ¥xh6? Offering the exchange with the practical decision 17...Bh8!? is these days considered much more in the spirit. From here on in it's all one way traffic. 18 £xh6 ¦fc8 19 ¦d3! XABCDEFGHY 8-+r+-+k+( 7zpp+lzpp+p' 6-+-zp-snpwQ& 5wq-+-+-+-% 4-+r+P+P+$ 3+-sNR+P+-# 2PzPP+N+-+" 1+-mK-+-+R! xabcdefghy Karpov,A−Korchnoi,V/Moscow 1974. 35 Dragon − Yugoslav Attack: 10 0-0-0 Ne5 11 Bb3 b5 [B78] Last updated: 08/02/02 by Chris Ward 1 e4 c5 2 ¤f3 d6 3 d4 cxd4 4 ¤xd4 ¤f6 5 ¤c3 g6 6 ¥e3 ¥g7 7 f3 ¤c6 8 £d2 0-0 9 ¥c4 ¥d7 10 0-0-0 ¤e5 11 ¥b3 b5 XABCDEFGHY 8r+-wq-trk+( 7zp-+lzppvlp' 6-+-zp-snp+& 5+p+-sn-+-% 4-+-sNP+-+$ 3+LsN-vLP+-# 2PzPPwQ-+PzP" 1+-mKR+-+R! xabcdefghy A rarely played but certainly interesting idea. Black retains the idea of ...Nc4 but wants to recapture with the b−pawn in order to gain play down the b−file. 12 ¤dxb5 The most testing continuation. After 12 h4 ¤c4 13 ¥xc4 bxc4 14 h5 ¦b8 15 ¤d5 ¤xd5 16 exd5 £b6 17 c3 £a5 18 a3 £xd5 Black had netted a useful pawn in Zoister,F− Koeller,O Aschach 1999. 12...£b8 I'm certainly very suspicious of the 12...£a5 13 ¤d4 ¦fc8 14 g4 ¦xc3 15 £xc3 £xc3 16 bxc3 of Bologan,V−Fleischman,E New York 2000. 13 ¤d4 a5 36 XABCDEFGHY 8rwq-+-trk+( 7+-+lzppvlp' 6-+-zp-snp+& 5zp-+-sn-+-% 4-+-sNP+-+$ 3+LsN-vLP+-# 2PzPPwQ-+PzP" 1+-mKR+-+R! xabcdefghy 14 a4 The obvious drawback to Black's last move is that now the b5−square is an outpost. 14...¦c8 15 ¤db5 ¤c4 16 ¥xc4 ¦xc4 17 b3 ¦b4 XABCDEFGHY 8rwq-+-+k+( 7+-+lzppvlp' 6-+-zp-snp+& 5zpN+-+-+-% 4Ptr-+P+-+$ 3+PsN-vLP+-# 2-+PwQ-+PzP" 1+-mKR+-+R! xabcdefghy Wells,P−Williams,S/Birmingham ENG 2001. 37 Dragon − Yugoslav Attack: ...Rc8 with 12 Kb1 and 12 g4 [B78] Last updated: 27/03/02 by Chris Ward 1 e4 c5 2 ¤f3 d6 3 d4 ¤f6 4 ¤c3 cxd4 5 ¤xd4 g6 6 ¥e3 ¥g7 7 f3 ¤c6 8 £d2 0-0 9 ¥c4 ¥d7 10 0-0-0 ¦c8 11 ¥b3 ¤e5 12 ¢b1 12 g4 b5 13 g5 ¤h5 14 ¤cxb5 ¤c4 : Short,N−Topalov,V/Linares 1995. 12...¤c4 12...¦e8 is Golubev's alternative. In not committing himself just yet, Black is putting the ball back in White's court. 13 h4 h5 Transposing to a sort of Soltis variation. The move ...Re8 might not have been a priority but it is a useful insertion. The question is how its use compares with Kb1. 14 ¥g5 Delchev,A−Chatalbashev,B/Pamporovo BUL 2001. 13 ¥xc4 ¦xc4 14 g4 XABCDEFGHY 8-+-wq-trk+( 7zpp+lzppvlp' 6-+-zp-snp+& 5+-+-+-+-% 4-+rsNP+P+$ 3+-sN-vLP+-# 2PzPPwQ-+-zP" 1+K+R+-+R! xabcdefghy A comparatively new recommendation that sidesteps a lot of tricky theory in the 9 Bc4 with ...Rc8 lines in order to obtain what has frequently looked like a comfortable edge. 14...£c7 38 Chris Ward: 'I'm afraid I'm still to be convinced of this move with the game continuation here demonstrating why.' 14...