Arms Race

“Here's how you get him. He pulls a knife, you pull a gun. He sends one of yours to the hospital, you send one of his to the morgue!”,

- Jim Malone (Sean Connery) in The Untouchables

 

Like all openings that have been very heavily studied and dissected the Sicilian Dragon continues to throw up new ideas and strategies that every exponent needs to try and keep abreast of. The evolution of opening theory is rather like an arms race. First the players of the White pieces find a dangerous new attacking plan. They win some games with it, and then, eventually, the defenders of the Black army find a way to defuse it. Once this has happened the White players might move the fashion on to a new sub-variation or search for a further improvement in the same line.

 

Unlike many openings however, the Dragon seems to have attracted a particularly die-hard fan base that are willing to believe obdurately in their own "pet" variations. Variations that more pragmatic players would have given up as a lost cause long ago. Somehow these fanatics manage to grind out results from even the most desperate looking of positions.

 

For myself I try to be practical and find the best ways to meet White's new ideas. This game was an occasion when I succeeded in doing this against a very trendy variation that has been causing Black some difficulties. It must be said however, that there are still some variations of the Dragon where my Neanderthal proclivities for frenzied hand-to-hand combat over-ride my better judgement and I get sucked into some pretty sticky situations.

 

Mahoutsoukai  vs. Intermezzo

(B76) Sicilian Defence: Dragon Variation, Yugoslav Attack with 9.0-0-0 d5

Correspondence Game on Redhotpawn
July 2008 Octet II (1800+)
11th of July, 2008

 

	A	B	C	D	E	F	G	H
8									8
7									7
6									6
5									5
4									4
3									3
2									2
1									1
	A	B	C	D	E	F	G	H

Mahoutsoukai 1759 - Intermezzo 1892

0-1 (July 2008 Octet II 1800+) 11/07/2008

[#] 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 g6 6.Be3 Bg7 7.f3 Nc6 8.Qd2 O-O 9.O-O-O It is surprising to me that I haven't faced this line more frequently because for a long time it was thought that this move order was in danger of putting the Dragon out of business. I've only faced it twice on Redhotpawn (and just once over the board) and, fortunatley for me, I haven't yet lost to it. 9...d5 In a much older excursion over the board I had played the inferior 9...Nxd4?! which is probably not sufficient to equalise if White plays accurately. On this occasion I decided that, as I was playing a correspondence game and had access to various reference sources, that I should take the opportunity to learn a bit more about this 9...d5 line. Of course I also had a particular variation in mind that I was hoping would occur in the game. 10.Kb1!? This is just one of three plausible "main" lines that White can employ after 9...d5. The most frequently played, and probably most complex, is 10.exd5. Another interesting alternative is

[10.Qe1!? This is an odd looking move but it contains some poison for if Black now plays 10...dxe4 (as he would very much like to) then 11.Nxc6 wins a piece. Of course Black avoids this trap and play can now continue 10...e5 11.Nxc6 bxc6 12.exd5 Nxd5 13.Bc4 Be6 14.Ne4 Qc7 (14...Qb8!? is an interesting alternative) 15.Bc5 Rfd8 16.g4 (16.Ng5 is also played) 16...Nf4 17.Bxe6 Nxe6 18.Bd6 Qb6 with a roughly equal and exciting game.]

10...Rb8 This was the position that I'd been hoping to reach when the game began. I'd recently seen some notes about this move in Chessbase Magazine and thought that the line looked interesting. The idea behind the move is to deter White from playing 11.Nxc6 as then of course 11...bxc6 would then very much suit Black. Coincidentally, the day after I started writing the commentary for this game The Independent's chess column published a game played by Magnus Carlsen in this very line which suggests he has some faith in Black's chances. According to Fritz's opening book however 10...Rb8 is dubious. It instead gives the the line

[10...Nxd4 which leads to the kind of material imbalance that often turns up in the Dragon and gives the opening much of its allure. On this occasion however, I'm not so sure that the outcome is favourable for Black. 11.e5! Nf5!? Trying to preserve the material balance with (11...Nd7?! doesn't look too good after White continues 12.Bxd4 Nxe5 13.Qe3 Nc6 14.Bxg7 Kxg7 15.Nxd5 e6 16.Nc3 Qa5 17.Bb5 with the advantage.) 12.exf6 Bxf6 (12...exf6!? Was played by Carlsen against Nigel Short in the London Chess Classic in 2009 and the game was eventually drawn after much adventure.) 13.Nxd5 Qxd5!? Giving up his queen for a rook and a bishop, but it isn't enough on this occasion I don't think. 14.Qxd5 Nxe3 15.Qd2 Nxd1 16.Qxd1 Be6 and although the play is complex, White must be doing rather better here.]

