The Hungarian Dragon: A creative and resourceful method of playing against the dangerous Yugoslav Attack 879381268X, 9788793812680

Table of contents :
Cover Page
Title Page
Copyright Page
Introduction
Chapter 1: The Move Order
Chapter 2: The purpose of pushing the h-pawn and not
Chapter 3: 10.Be3 with 12.Be2
Chapter 4: 10.Be3 with 12.Bb5+ and 14.Ba4
Chapter 5: 10.Be3 with 12.0–0–0, 13.Bb5+ and 16.f4
Chapter 6: 10.Be3 with 13.Kb1, 14.a3, and 16.h3
Chapter 7: 10.Be3 – Move order issues (why 11...Be6 is preferred over 11...a6 and 11...Qa5)
Chapter 8: 10.Qf2 with 11.Bc4
Chapter 9: 10.Qf2 with 11.Bb5+
Chapter 10: 10.Bb5+ with 11.Qd3 Bc6!
Chapter 11: 10.Bb5+ with 11.Bxd7+ - The critical line
Chapter 12: 9.Qxd4
Chapter 13: 8.Bc4 with 11.Bb3
Chapter 14: 8.Bc4 with 11.Be2
Chapter 15: 8.Bc4 with 11.Bd3
Chapter 16: The Hungarian Dragon in top chess praxis
Chapter 17: Thematic Exercises
Chapter 18: Answers to Thematic Exercises
About the Author
Other Books by Junior Tay
Other Books in the Opening Hacker Series
Other Books from CarstenChess
About the Publisher
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Citation preview

The Hungarian Dragon

Opening Hacker Files, Volume 5

Junior Tay

Published by Carsten Hansen, 2022.

While every precaution has been taken in the preparation of this book, the publisher assumes no responsibility for errors or omissions, or for damages resulting from the use of the information contained herein.

THE HUNGARIAN DRAGON

First edition. July 18, 2022.

Copyright © 2022 Junior Tay.

Written by Junior Tay.

The Hungarian Dragon A creative and resourceful method of playing against the dangerous Yugoslav Attack by Junior Tay

The Hungarian Dragon Copyright © 2022 by Junior Tay All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the publisher's express written permission except for the use of brief quotations in a book review. Printed in the United States of America. First Printing, 2022 ISBN (paperback) ISBN (ebook)

Contents Introduction Chapter 1: The Move Order Chapter 2: The purpose of pushing the h-pawn and not Chapter 3: 10.Be3 with 12.Be2 Chapter 4: 10.Be3 with 12.Bb5+ and 14.Ba4 Chapter 5: 10.Be3 with 12.0–0–0, 13.Bb5+ and 16.f4 Chapter 6: 10.Be3 with 13.Kb1, 14.a3, and 16.h3 Chapter 7: 10.Be3 – Move order issues (why 11...Be6 is preferred over 11...a6 and 11...Qa5) Chapter 8: 10.Qf2 with 11.Bc4 Chapter 9: 10.Qf2 with 11.Bb5+ Chapter 10: 10.Bb5+ with 11.Qd3 Bc6! Chapter 11: 10.Bb5+ with 11.Bxd7+ - The critical line Chapter 12: 9.Qxd4 Chapter 13: 8.Bc4 with 11.Bb3 Chapter 14: 8.Bc4 with 11.Be2 Chapter 15: 8.Bc4 with 11.Bd3

Chapter 16: The Hungarian Dragon in top chess praxis Chapter 17: Thematic Exercises Chapter 18: Answers to Thematic Exercises About the Author Other Books by Junior Tay Other Books in the Opening Hacker Series Other Books from CarstenChess

Introduction The two most dangerous lines to the Sicilian Dragon arise after: 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 g6 6.Be3 Bg7 7.f3 Nc6 8.Qd2 0–0

Here, White will either castle queenside, either immediately with 9.0-0-0 or one move later, after 9.Bc4 Bd7 10 0-0-0.