£a5!? This might be more fun for Black than 14...Qc7 as there is a lot of undiscovered territory here. There are however great similarities with the ...Qa5 line where old theory favours this variation for White when the black rook is on a8 rather than f8. 15 ¤b3 (15 ¤d5?! 15 h4 and 15 g5 are also candidates. White is unlucky with the text as more often than not it's a trick that works. 15...£xd2 16 ¤xe7+ At first it appears that this intermezzo check simply nets a pawn. However although such a possibility is why Black frequently gets the f8−rook to c8 instead (i.e. to facilitate ...Kf8), occasionally as here Black has a counter tactic. 16...¢h8 17 ¦xd2 ¦e8 : Gravel,S− Bluvshtein,M/Montreal CAN 2002.) 15...£a6 : Slobodjan,R−Malakhov,V/Koszalin POL 1999.(After 15...£d8!? 16 e5 ¤e8 17 exd6 ¤xd6 18 ¤d5 contrary to the views of old Dragon texts, Black seemed to hold a draw quite comfortably with 18...¥c6 19 ¦he1 ¥xd5 20 £xd5 £c7 21 ¥c5 ¦c8 22 ¥xd6 exd6 23 c3 ¥e5 24 h3 a6 25 ¦e4 in Wells,P− Afek,Y/It, Herzeliya ISR 1998. My main reservation about 15...Qd8 is that Black doesn't have available a ...Qf8 as there is a rook there!) 14...b5?! A typical idea with Black's intention being to offload a pawn in order to open a line or two against the white king. Alas from Black's point of view it's not quite that simple. 15 b3! ¦c5 (15...¦c8 16 ¤dxb5 £a5 17 ¤d5!? : Grafl,F−Farago,S/Budapest HUN 2001.) 16 ¤e6! XABCDEFGHY 8-+-wq-trk+( 7zp-+lzppvlp' 6-+-zpNsnp+& 5+ptr-+-+-% 4-+-+P+P+$ 3+PsN-vLP+-# 2P+PwQ-+-zP" 1+K+R+-+R! xabcdefghy Tiviakov,S−Komljenovic,D/Linares 1998. 14...£b8?! 15 h4 ¦fc8 (15...b5 16 h5 ¦fc8 : Sayed,M−Somev,A/Dubai UAE 2001.) 16 h5 ¦xc3 : Mortensen,E−Mikhalevski,V/Copenhagen DEN 2000.(Alas 16...¥xg4 may be a typical Dragon idea but after 17 hxg6! it fails: Popovic,D−Nikolic,M/Obrenovac YUG 2002.) 15 g5 ¤h5 16 ¤d5 £d8 17 ¤e2 ¥e6 39 XABCDEFGHY 8-+-wq-trk+( 7zpp+-zppvlp' 6-+-zpl+p+& 5+-+N+-zPn% 4-+r+P+-+$ 3+-+-vLP+-# 2PzPPwQN+-zP" 1+K+R+-+R! xabcdefghy 18 £d3 18 ¤g3 ¥xd5 a) 19 £xd5 £c7 20 ¤xh5 (20 £d3 ¦c8 : Torre,I−Martin Gonzalez,A/Barcelona ESP 2000. (22)) 20...gxh5 21 £d2 : Socko,B−Bobras,P/Suwalki POL 1999. b) 19 exd5 19...£d7!? 20 b3 ¦c7 Svidler,P−Van Wely,L/Wijk aan Zee 1999. 18...¥xd5 19 exd5 XABCDEFGHY 8-+-wq-trk+( 7zpp+-zppvlp' 6-+-zp-+p+& 5+-+P+-zPn% 4-+r+-+-+$ 3+-+QvLP+-# 2PzPP+N+-zP" 1+K+R+-+R! xabcdefghy Svidler,P−Van Wely,L/Wijk aan Zee 1999. 40 Dragon − Yugoslav Attack: 9 Bc4 Bd7 with ...Nxd4 [B78] Last updated: 27/03/02 by Chris Ward 1 e4 c5 2 ¤f3 d6 3 d4 cxd4 4 ¤xd4 ¤f6 5 ¤c3 g6 6 ¥e3 ¥g7 7 f3 ¤c6 8 £d2 0-0 9 ¥c4 ¥d7 10 0-0-0 10 ¥b3 ¤xd4 Initiating a variation that aims to try and punish White for the 'premature' Bb3 which may have via a 'Maroczy Bind' rejecting Accelerated Dragon move order. 