11.Nb3 With this move White signals his belief in the ensuing endgame position. The alternative was

[11.Ndb5!? This was the line chosen by Liviu-Dieter Nisipeanu against Carlsen in the aforementioned game that I picked up from the newspaper. The game continued 11...a6 12.Na7 The knight looks odd on this square but it is something of a thorn in Black's flesh. 12...e6 13.g4 Re8 14.g5 Nh5 This was Carlsen's new move in the position which is a fairly obvious improvement on 14...Nd7. Black's plan is to sacrifice the d-pawn and leave the White knight stranded on a7. 15.Bf2 (15.f4 is given by Jon Speelman in his article on the game. 15...Bd7 16.exd5 exd5 17.Nxd5 Bg4 18.Bb6 Qd7 19.Ne3 Qxd2 20.Rxd2 Nd4! The point being that White's knight on e3 is pinned to the e1 square and 21.Bxd4 Bxd4 22.Rxd4 Rxe3 looks very good for Black.) 15...Bd7 16.exd5 exd5 17.Qxd5 Ne5 18.Qb3?! and after picking up White's g-pawn and restoring material parity, Carlsen went on to win the game (Nisipeanu - Carlsen, Medias Kings, 2010). Speelman suggests that Nisipeanu should have tried 18.h4 Be6 19.Qc5 when White holds on to the extra pawn but the position is very messy.]

11...dxe4 12.fxe4?! This small inaccuracy makes life easier for Black. White should really play 12.Qxd8 straight away when 12...Rxd8 13.Rxd8+ Nxd8 14.fxe4 succeeds in driving the Black knight back to d8. With the game choice Black is given time to develop his queen's bishop and capture on d8 with the rook instead. 12...Bg4 13.Qxd8 White can't avoid the queen exchange so he may as well do it on his terms. 13...Rfxd8 14.Rxd8+ Rxd8 Black has managed to equalise. White's e-pawn is isolated and could become weak if the number of pieces dwindles significantly. However, Black's e-pawn is also potentially weak and the a and b pawns could also come under attack from White's pieces so the game is finely balanced. 15.Bd3 In a position where the upmost accuracy is required, White doesn't manage to find the most precise move. Instead of worrying about the isolated e-pawn he should aim to go on the attack and try to deprive Black's pieces of their most active squares. For example

[15.h3 Depriving both the bishop and the knight on f6 of the g4 square and forcing Black's most awkwardly placed piece to relocate. 15...Be6 16.Nc5 Bc8 looks more promising due to the restrictions White has placed on Black's pieces.]

15...Bc8! Having spotted the line given in the note above I decided to retreat the bishop immediately in order to protect b7 and avoid gifting White a couple of tempi. The other benefit of playing this move voluntarily is that White now has to decide whether or not to prevent Black's knight from arriving on g4 with h3. My feeling is that he probably should. 16.Rd1 My opponent clearly didn't agree with my assessment, opting instead to develop his rook. For once, my computer did agree with me. Rybka here gives the following line as best for White but assesses it as still being good for Black.

[16.h3 b6 17.Be2 Bb7 18.Rd1 Rxd1+ 19.Bxd1 Nd7 20.Be2 Bxc3 21.bxc3 Nce5 22.Bd3 Kg7 and we have seen the kind of positional manouevring that is not normally associate with the Dragon. Black's more compact pawn structure gives him the advantage although he has given up his bishop pair to cause the damage and this gives White hope of a draw.]

16...Ng4 17.Bg1 Be5 Fritz suggests that Black's best method of gaining the advantage is to exchange off the "Dragon" bishop. This would have seemed a sacrilage to me! Never the less I must admit that after

[17...Bxc3 18.bxc3 b6 19.Rd2 Nge5 20.Nd4 Bb7 Black does seem to stand rather well as White's pawn structure has been totally wrecked and his pieces are awkwardly positioned.]

18.h3 Nf6 Although Fritz disagreed with my choice on move 17, Rybka seemed to think that I had made the right selection. I was certainly satisfied with my position here. 19.Bc5 It would be a little harsh to mark this move down as a mistake although the follow up to it selected by my opponent does tend to suggest that he hadn't found the best plan for this position. Instead, Rybka suggests White play

[19.Nd2 Be6 Black is trying to exert pressure both on e4 and a2 simultaneously. 20.Be3 Nb4 and Black mainatains a smallish positional advantage. Is it enough for a win?]