This battle array is commonly known as the Yugoslav Attack or St. George's Attack. The authors, International Masters Laszlo Sapi and Attila Schneider of the book Sicilian Dragon: Yugoslav 9.Bc4 (Batsford 1989) could not have put it better: 'The Yugoslav in the Sicilian Dragon represents chess at its most bloodthirsty. Both players launch an all-out attack on their opponent's king, and the game becomes an exciting race to see whose attack breaks through first." The amount of opening theory required to navigate the intricate lines is incredible, and innovations frequently occur after move 20, even after move 30. If you are not up-to-date with the latest trends, it is curtains for you, assuming your opponent is a good mugger without dementia. The Sicilian Dragon has been a long-standing favorite of mine for decades, and I am less inclined to have to keep up with the latest trends in the main lines to get by, although I must say that GM Gawain Jones' two-volume Quality Chess work is top-notch. In 2018, I wrote an article on chess openings in the July issue of CHESS (UK) - Harry the h-pawn's Positional Justification, and I devoted some space to the Sicilian Dragon played with an early ...h5 punt, eschewing early castling and how my student used it to beat a rival. However, this concept is not very popular, with the strongest exponents of this line being the mercurial American grandmaster Alexander Shabalov and Latvian grandmaster Ilmars Starostits. Then came the World Rapid and Blitz in Warsaw 2021 when the strong ELO 2700+ Hungarian grandmaster Richard Rapport (who has since broken into the world's top 10) whipped out the arcane move order and subsequent moves with 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 g6 6.Be3 Nc6 7.f3 h5!? 8.Qd2 Nxd4!? 9.Bxd4 Bh6!? in his encounters against grandmasters Ivan Saric and Peter Michalik. Rapport equalized pretty easily, and as I looked into the logic behind the concept, I was instantly sold on researching this exciting way of circumventing the main line Yugoslav Attack.

I am a full-time chess coach and have stopped playing serious tournaments for more than twenty years, although I used to play one holiday event a year during pre-Covid years. However, one of my students had used the line with powerful effect, taking out an opponent of similar rating (1800+) in over-theboard play with remarkable ease and also quite a few nice online wins over higher-rated opponents. Anirudh Daga - Teo Hong Ming Kasparov Chess Foundation - Asia Pacific Rapid (Singapore) 2022 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 g6 6.Be3 Nc6 7.f3 h5 8.Bc4 Bg7 9.Qd2 Bd7 10.0–0–0! Na5 11.Bd3 Rc8 12.f4 Nc4 13.Bxc4 Rxc4

14.f5 Ng4!

White is panicking now since ...Nxe3, and ...Bh6 is on the way. 15.f6? The only move is 15.Kb1! when the bishop pair gives Black the edge, but White is very much alive. 15...Bxf6 16.Bg1? White has to play 16.Kb1 Bg7 17.h3 Nxe3 18.Qxe3

16...Rxd4! A bone crusher!

17.Bxd4 The tactics just keep flowing ceaselessly for Black. 17....e5!

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The threat of ...Bg5 cannot be satisfactorily met. 18.Kb1 exd4 19.Nd5 Be5 20.h3 Nf6 21.Rde1 Nxd5 22.exd5 0–0 23.g4 h4 24.Ref1 Kg7 25.Rhg1 Qb6 26.g5 d3 27.c3 Rc8 28.Ka1 Bf5 29.Qe1 Bg3