11 ¥xd4 b5 12 h4 a5 13 a4 (In my pre−match prep I had concluded that 13 h5 is critical. No doubt this site will see more of this in the future but for now observe that 13...a4?! 14 ¥xf6 ¥xf6? 15 hxg6 axb3 16 £h6 leads to a forced mate!) 13...bxa4 14 ¤xa4 ¥e6 15 ¤b6 ¦a6 16 ¤d5 ¥xd5 17 exd5 £c7 Black has weak points on a5 and e7 but when the dark−squared bishops get traded off, the one on b3 will look a little silly. 18 ¦a4 A flexible move. White tenders the possibility of further pressurising the isolated a−pawn and also as seen here, swinging over to the kingside. 18...¦b8 Now an obvious plan is to manoeuvre the knight to c5 whilst ...Rb4 is also possible with a skewer available on White's back rank. 19 0-0 : Brinck Claussen,B− Ward,C/KSU 75th anniversary 2002. 10...¦c8 11 ¥b3 XABCDEFGHY 8-+rwq-trk+( 7zpp+lzppvlp' 6-+nzp-snp+& 5+-+-+-+-% 4-+-sNP+-+$ 3+LsN-vLP+-# 2PzPPwQ-+PzP" 1+-mKR+-+R! xabcdefghy 11...¤xd4 12 ¥xd4 b5 13 h4 41 Previously White has also tried 13 Kb1 but the 13 ¤d5 ¤xd5 14 ¥xg7 ¢xg7 15 exd5 a5 16 a3 £b6 17 ¦he1 ¦fe8 18 g4 b4 19 a4 £c5 20 ¢b1 e5 21 dxe6 ¥xe6 22 h4 ¥xb3 23 cxb3 ¦xe1 24 ¦xe1 h5 25 ¢a2 hxg4 26 fxg4 ¦h8 27 £f4 ¦xh4 28 ¦f1 £e5 29 £xf7+ ¢h6 30 ¦f6 ¦xg4 31 ¦e6 £g7 32 £f3 £d4 33 £f8+ ¢h5 34 ¦xd6 £e5 35 £d8 ¦g5 36 ¦d7 ¢g4 37 ¦d1 £e3 38 ¦d4+ £xd4 39 £xd4+ ¢h5 40 £h8+ ¢g4 41 £g7 ¢h5 42 £h7+ ¢g4 43 ¢b1 ¢f5 44 £f7+ ¢e4 45 £f6 1-0 of Anand,V− Tiviakov,S Wijk aan Zee 2001 looks more critical. 13...a5 XABCDEFGHY 8-+rwq-trk+( 7+-+lzppvlp' 6-+-zp-snp+& 5zpp+-+-+-% 4-+-vLP+-zP$ 3+LsN-+P+-# 2PzPPwQ-+P+" 1+-mKR+-+R! xabcdefghy 14 a3 Avoiding the bishop ever being trapped, but no doubt throwing caution to the wind with 14 h5 is a candidate. Instead 14 a4? bxa4 15 ¤xa4 ¥xa4 16 ¥xa4 ¦c4! 17 ¥b3 ¤xe4! was Hunt,H− Gaponenko,I/Warsaw POL 2001. 14...b4 15 axb4 axb4 16 ¤d5 Oliveira,L−Van de Mortel,J/Internet ICC 2000. XABCDEFGHY 8-+rwq-trk+( 7+-+lzppvlp' 6-+-zp-snp+& 5+-+N+-+-% 4-zp-vLP+-zP$ 3+L+-+P+-# 2-zPPwQ-+P+" 1+-mKR+-+R! xabcdefghy 42 Dragon − Yugoslav Attack: 9 Bc4 Bd7 with ...Qb8 [B78] Last updated: 27/03/02 by Chris Ward 1 e4 c5 2 ¤f3 d6 3 d4 cxd4 4 ¤xd4 ¤f6 5 ¤c3 g6 6 ¥e3 ¥g7 7 f3 ¤c6 8 £d2 0-0 9 ¥c4 ¥d7 10 0-0-0 £b8 XABCDEFGHY 8rwq-+-trk+( 7zpp+lzppvlp' 6-+nzp-snp+& 5+-+-+-+-% 4-+LsNP+-+$ 3+-sN-vLP+-# 2PzPPwQ-+PzP" 1+-mKR+-+R! xabcdefghy I must confess to being a little skeptical of this type of line. However although my view is that the black queen never really gets to where it's at, I certainly respect Dragon expert Fedorov's opinions. 