19...b6 This is a natural and perfectly sound response. I was thinking of re-deploying my queen's bishop on to a6 or b7 anyway so getting to play this last move with the gain of a tempo as well only encouraged me. 20.Ba3? With this move White was hoping to maintain pressure on the e7 pawn but now I saw an opportunity to do further damage to White's structure and win a pawn into the bargain. Rybka suggests instead

[20.Bg1 Bxc3 21.bxc3 Nxe4 22.Kb2 Nd6 23.Re1 although Black is still much beter here. Th extra pawn and the damage done to White's pawn structure should be enough to grind out a win.]

20...Bxc3 21.bxc3 Nxe4 Exploiting the pin on the bishop now that the c3 knight has been removed. 22.Re1 Clearly, my opponenet didn't like the look of

[22.Kb2 Nf2 23.Rd2 Nxd3+ 24.cxd3 Ne5 25.Kc2 Nxd3 26.Rxd3 Bf5 27.Nc1 and Black is winning.]

22...Nxc3+ 23.Ka1 White wants to leave the b2 square free for his bishop. 23...e5 Not wasting any time! However, this might be a little too hasty. Instead 23...Nd5 is more circumspect and maintains the e-pawn. 24.Bb2 Na4 25.Bxe5 There is nothing better really as 25.Ba3 f5! leaves black well in command and threatening to do damage with his passed e-pawn. 25...Nxe5 26.Rxe5 Bf5 The bishop on d3 is still pinned! This time to a back rank check mate threat on d1. That said, I may have been better exploiting this tactical point by placing the bishop elsewhere. Rybka suggests

[26...Ba6 27.Nc1 Bb7 28.g4 Kf8 29.Re3 and although Black stands well there is much work still to be done.]

27.Nc1 Bxd3 28.Nxd3 Kf8 Black must prevent 29.Re7 29.a3 Re8

[Alternatively 29...Rc8 30.Kb1 Rc3 was also possible as now Black will pick up the a-pawn. However, I was aiming to simplify down to a knight and pawn ending with an extra pawn in hand.]

30.Ka2 f5 31.Kb3 Rxe5 32.Nxe5 Nc5+ 33.Kc4 In truth, my advantage has diminished in the last few moves. White has managed to activate his king very successfully and, despite the extra pawn, Black must now play with some care. For example if now 33...Ke7 then 34.Nc6+ wins the pawn back and hands the advantage to White. 33...Kg7?! Not the most accurate. Computers are, of course, very good at end games and here Fritz says the best way for Black to play is to transfer his knight to the king's side as quickly as possible with

[33...Ne6 34.Kb5 Nf4 35.Ka6 Nxg2 36.Kxa7 b5 37.Kb6 g5 38.Kxb5 Nf4 39.h4 g4 and Black is winning the pawn race but there is no margin for error.]

34.Nc6? Missing his last opportunity which was 34.Kb5. Now Black is able to block the White king's access to b5 and a6. 34...a6 35.Ne7 Kf6! This move walks willingly into a knight fork but at this stage of the game it is more important for Black to have an active king. 36.Nd5+ Ke5 37.Nxb6 Ne4? I felt sure that this was winning but in fact it should allow White to at least draw. The only way to play for the win was

[37...Ne6! 38.Nd5 a5 39.a4 Nd4 40.Ne3 Ke4 41.Nd1 Nxc2 and Black still has the better of it, but it's close!]

38.Nd7+? The final blunder of an error strewn end game. White had to prevent my king from getting to f4, which was the whole point of my play over the last few moves, by playing 38.Nd5. Now it really is all over. 38...Kf4 39.Nf8 Kg3 40.Nxh7 Kxg2 41.Nf8 g5 42.Kd4 f4! Black can afford to give up his knight as his f-pawn is unstoppable. This game only proves that I need to spend more time studying knight and pawn endings! [0-1]

Generated by Aquarium

 

Points to remember from this game:

1. The Sicilian Dragon is one of those opening variations that requires detailed preparation in order to play successfully. The reward for your hard work is that you'll have the opportunity to play a very lively and interesting position much of the time, but you do have to put the work in to get this opportunity.
2. It's also important to remember that you need to understand the strategic ideas behind an opening variation so that when your game leaves your theoretical knowledge you will be able to develop and implement a proper plan. Learning variations move by move from memory isn't enough. In order to play this line with 9...d5 I had to ensure that I understood the strategic principles behind the move as well as the tactical themes.
3. Sometimes a well timed retreat can lay the foundations for renewed pressure and also set your opponent a difficult challenge. In this game 15...Bc8! enabled me to re-position my knight on g4 and also force my adversary to commit to a plan. In a pretty equal position it is sometimes more practical to commit your opponent to a plan and then respond to it than it is to commit yourself first.
4. The less pieces there are on the board the more important it is to activate your king. At the end of this game I made some tacical errors but the principle I had in mind, to give up material in order to advance my king into White's position, was the right one. I was fortunate to get away with executing my plan inaccurately.