30.Qe7 Qd8 31.Qxb7 Qxg5 32.Qxa7 Re8 33.Qd4+ Kg8 34.a3 d2 35.Rd1 Re1 36.Ka2 Rxg1 37.Qxg1 Bc2, and White resigned. 0–1 The decision to write this book came after I won with the variation against WGM Baira Kovanova (See Chapter 3) and GM Sergei Iskusnyh (Chapter 8) properly in a mid-March Titled Tuesday chess.com event this year. I have decided to christen the variation as the Hungarian Dragon. Why? First, it surfaced in top-flight play with the usage by Rapport (Hungarian dude, of course). Rapport has since switched federations to play under the Romanian flag in late May 2022, but he did play those games as a Hungarian player then, so there you go. Secondly, the dangerous reptile is known in the Harry Potter Universe (if you don't believe, go check Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them) as "Supposedly the most dangerous of all dragon breeds, the Hungarian Horntail has black scales and is lizard-like in appearance." – this is fictional of course, but that's beside the point. The monster also appears in the Harry Potter movies, by the way. And it's quite coincidental, isn't it, that the key move in the variation entails the ...h7-h5 punt, so there you have it. There's the Chinese Dragon (with ...Rb8), and now the Hungarian counterpart appears. To be fair, the most prolific exponent of the line is Russian grandmaster Nikita Matinian who has more than a dozen games easily on ChessBase Database versus masters. But then again, the interesting Tarrasch line 1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 c5 4.cxd5 exd5 5.Nf3 Nc6 6.g3 Nf6 7.Bg2 cxd4 8.Nxd4 Bc5 is now known as the Dubov variation because of his usage even though D.Holm, in correspondence play, and Georg Salwe, one year later in over-the-board play, played the line more than a century ago. I hope I have done justice to the line in the chapters that follow. I want to thank GM Bojan Vukovic (from the now defunct Chess 24/7 website), GM Gawain Jones, and GM Chris Ward (both Chesspublishing.com) for their robust analysis, which gave me deeper insights into creating this work. My wife, WFM Yip Fong Ling, also proofread the drafts. Also, I would like to thank my editor and publisher, FM Carsten Hanse, and IM Richard Palliser,

who has encouraged and supported my magazine writing for CHESS (UK) since I started chess coaching and writing as a career. Happy reading! Junior Tay - July 2022

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Chapter 1: The Move Order Getting the move order right is essential to get to the Hungarian Dragon proper. In particular, moves 6 and 7 should be played in sequence, the key idea being to delay the Dragon Bishop's movement and see what White does so that Black can adapt accordingly. 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 g6 6.Be3 Nc6

The customary development of Black's king bishop is delayed at first to see if White plays the Yugoslav setup with f3 and Qd2.

Suppose White chooses to play more sedate lines like 7.Be2, Black does not need to play the ...h5 punt and reverts to the regular Dragon setup with Bg7 and 0-0. 7.f3 h5!?

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With this pawn advance, we are introducing the Hungarian Dragon. Black immediately prevents the typical Be3–h6 idea, typical of the Main Line Yugoslav, and grabs some kingside space. It probably also creates confusion

among muggers who eat Dragons for breakfast after studying the h4–h5 pawn sacrifice lines or the Soltis variation (where Black meets h4 with ...h5). 8.Qd2 Nxd4!?

Here's the real twist. Black un-standardizes the position by trading on d4 first, so main-line concepts in the Yugoslav Attack go out of the window. 9.Bxd4 9.Qxd4 is, of course, playable, but we try to earn a tempo on the queen with 9...Bg7. 9...Bh6!?

This bishop move creates a non-standard position to fight. If White persists on Yugoslav-type queenside castling, he will have to deal with ...Be6, ...Qa5, and ...Rc8, while Black does not give White a kingside target to aim at since he hasn't castled (and might even play ...Kf8–g7 later).

Chapter 2: The purpose of pushing the hpawn and not If the sole purpose is to confuse the opponent, it's just scammy. There's more to it, of course. The h-pawn push does create more options for Black in terms of denying White a kingside target to aim at, increasing kingside space, fixing White’s kingside pawns, and using the h-pawn as a battering ram for tactical and positional gains. Here goes: (1) To drag the opponent out of their prepared theory. Most Yugoslav Dragon (Be3, f3, Qd2, Bc4, and 0-0-0) players mug the lines seriously with preparation in the h4-h5 pawn sacrifice line or meeting h4 h5 with a g2-g4 sacrifice at some point (or Bg5 then g4 and f4). The early ...h5 move takes them out of their prep (and hence comfort zone) and denies them a kingside target or apparent plan (no more early Be3-h6). White has to contend with a semi-familiar position on his own. (2) The h file might allow Black's king rook access to play via the h5square. For example, in NM Todd Bryant – Junior Tay (see Chapter 6). Black made use of the pawn advance to transfer the rook to c5, as shown below.