11 ¢b1 The typical quiet move played in a not so typical situation. I wouldn't have thought that there is such a necessity for this right now and I understand why 11 g4, 11 Bb3 and 11 Nd5 are all more popular. Also 11 h4 is typical of a Yugoslav attack as White seeks to get straight to the point. 11...b5 11...Rc8 is the other main move here. Frankly Black must act quickly or else his queen will just look silly on b8. 12 ¥b3 A cautious retreat although this bishop is in line for the grief that is the whole point of this line. 12...a5 43 XABCDEFGHY 8rwq-+-trk+( 7+-+lzppvlp' 6-+nzp-snp+& 5zpp+-+-+-% 4-+-sNP+-zP$ 3+LsN-vLP+-# 2PzPPwQ-+P+" 1+-mKR+-+R! xabcdefghy Brajic,M−Marcetic,N/Leskovac YUG 2002. 11...b5 12 ¥e2 XABCDEFGHY 8rwq-+-trk+( 7zp-+lzppvlp' 6-+nzp-snp+& 5+p+-+-+-% 4-+-sNP+-+$ 3+-sN-vLP+-# 2PzPPwQL+PzP" 1+K+R+-+R! xabcdefghy Ehlvest,J−Fedorov,A/Dubai UAE 2001. 44 Dragon − Yugoslav Attack: ...Qa5 with h4−h5 [B79] Last updated: 08/02/02 by Chris Ward 1 e4 c5 2 ¤f3 d6 3 d4 cxd4 4 ¤xd4 ¤f6 5 ¤c3 g6 6 ¥e3 ¥g7 7 f3 ¤c6 8 £d2 0-0 9 ¥c4 ¥d7 10 0-0-0 £a5 11 ¥b3 ¦fc8 12 h4 ¤e5 13 h5 XABCDEFGHY 8r+r+-+k+( 7zpp+lzppvlp' 6-+-zp-snp+& 5wq-+-sn-+P% 4-+-sNP+-+$ 3+LsN-vLP+-# 2PzPPwQ-+P+" 1+-mKR+-+R! xabcdefghy 13...¤xh5 13...¦xc3!? XABCDEFGHY 8r+-+-+k+( 7zpp+lzppvlp' 6-+-zp-snp+& 5wq-+-sn-+P% 4-+-sNP+-+$ 3+Ltr-vLP+-# 2PzPPwQ-+P+" 1+-mKR+-+R! xabcdefghy 45 was a prepared move of my own which later transposed into an older Karpov line. Read on! 14 £xc3 (14 bxc3 ¤xh5 15 ¥g5 ¤f6 16 ¥xf6 ¥xf6 is always going to be risky for White who will pick up the h7−pawn but have no attack without his dark−squared bishop. In contrast the Dragon bishop will be superb at both attacking and defending.) 14...£xc3 15 bxc3 ¤xh5 16 g4 ¤f6 17 g5 ¤h5 18 ¥d5 ¦b8 : Yeo,M−Tan,D/4NCL Birmingham 2001. 14 ¤d5 XABCDEFGHY 8r+r+-+k+( 7zpp+lzppvlp' 6-+-zp-+p+& 5wq-+Nsn-+n% 4-+-sNP+-+$ 3+L+-vLP+-# 2PzPPwQ-+P+" 1+-mKR+-+R! xabcdefghy 14 ¥h6 ¥xh6 The other theoretical alternative is 14...Nd3+. 15 £xh6 ¦xc3 16 bxc3 ¤f6!? (16...£xc3 17 ¤e2 £c5 : Yeo,M−D'Costa,L/St. Helier JER 1999.) 17 ¤e2 ¥b5 18 ¤f4 ¥c4 : Afek,Y−Ward,C/Oakham ENG 2000. Note originally springing from 13...Rxc3!? 14 g4 ¤f6 15 ¥h6 ¥xh6 16 £xh6?! ¦xc3! 17 bxc3 £xc3 18 ¢b1 ¦c8 : Anon−Sujey/Asian Junior Champs. 14...£xd2+ 15 ¦xd2 ¢f8 16 g4 ¤f6 16...¥xg4?! 17 fxg4 ¤xg4 18 ¥g5 e6 : Efimenko,Z−Konguvel,P/Biel SUI 2001. 17 ¦dh2 46 XABCDEFGHY 8r+r+-mk-+( 7zpp+lzppvlp' 6-+-zp-snp+& 5+-+Nsn-+-% 4-+-sNP+P+$ 3+L+-vLP+-# 2PzPP+-+-tR" 1+-mK-+-+R! xabcdefghy 17...¤xd5 : Nunn,J−Ward,C/Hastings Premier 1998. 