Sicilian Dragon, Yugoslav Attack
by Mike Glick
Return to Articles Page - Dragon Webliography (see July 4, 2009)
Part 1: Tabiya
1. e4 c5
The Sicilian, a very deep and often tactical opening, is the most common reply to 1. e4. Note that already there are imbalances in the pawn structure.
2. Nf3
2. Nc3 could be a Closed Sicilian or a Grand Prix Attack, or possibly an Open Sicilian.
2...d6
Black also can play 2...Nc6, 2...e6, 2...a6, 2...g6, or even 2...Nf6, but not if he wants to play a Dragon! FYI, 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 g6 is the Accelerated Dragon, only a related beast.
3. d4
The Open Sicilian. Often White players who either do not like these complicated positions or do not wish to study the many possible lines for Black play a sideline here, such as 3. Bb5+. Such lines are okay for white, but are not nearly as deep and interesting as the main lines with 3. d4. Note that if White plays 3. d4, it will be Black calling the shots as to which variation of the Open Sicilian will be played (as I will discuss later), so White must be prepared for everything.
3...cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3
Guarding the e-pawn. Now we reach a major branch:
5...Nc6 is the Classical
5...a6 is the Najdorf (a favorite of Kasparov’s)
5...e6 is the Scheveningen
5...g6 is the Dragon
All of these are strong and sound defenses for Black, and they each contain their own nuances. We will examine the Dragon.
5...g6 6. Be3
The beginnings of the Yugoslav Attack. Again, there are other common moves, such as 6. Be2 (the Classical). For example, a typical line is 6...Bg7 7. Nb3 O-O 8. O-O Nc6 9. Be3, with many branches on each move. The Yugoslav Attack, however, is certainly White’s most testing line
6...Bg7
Black cannot play 6...Ng4 because 7. Bb5+ is strong: the check cannot be blocked as 7...Bd7 8. Qxg4 wins a piece.
7. f3
Now, with 7. f3, we certainly have a Yugoslav Attack, one of the most tactical and “bookish” openings in all of chess (7. Be2 would have transposed back into a Classical Dragon). The main point of 7. f3 is to prevent Black’s knight from harassing the Be3 with ...Ng4. If White were to lose his dark squared bishop, Black’s “Dragon Bishop” would become a monster, standing unopposed on the long diagonal and serving the dual purpose of defending his King and attacking the White queenside. For example, 7.Qd2 Ng4! is correct, as 8.Bb5+ can now be met with 8...Bd7. So, after 7. f3, White’s idea is simple; play Qd2, Bc4 (optional), O-O-O, and attack the Black King.
7...O-O
The King is certainly not staying in the center! (although there is a very rare line where Black delays castling).
8. Qd2
As planned...
8...Nc6
This ends the main tabiya; there are many choices for both sides after this point. This position should give you an idea of the type of imbalanced positions you get into when playing the Dragon. However, this is just the beginning of the book. For example, in the 9. Bc4 lines, the significant branches do not occur until move 16, although either side can deviate earlier.
9. Bc4 or 9. O-O-O (or the rarer 9. g4)
This is the major branch in the Yugoslav Attack. At first glance you might be wondering what the big deal is, because in the 9. Bc4 line white just castles a move later, 10. O-O-O. However, the two moves lead to completely different games. Do you know why? Think about it. What does 9. Bc4 prevent that 9. O-O-O does not?
The answer is 9. Bc4 prevents Black from playing 9...d5, whereas on 9. O-O-O black normally plays 9...d5. This is not to say that it is not okay for White to allow 9...d5 with 9. O-O-O, but as you might imagine, lines with 9...d5 are very different from lines without. Both 9. Bc4 and 9. O-O-O are perfectly acceptable, but Part 2 will focus only on 9. Bc4 lines. Come back later for the 9. O-O-O and other lines!
Part 2: Main Line 9.Bc4
So, after 9. Bc4,
9...Bd7
Black’s idea is to play ...Rc8 and generate play on the queenside. 9...Nd7 is also interesting, intending the maneuver Nf6-d7-b6 and Nc6-a5, with pressure on the c4 and b3 squares.
10. O-O-O
10. h4 will transpose, unless White opts for a rare sideline without castling.
10...Rc8
10...Qa5 is also a move.
11. Bb3
White must retreat the bishop. If he does not he will lose. For example, on 11. h4 Black plays 11...Nxd4 12. Qxd4 Ng4! hitting White’s queen and both bishops. Unfortunately for White, his queen is overworked; it is the only piece guarding the bishops. After its retreat, 13. Qd2, black wins with 13...Nxe3 14. Qxe3 Rxc4 when the queen cannot recapture.
11...Ne5
The Knight is heading for c4. In the Yugoslav it is generally correct for Black to attack with pieces and not pawns, because pawn attacks tend to be too slow. It is interesting that the Yugoslav Attack is much like a pawn race, but instead of pawns racing to queen it is attacks racing to mate! Whoever’s attack gets in faster will almost definitely have an advantage, or at the least a strong initiative.
12. h4
White’s play, unlike Black’s, often comes via pawn pushes and the soon-to-be-open h-file.
12...Nc4
Black can also play 12...h5, the Soltis Variation. Oddly enough, Grandmaster Soltis’ first rated game with this line came in a game versus Dan at the Continental Intercollegiate in 1970. At one point Dan was possibly winning, but GM’s are GM’s for a reason, and Dan unfortunately lost.
13. Bxc4
Of course, otherwise White loses his dark-squared bishop.
13...Rxc4 14. h5
A pawn sac. Note that you usually should not hesitate to sacrifice a mere pawn in these types of attacking positions. Far more important than the pawn is the open h-file and the attacking chances. Often Black would not recapture so as to keep the h-file closed, but here the recapture is correct and is universally played...
14...Nxh5 15. g4 Nf6
We have finally reached the tabiya for the 9. Bc4 Yugoslav (took a while, didn’t it?). There are no fewer than 7(!) moves here for white, all of them good tries. For Dragon players like myself, this is where the book really starts. The moves leading up to this point are quite common and occur often in Dragon games. This is why the Dragon is considered such a “booky” opening; it is move 16 and we are just starting to really have main choices for both sides! Here, the moves for White are:
16. Nde2
16. Nb3
16. e5
16. Bh6
16. Nd5
16. b3
16. Kb1
and it is hardly clear which choice is “best”. Each move has it’s own unique analysis, and both sides better know what they’re doing, or the game will be over shortly (shortly as in in few moves. They may last a “long” time in a time sense, because they’re sitting there over the board trying to figure out all the variations).