I played ...Rh5 and transferred the rook to c5, where it detonated on c3. (3) If White tries to meet ...h5 at some point with h2-h3, Black can play ...h4 and fix the g3-pawn.

This may allow Black to use the g3- and f4-squares to park a knight. The backward g-pawn may become a liability in the endgame as well. In an ideal state of affairs, Black's king can participate in exploiting the g3weakness. WIM Assel Serikba - GM Nikita Matinian Titled Tuesday, Chess.com 2020

The weakness of the g2–pawn can be exploited by the Black king on g3 and a Black knight on f4. 32...Kg3! 33.Ke3?? 33.Ke2 Kxg2 34.c5 offers White better counterplay. 33...Nf4 The g2-pawn is toast now.

34.c5 dxc5 35.Bf7 Nxg2+ 36.Ke2 Nf4+ 37.Ke3 Nxh3

Black wins easily. 38.Be6 Nf4 39.Bg4 h3 40.Bxh3 Nxh3 41.Rd8 Bxf3 42.Re8 Nf4 43.Rxe7 Nd5+, and White resigned. 0–1 (4) Using h5-h4-h3 as a battering ram to create a g2-weakness (and long White diagonal weakness). See the Chapter 3 example, WGM Baira Kovanova – Junior Tay.

After 15...h3!, White has to weaken the h1-a8 diagonal or risk the opening of the h-file.

Chapter 3: 10.Be3 with 12.Be2 The most natural way for White to deal with 9...Bh6 is to trade bishops, and we will examine this method of playing over the following five chapters. We first look at White playing conservatively with Be3/Be2 and 0-0 (0-0-0 is covered in the notes, too) with straightforward development. Black is in no rush to castle and might very well omit it if the opportunity arises to push the h-pawn forward to open the h-file or create weaknesses in the White camp. 1. e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 g6 6.f3 Nc6 7.Be3 h5 8.Qd2 Nxd4 9.Bxd4 Bh6 10.Be3

This natural bishop trade is the first line we are going to study. 10...Bxe3 11.Qxe3 Be6 Not just to deny White from playing Bc4 but also to provoke a check on b5 which can give rise to some tricks, as you will later see. The bishop is also well placed for attack if White castles queenside. 12.Be2 White is simply going to castle kingside and defend the pressure on the c-file. 12...Qa5 13.0–0?! After 13.0–0–0, Black should continue mobilizing his bits. With 13...Rc8. In this variation, only initiate castling when there's a real need. The rook

belongs here anyway, and Black's standard queenside play isn't difficult to attain with...a6,...b5, or doubling rooks on the c-file after ...0–0 or ...Kf8–g7. Following 14.a3:

Black is all right in any of the choices below: a) Delay the king tuck with 14...a6 15.Rd4 0–0 16.f4 Rc5 17.f5 gxf5 18.Nd5 Bxd5 19.Qg5+ with a draw. b) Letting the king take a walk after 14...Kf8 15.Rd4, and here: b1) 15.Kb1 Kg7 (15...a6 16.Rd4 Kg7 17.Rhd1 Rc5 18.Nd5 Bxd5 19.exd5 Rxd5 20.Rxd5 with equal chances) 16.Rd4 a6 17.Rhd1 Rc5 18.Qd2 Rc7 19.Ra4 Qc5 20.Bd3 with equal play.