47 Dragon − Yugoslav Attack: ...Qa5 with Kb1 and g4 [B79] Last updated: 08/02/02 by Chris Ward 1 e4 c5 2 ¤f3 d6 3 d4 cxd4 4 ¤xd4 ¤f6 5 ¤c3 g6 6 ¥e3 ¥g7 7 f3 ¤c6 8 £d2 0-0 9 ¥c4 ¥d7 10 0-0-0 £a5 11 ¥b3 ¦fc8 12 ¢b1 ¤e5 13 g4 XABCDEFGHY 8r+r+-+k+( 7zpp+lzppvlp' 6-+-zp-snp+& 5wq-+-sn-+-% 4-+-sNP+P+$ 3+LsN-vLP+-# 2PzPPwQ-+-zP" 1+K+R+-+R! xabcdefghy 13...¤c4 13...¦xc3 14 £xc3 £xc3 15 bxc3 ¦c8 : Beshukov,S−Turner,M/Hastings Premier 2001. 14 ¥xc4 ¦xc4 15 h4 ¦ac8 16 ¤b3 48 XABCDEFGHY 8-+r+-+k+( 7zpp+lzppvlp' 6-+-zp-snp+& 5wq-+-+-+-% 4-+r+P+PzP$ 3+NsN-vLP+-# 2PzPPwQ-+-+" 1+K+R+-+R! xabcdefghy 16...£c7 From my 'Winning with the Dragon' book some may remember 16...£a6 17 ¥d4 (Well also of interest involving a similar theme is 17 h5 ¥xg4 18 fxg4 ¦xc3 19 bxc3 ¤xe4 20 £d3 ¤xc3+ 21 ¢c1 £a3+ 22 ¢d2 ¤xd1 23 ¢xd1 £xa2 24 hxg6 hxg6 25 ¤c1 £e6 26 £e2 £d5+ 0-1 Le Bailly,B−Moret,V French League 1999.) 17...e5 18 ¥e3 ¥xg4 19 ¦hf1 ¦xc3 20 bxc3 ¥xf3 21 £xd6 ¥xd1 22 £xa6 bxa6 23 ¦xd1 ¤xe4 24 ¦d7 ¤xc3+ 0-1 Cullip,S−Ward,C Guildford 1991. 17 h5 ¥xg4! 18 fxg4 ¤xe4 XABCDEFGHY 8-+r+-+k+( 7zppwq-zppvlp' 6-+-zp-+p+& 5+-+-+-+P% 4-+r+n+P+$ 3+NsN-vL-+-# 2PzPPwQ-+-+" 1+K+R+-+R! xabcdefghy Spulber,C−Socaciu/ROM 1971. 49 Dragon − Yugoslav Attack: ...Qa5 with h4 and g4 [B79] Last updated: 08/02/02 by Chris Ward 1 e4 c5 2 ¤f3 d6 3 d4 cxd4 4 ¤xd4 ¤f6 5 ¤c3 g6 6 ¥e3 ¥g7 7 f3 ¤c6 8 £d2 0-0 9 ¥c4 ¥d7 10 0-0-0 £a5 11 ¥b3 ¦fc8 12 h4 ¤e5 13 g4 XABCDEFGHY 8r+r+-+k+( 7zpp+lzppvlp' 6-+-zp-snp+& 5wq-+-sn-+-% 4-+-sNP+PzP$ 3+LsN-vLP+-# 2PzPPwQ-+-+" 1+-mKR+-+R! xabcdefghy Currently the most popular way for White to meet the ...Qa5 variation. White continues to look threatening without actually offering to sacrifice a pawn just yet. 13...b5 13...¤c4 14 ¥xc4 ¦xc4 50 XABCDEFGHY 8r+-+-+k+( 7zpp+lzppvlp' 6-+-zp-snp+& 5wq-+-+-+-% 4-+rsNP+PzP$ 3+-sN-vLP+-# 2PzPPwQ-+-+" 1+-mKR+-+R! xabcdefghy 15 h5 (15 ¤b3 £a6 16 h5 ¦xc3 17 bxc3 ¥xg4 : Casella,M−Cordova,E/Internet ICC 2000.) 15...¦ac8 16 ¤b3 £a6 17 hxg6 fxg6 17...hxg6 has been proved dubious because of the obvious threats down the h−file but 17...Rxc3 18 bxc3 Qxa2 is given by many texts as being ultimately unclear. 18 e5 ¤e8 : Moreno,J−Martin Gonzalez,A/Barcelona ESP 2000. 13...¦c4 14 g5! XABCDEFGHY 8r+-+-+k+( 7zpp+lzppvlp' 6-+-zp-snp+& 5wq-+-sn-zP-% 4-+rsNP+-zP$ 3+LsN-vLP+-# 2PzPPwQ-+-+" 1+-mKR+-+R! xabcdefghy (This would appear to be the most accurate move. 14 ¥xc4 ¤xc4 15 £d3 £b4! 16 ¤b3 ¤xe4! is typically wild and I suspect not unfavourable for Black.) 14...¦xd4? Obviously one of the main ideas behind 13...Rc4. Unfortunately though it doesn't work here because of the pressure White mounts on f7. 15 ¥xd4 ¤xf3 16 £f2 : Klovans,J− Chehlov,A/Rowy POL 2000. 13...