b2) 15.h3 Kg7 (15...Qc5 16.Rd4 Bd7 17.Qd2 b5 18.Rd1 Kg7 19.Re1 a5 20.Nd5 is about equal) 16.Kb1 a6 17.Rd3 Rc7 18.Rc1 Bc4 19.Rd4 Rhc8 20.Nd1 with equality. c) After 14...0–0, an exciting line goes 15.Rd4 Rc5 16.Rb4 Rfc8 17.Rxb7 Rxc3 18.bxc3 Rxc3 19.Qxa7 Qg5+ 20.Kd1 (less accurate for White is 20.Kb1 Qd2 21.Bd3 Kg7 22.Rxe7 and now 22...Bb3! gives Black a powerful attack) 20...Bc4 and White has to defend though Stockfish indicates White has equal chances. 13...Rc8 Black has already attained the better game as it is not easy for White to find any active play on either side of the board. 14.Kh1 h4!

The punt comes with the idea of ...Nh5–g3 or ...h4–h3. Black's ...h5 turns out to be useful here. 15.f4? Weakening. Black now can play for the ....Rxc3, and ..Nxe4 Dragon exchange sac motif. 15...h3! 16.g3 Qb4! 17.Bd3? My idea was to meet 17.Rab1 with 17...b6 with the idea of ...Rxc3 and ...Qxe4. 17...Qxb2 18.Nb5

18...Ng4 Stockfish suggests the spectacular 18...Rxc2!! 19.Bxc2 Qxc2 20.Rf2 Qxe4+ 21.Qxe4 Nxe4 22.Re2 f5 with an overwhelming advantage for Black. 19.Qg1? Bc4

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Things are going swimmingly well for me in my Hungarian Dragon's first tournament outing, and I am already dreaming of blasting open the h1-a8 diagonal for a light-square kill. But...once again, Stockfish showed how it could be done instead with the amazing light-square hit via 19...Rxc2! 20.Bxc2 Qxc2 21.Rae1 Bf5!!

White is helpless. 20.Rab1 Bxd3! 21.Rxb2 21.cxd3 Qxa2 is also dead lost for White. 21...Bxe4

There is no good way to block the bishop's strike, so White resigned in WGM Baira Kovanova – Junior Tay, Titled Tuesday, chess.com 2022 What a nice first outing for the Hungarian Dragon in tournament play. Okay, it's an online blitz event, but I usually struggle to score even 50% in chess.com's Titled Tuesday events.

Chapter 4: 10.Be3 with 12.Bb5+ and 14.Ba4 As mentioned in the previous chapter, Black places the light-squared bishop on e6 to encourage White to play the tempting 12 Bb5+. Occasionally, Black can exploit the position of the b5- (and sometimes a4-) bishop to gain time or, if White is careless, win material. A good white response to Black's queenside play (...Be6,...Qa5, ...Rc8) is the unusual-looking Rd4, which prepares for a central buildup and makes itself useful for defense on the fourth rank. 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 g6 6.Be3 Nc6 7.f3 h5 8.Qd2 Nxd4 9.Bxd4 Bh6 10.Be3 Bxe3 11.Qxe3 Be6 12.Bb5+

This seemingly wins a tempo, but there's no harm done as the king is going to g7 anyway since the h8–rook hasn't decided if it needs to go to c8 or enter the fray via the 5th rank with ....h4 and ...Rh5. 12...Kf8

13.0–0–0 After 13.0–0 Qa5 14.Ba4 Rc8 15.Bb3 Qc5 16.Qxc5 Rxc5 17.Rfe1 Kg7, Black has the easier game and queenside pressure in Gleb Babanin-GM Nikita Matinian, Sochi 2021, but a draw was agreed here. Spanish FM Gaston Manuel Martin Carmona showed nice technique in a league match after 13.Rd1 Qa5 14.0–0 Rc8 15.Bd3 Qc5 16.Rde1 g5! (grabbing space and fixing White's kingside pawns to give the Black knight the e5–outpost) 17.Kh1 Qxe3 18.Rxe3 Rc5 19.Rfe1 Nd7 20.g3 h4! 21.Kg2 f6 22.Nd5 hxg3 23.hxg3 Follana Albelda - Gaston Manuel Martin Carmona, Linares 2021 and now 23...Ne5 is just fun for Black. Finally, 13.Ba4 Qa5 14.0-0 (14.0-0-0 is also possible, but fine for Black after 14...Rc8) 14...b5 15.Bb3 Bc4 16.Rfe1 Nd7 17.Nd5 Bxd5 18.Bxd5 Rc8 19.c3 was played in GM Petr Michalik-GM Richard Rapport, Warsaw 2021,