¦xc3 I'm still speculative of this exchange sacrifice although I would certainly engage it if I knew White intended recapturing with the pawn! 14 bxc3? Not just provocative. Simply put it seems to lose by force. 14...¤xf3! : Resika,N− Kahn,E/Budapest HUN 2001. 14 h5 51 All that ends well, ends well!: 'The natural way for White to attempt getting his queen close to the enemy monarch. However there is always the danger of leaving the c3−knight with little protection and Black gets straight to the point!' 14 ¥h6 ¥xh6 15 £xh6 ¦xc3! 16 bxc3 £xc3 : Raineri,V−Cebalo,M/Milan ITA 2000. (17) 14...¤c4 15 ¥xc4 bxc4 XABCDEFGHY 8r+r+-+k+( 7zp-+lzppvlp' 6-+-zp-snp+& 5wq-+-+-+P% 4-+psNP+P+$ 3+-sN-vLP+-# 2PzPPwQ-+-+" 1+-mKR+-+R! xabcdefghy 16 ¥h6 ¥h8 17 ¤f5 Now 18 Nxe7 mate is threatened and 17...gxf5?? isn't possible because of 18 Qg5+. 17...¦e8 17...¥xf5 18 gxf5 ¤xh5 19 ¦dg1 ¦ab8! Mista,A−Tan,D/World {U18} 2000. 18 £g5 18 hxg6 fxg6 19 ¥g7! XABCDEFGHY 8r+-+r+kvl( 7zp-+lzp-vLp' 6-+-zp-snp+& 5wq-+-+N+-% 4-+p+P+P+$ 3+-sN-+P+-# 2PzPPwQ-+-+" 1+-mKR+-+R! xabcdefghy 52 A key position in this variation. 19...¥xg7 20 ¤xg7 ¦eb8!? 21 g5! £b4 22 £f4! : Sagafos,M−Tan,D/World U-16 Champs 1999. 18...£b6 18...£e5!? is a better practical try and indeed 19 ¦he1 ¦ab8 20 f4 £c5 21 e5 dxe5 22 fxe5 £b4 23 ¤xe7+ ¦xe7 24 exf6 ¦xe1 25 ¦xe1 £xb2+ 26 ¢d2 ¥c6 27 £e5 ¦d8+ 28 ¢e3 ¦e8 29 £xe8+ ¥xe8 30 ¢d2 £b8 31 ¤d5 c3+ 32 ¢d3 ¥b5+ 33 ¢d4 £d8 34 ¢c5 ¥xf6 35 ¤xf6+ £xf6 36 ¢xb5 £b6+ 37 ¢c4 £c6+ 38 ¢d3 gxh5 39 g5 £d5+ 40 ¢e2 £g2+ 0-1 followed later in Wood−Tan, Golders Green rapidplay 1998. 18... Qe5!? leads to incredibly complex positions. 19 hxg6 If 19 e5 then 19...¦ab8! 20 exf6 £xb2+ 21 ¢d2 ¥xf6 22 £e3 and then 22...gxf5 is a good response. 19...fxg6 20 ¥g7!! XABCDEFGHY 8r+-+r+kvl( 7zp-+lzp-vLp' 6-wq-zp-snp+& 5+-+-+NwQ-% 4-+p+P+P+$ 3+-sN-+P+-# 2PzPP+-+-+" 1+-mKR+-+R! xabcdefghy Nunn,J−Ward,C/4NCL Wood Green Vs Inv Knights 1998. 53 Dragon − Yugoslav Attack: ...Qa5 with Kb1 and h4 [B79] Last updated: 08/02/02 by Chris Ward 1 e4 c5 2 ¤f3 d6 3 d4 cxd4 4 ¤xd4 ¤f6 5 ¤c3 g6 6 ¥e3 ¥g7 7 f3 ¤c6 8 £d2 0-0 9 ¥c4 ¥d7 10 0-0-0 £a5 11 ¥b3 ¦fc8 12 h4 ¤e5 13 ¢b1 XABCDEFGHY 8r+r+-+k+( 7zpp+lzppvlp' 6-+-zp-snp+& 5wq-+-sn-+-% 4-+-sNP+-zP$ 3+LsN-vLP+-# 2PzPPwQ-+P+" 1+K+R+-+R! xabcdefghy The quiet move that was allegedly supposed to put the ...Qa5 line out of business. 13...¤c4 13...b5, intending ...Nc4 and recapturing with the b−pawn (to gain action along the b−file) is the other lively alternative. 13...b5 14 ¤cxb5 54 XABCDEFGHY 8r+r+-+k+( 7zp-+lzppvlp' 6-+-zp-snp+& 5wqN+-sn-+-% 4-+-sNP+-zP$ 3+L+-vLP+-# 2PzPPwQ-+P+" 1+K+R+-+R! xabcdefghy (14 g4 ¤c4 15 ¥xc4 bxc4 The point behind 13... b5. Black intends to use the b−file to mount a serious attack against the white king. 16 h5 ¦ab8 17 ¢a1 £b4 18 ¦b1 ¦c5 0-1 Narings,N−Pos,M/Dieren 1997.) 14...£xd2 a) 15 ¦xd2?! ¦ab8 16 a4 (16 ¤c3 a5 17 a4 ¤c4 18 ¥xc4 ¦xc4 : Schlosser,M−Ward,C/Oakham 1990.) 16...a6 17 ¤a3 White wants to keep c4 under his grasp but of course the knight does look a bit silly here. 17...¥e8 0-1 Prasad,D−Ward,C/London 1987. b) 15 ¥xd2! 15...¤c4 (15...¦ab8 16 a4 a6 17 ¤a3 ¥e8 : Britton,R−Olesen,M/Burlington's− Staunton memorial 1994.) 16 ¥xc4! ¦xc4 17 b3 ¦c5 18 c4! Whilst it's true that Karpov once gave 18 Nc3 Ng4! in some analysis, this is just much stronger. 18...a6 19 ¤c3 ¦b8 threatening 19...Rxc4, but once stopped this Maroczy bind is incredibly difficult to break down. 20 ¢c2 : Reeh,O−Ward,C/Bern 1993. 14 ¥xc4 ¦xc4 15 ¤b3 XABCDEFGHY 8r+-+-+k+( 7zpp+lzppvlp' 6-+-zp-snp+& 5wq-+-+-+-% 4-+r+P+-zP$ 3+NsN-vLP+-# 2PzPPwQ-+P+" 1+K+R+-+R! xabcdefghy 15 h5 ¤xh5 (As my view is generally that pretty much whatever the position, it is worth sacrificing the exchange on c3 if it involves doubling White's c−pawns and picking up the offered h−pawn instead the continuation of 15...¦xc3 16 bxc3 ¤xh5 17 g4 ¤f6 18 ¥h6 ¥h8!? : Petersen,S−Ward,C/Politiken Cup, Copenhagen 2000 shouldn't be a surprise although grabbing the pawn immediately looks okay too.) 16 ¤b3 (16 g4 ¤f6 55 17 ¤b3 £e5 :Draganic,V−Dimitrijevic,A/Obrenovac YUG 2002..) 16...£d8 17 ¥h6 ¥xh6 18 £xh6 £f8 :Schramm,C−Grabarczyk,B/Griesheim GER 2002. 15...£c7 16 ¥d4 16 ¥h6 ¥h8!? A logical choice, but not without it's drawbacks. For starters, with the black king a little short of squares, it's rather necessary that a white knight is prevented from arriving at e7! 17 h5 ¦xc3!? 18 bxc3 ¥e6 Now 18 ...Nxh5?? is not possible because of 19 Rxh5 gxh5 20 Qg5+. The text improves the placing of the light− squared bishop (giving it both aggressive and defensive options) and enables any e4−e5 ideas to be met by ...Nd5. 19 hxg6 fxg6 20 ¥e3 a5 : Rausis,I− Ward,C/Hastings Premier 1998. 16...¥e6 16...¥c6?! 17 £e2 b5 18 e5! : Kovchan,A−Olenin,N/Alushta UKR 2000. 17 h5 17 g4?! a5 18 a4 b5 19 ¤xb5 £b8 20 g5 (20 ¤c3 ¦b4 21 h5 ¥xb3 22 cxb3 ¤xe4! : Arruebarrena,R−Denny,K/3rd Campeonato Subzonal 2001.) 20...¤h5 21 ¥xg7 ¤xg7 22 ¤c3 Else Black just picks off the a4−pawn. 22...¦b4 23 ¤d5 ¥xd5 24 exd5 ¦xa4 : Karyakin,S−Li Wu/World U-12 Champs 2001. 17...a5 18 a4 b5! XABCDEFGHY 8r+-+-+k+( 7+-wq-zppvlp' 6-+-zplsnp+& 5zpp+-+-+P% 4P+rvLP+-+$ 3+NsN-+P+-# 2-zPPwQ-+P+" 1+K+R+-+R! xabcdefghy A pawn sacrifice designed to buy some time in the ultimate race for checkmate. 18...¦b4 19 hxg6 hxg6 20 ¦h4 b5! 21 ¤xb5 £b7! 22 ¦dh1! A Subscriber's Home Analysis. 