and here 19...Qb6 20.Qd4 (20.Qxb6 Nxb6 is pleasant for Black) 20...e6 21.Bb3 h4 and Black has a comfortable position. 13...Qa5 14.Ba4 Amazingly, this is the third time (at least) someone fell for the same trap after 14.e5??. One example was published in Chesspublishing.com (as analyzed by GM Chris Ward); my student caught a 2300 dude online, and this one which I played. After 14...dxe5 15.Qxe5?

Ater 15...a6, the horizontal pin nets a piece 16.b4 Qa3+ and White resigned in Simon Schweizer-Junior Tay, Chess.com 2022 and also after 17.Kd2 axb5

when White gave up in FM Viacheslav Rozhkov-GM Nikita Matinian, Titled Tuesday, Chess.com 2021. 14...Rc8

Setting up the ...Rxc3 and ...Qxa4 threat. 15.Bb3 In the Hungarian Dragon, moving the rook to the fourth rank tends to be a good move, like 15.Rd4! now, is a good defensive move.

After 15...Kg7 16.Rhd1 Rc5 17.Qd3 (not 17.b4?? Rxc3!) 17...Qc7 (17...Rhc8?? 18.b4 and White wins) 18.Bb3 a6, chances are even. Another option is 15...h4!? 16.Rhd1 Rh5 17.Kb1 Rc4 when Black has a comfortable position, for instance, 18.Bb3 Rxd4 19.Rxd4 Bxb3, and now both 20.cxb3 and 20.axb3 can be answered with 20...Qg5, and Black is doing well. 15...Kg7 16.Kb1 Rc5 The queen trade offer 16...Qc5 gives Black an easy game. 17.f4 This pawn advance is a trifle weakening, but it makes good sense to increase White's space advantage in the center.

17...Rhc8

18.f5?! White has over-pressed with this punt. As previously explained, 18.Rd4 is a good move in such positions, but Black is doing fine after 18...Qc7 19.h3 b5. 18...Bxb3 19.axb3

19...Rxc3 A sexy, albeit standard, Sicilian exchange sacrifice, but it is quite unnecessary; 19...Qa6! the idea of ...Ra5 is not easy to meet. 20.bxc3 Rxc3 21.Qd4 Or 21.Rd3 Rc6 gives Black decent compensation for the exchange. 21...Qc5 22.fxg6 Rxc2

Hoping for White not to spot the oncoming cheapo... 23.gxf7?? Instead, 23.Qxc5 Rxc5 retains sufficient compensation for Black. 23...Rc1+! Boom! Job done. 24.Kb2 Qxd4+ 25.Rxd4 Rxh1 and White resigned, Stefan Maltezeanu Junior Tay, Chess.com 2022. 0-1

Chapter 5: 10.Be3 with 12.0–0–0, 13.Bb5+ and 16.f4 A pertinent problem for White in this line is the difficulty of finding an active plan, while Black can simply focus on developing his queenside pieces to their most active squares. White tries for f2-f4 and f4-f5 here as Black focuses on doubling rooks on the c-file before playing the traditional Sicilian exchange sacrifice on c3. Note that Black still has to conduct the attack accurately to claim the game. Once again, do note that the multi-tasking 15 Rd4 move (see variation b in the notes to White's 15f4) is beneficial for White to hold the perimeter along the fourth rank and also to prepare the doubling or trebling of White's rook on the d-file. 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 g6 6.Be3 Nc6 7.f3 h5 8.Qd2 Nxd4 9.Bxd4 Bh6 10.Be3 Bxe3 11.Qxe3 Be6 12.0–0–0 Qa5 13.Bb5+