19 ¤xb5 £b8 20 ¤c3 avoiding the tricky 20 h6 ¥h8 21 e5?! dxe5 22 ¥xe5 £xe5 23 £d8+ 56 XABCDEFGHY 8r+-wQ-+kvl( 7+-+-zpp+p' 6-+-+lsnpzP& 5zpN+-wq-+-% 4P+r+-+-+$ 3+N+-+P+-# 2-zPP+-+P+" 1+K+R+-+R! xabcdefghy 23...¤e8! which as you can see, backfires because of the mate threat on b2. 20...¦b4 21 hxg6 hxg6 XABCDEFGHY 8rwq-+-+k+( 7+-+-zppvl-' 6-+-zplsnp+& 5zp-+-+-+-% 4Ptr-vLP+-+$ 3+NsN-+P+-# 2-zPPwQ-+P+" 1+K+R+-+R! xabcdefghy 22 ¥xf6 ¥xf6 : Stefansson,H−Ward,C/Reykjavik Open 1998. 57 Dragon − Yugoslav Attack: ...Qa5 with Kb1 and Bg5 [B79] Last updated: 08/02/02 by Chris Ward 1 e4 c5 2 ¤f3 d6 3 d4 cxd4 4 ¤xd4 ¤f6 5 ¤c3 g6 6 ¥e3 ¥g7 7 f3 ¤c6 8 £d2 0-0 9 ¥c4 ¥d7 10 0-0-0 £a5 11 ¥b3 ¦fc8 12 ¢b1 ¤e5 13 ¥g5 XABCDEFGHY 8r+r+-+k+( 7zpp+lzppvlp' 6-+-zp-snp+& 5wq-+-sn-vL-% 4-+-sNP+-+$ 3+LsN-+P+-# 2PzPPwQ-+PzP" 1+K+R+-+R! xabcdefghy Hardly a move likely to strike fear into the hearts of Black Dragon players and frankly not in the spirit of the opening (the Yugoslav ATTACK!) . However although it is unlikely that Black will get mated in this variation, he should take it very seriously. The point behind it is whilst there is latent pressure on e7 that could become relevant, specifically now White is staking a claim for the d5−square. 13...¦c5 13...b5?! 14 ¥xf6 (Here White misses a chance to gain the advantage with 14 ¤d5! £xd2 15 ¦xd2 ¤xd5 16 ¥xd5 You can now see why 13...Rab8!? might be worth considering as here Black has his rook attacked as well as his e−pawn. ) 14...¥xf6 15 ¤d5 £xd2 16 ¤xf6+ ¢g7 : Wojciechowski,P−Boztas,K/St Helier JCI 2000. 14 ¦he1 58 14 f4 ¤c4 15 ¥xc4 ¦xc4 16 ¤b3 £xc3 17 bxc3 ¤xe4 (a position I've had before) is extremely good fun for Black, whilst 16 Bxf6 Bxf6 17 Nd5 Qxd2 is no more than equalising. 14 h4!? b5 15 ¥xf6 ¥xf6 16 ¤d5 : Guseinov,K−Rajlich,V/Budapest HUN 2001. 14...b5 XABCDEFGHY 8r+-+-+k+( 7zp-+lzppvlp' 6-+-zp-snp+& 5wqptr-sn-vL-% 4-+-sNP+-+$ 3+LsN-+P+-# 2PzPPwQ-+PzP" 1+K+RtR-+-! xabcdefghy In my view (based on current material) 14...¦ac8 has been given unjustifiably bad press. 15 ¥xf6 For those that may not have seen it before, in 'Winning With The Dragon' I gave the game Sievers−Ward, Guildford Masters 1991 which from here continued instead with 15 f4 ¤c4 16 ¥xc4 bxc4 17 e5 ¦b8 18 exf6 exf6 19 ¥h4 £b4 20 £c1 £xc3 21 ¤b3 XABCDEFGHY 8-tr-+-+k+( 7zp-+l+pvlp' 6-+-zp-zpp+& 5+-tr-+-+-% 4-+p+-zP-vL$ 3+Nwq-+-+-# 2PzPP+-+PzP" 1+KwQRtR-+-! xabcdefghy 21...cxb3 22 bxc3 bxa2+ 23 ¢xa2 ¦a5+ 24 £a3 ¥e6+ 25 ¦xe6 ¦xa3+ 26 ¢xa3 fxe6 and I converted the endgame of a thoroughly enjoyable encounter. 15...exf6 59 XABCDEFGHY 8r+-+-+k+( 7zp-+l+pvlp' 6-+-zp-zpp+& 5wqptr-sn-+-% 4-+-sNP+-+$ 3+LsN-+P+-# 2PzPPwQ-+PzP" 1+K+RtR-+-! xabcdefghy Schekachev,A−Ward,C/Grand Canaria 1993.