White, once again, goes for the spite check, which Black is pleased to see as his king is not that poorly placed on f8. A nice brutal kill happened after 13.Kb1 Rc8 (both 13...0-0 and 13...Kf8!? are also adequate for Black) 14.a3 0–0 15.Be2 Rc7? (15...a6!? and 15...Rc5!? are both perfectly playable for Black) 16.Bd3? (16.Nb5! Rc5 17.Nd4 gives White a slight edge)

It is a no-brainer for Black to decide what to do here. Once again, the move is 16...Rxc3, but of course, you already knew that, right? 17.bxc3 Qxa3 18.Qd4 Ba2+ 19.Ka1 Bc4+!! (the star move, sealing White's fate)

20.Kb1 b5 21.f4 Rb8 22.e5 b4!

FM Gaston Martin Carmona-GM Nikita Matinian, Titled Tuesday, Chess.com 2020. 13...Kf8 14.a3 In some online games, White has tried a variety of other things: a) 14.Ba4 Rc8 15.Bb3 Bxb3 (this seems like the most straightforward way to equality, but Black can also play other moves such as 15...Kg7 and 15...Qc5) 16.axb3 Rc6 17.Qd4 Qg5+ 18.Rd2 Qa5, inviting a repetition of moves but also 17...Kg7 and 17...h4 is possible if Black wants more. b) 14.Rhe1 Rc8 15.e5?! dxe5 16.Qxe5 h4 17.g4?? (17.Bd3 would have kept the chances balanced) 17...hxg3 18.hxg3 Rh5 and Black was winning.

c) 14.Rd4 Rc8 15.Ba4 a6 16.Kb1 and now Black should have played 16...Rc4 17.Rxc4 Bxc4 18.Rd1 h4 and Black would have had no problems. 14...Rc8 Of course, Black is aiming for ...Rxc3! to render the White queenside porous against subsequent forays. 15.Be2 In an online game, White got in trouble after 15.e5? dxe5 16.Qxe5 a6 and Black was already winning. Alternatively, after 15.Bd3 Kg7 16.Ne2 Qc5, Black has a comfortable position. 15...Kg7 (D) Or 15...h4 as played in an online game: 16.f4?! (16.Rd4 is better, giving White an edge) 16...Rxc3 17.Qxc3 Qxc3 18.bxc3 Nxe4 and Black had taken control of the game.

16.f4 a) After 16.Kb1, Black tried 16...Rc6 with the intention to double his rooks as well as to plop one on b6 17.Nb5 Rb6 (17...Bd7 first is more precise) 18.Nd4 (18.c4! gives White the better chances as Black has no visible way of continuing the queenside pressure after 18...Rc8 19.Rc1) 18...Rc8 19.Nxe6+ fxe6

20.c3? (20.c4 maintains the balance) 20...Rxc3 and Black resigned in FM Fernando Viana da Costa - GM Nikita Matinian, Titled Tuesday, Chess.com 2021. b) Once more, White should consider the rook sally, 16. Rd4! which lends protection along the fourth rank: 16...Rc5 (or 16...a6 17.Qd2 b5 if Black wants to keep the tension) 17.Rhd1 b5 18.R1d2 Rhc8 and White can try to quelch Black's queenside attack by vacuuming pieces off with 19.Nd5 Nxd5 20.exd5 Bf5 21.Bd3 Bxd3 22.Qxd3, and I don't think Black has more than equality in this tense heavy-piece middlegame. 16...Rc5 17.Rhf1 Rhc8 18.f5

18...Rxc3! Black blasts open the White monarch's abode, but it is more complex than it looks to breach the perimeters. 19.bxc3 Here, the winning move might come as a surprise.

The correct move, as shown by Stockfish, is... 19...Bc4!! Instead, 19...Rxc3, as played in CM Umind Aslanov-GM Nikita Matinian, Titled Tuesday, Chess.com 2020, isn't as strong as it looks as White can hold out after 20.Rd3 Qxa3+ 21.Kd1 Rxd3+ 22.Bxd3 with equal chances. In the game, White instead played 20.Qd4??, which allowed 20...Rxa3! which would have decided the game. 20.Rfe1 Also, 20.Bxc4 Qxa3+ 21.Kd2 Rxc4 22.fxg6 Nxe4+ 23.Ke1 Rxc3 24.Rxf7+ Kxg6 25.Qxe4+ Kxf7 is winning for Black. 20...Bxe2 21.Rxe2 Rc4!

By setting up the threat of ...Nxe4 and ...Qxa3+, Kb1 ...Ra4, Black has a winning advantage. White has no chance of continuing his central play.

Chapter 6: 10.Be3 with 13.Kb1, 14.a3, and 16.h3 In this chapter, White allows Black to fix his kingside pawns with h5-h4 after the former moved h2-h3 (usually to prepare for g2-g4). Black naturally develops his king rook along the fifth rank via h5. 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 g6 6.Be3 Nc6 7.f3 h5 8.Qd2 Nxd4 9.Bxd4 Bh6 10.Be3 Bxe3 11.Qxe3 Be6 12.0–0–0 I missed an easy win in the following game, but it didn't change the result following 12.h4 Qa5 13.a3 Rc8 14.Bb5+ Kf8 15.b4??

15...Qc7? (the immediate 15...Rxc3! wins material) 16.Kd2 a6 17.Be2 d5!! 18.e5 d4 19.Qxd4 Rd8 and White resigned in FM Ladislav Havas - Junior Tay, Chess.com 2022. 12...Qa5 13.Kb1 Rc8 14.a3 White deals with ...Rxc3 and ...Qxa2 concretely.

Instead, an online game went 14.Qd4 0–0 15.Nd5?? Bxd5 16.exd5 Rc5 17.b4? (or 17.c4? b5! with a lethal attack on the queenside, whereas 17.Bc4 Qb4 18.Bb3 Qxd4 19.Rxd4 b5 leaves Black exerting pressure) 17...Qb6 18.Qb2 Rxd5 and Black is up a healthy pawn, Nicholas Xie-Junior Tay, Chess.com 2022. 14...Kf8 Black is still waiting to see if the king rook should enter the fray via h5 or c8, thus refraining from castling. 15.Be2 Kg7 16.h3?! This seems logical to push g2-g4 at some point, except Black has the standard pawn fixing h-pawn block. Instead, 15 Rd4 with the idea of doubling rooks is recommended once again.

16...h4!

Creating an entry point on h5 for the king rook and fixing the White kingside. 17.Rhe1 After 17.f4, given the weakened e4-pawn, there are no prizes for guessing Black's follow-up...

17...Rxc3! 18.Qxc3 Qxc3 19.bxc3 Nxe4 20.Bf3 Nxc3+ 21.Kb2 Nxd1+ 22.Rxd1 b6 23.Kc3 Rc8+ 24.Kb2 Bf5 25.c3 Rc5 26.Rd4 Kf6 27.a4 Bd7 28.Kb3 Bc6 29.Bxc6 Rxc6 30.Kb4 Rc5 31.Rc4 Rxc4+ 32.Kxc4 e5 33.fxe5+ dxe5 34.Kb5 e4 35.Ka6 e3 36.Kxa7 e2 37.Kxb6 e1Q and White resigns in AMANOFFOCUS-Junior Tay Chess.com 2022. 17...Rh5 18.f4? Black's heavies are too fast for White to consider a central hit. After 18.Bf1, Black cannot go 18...Rhc5?? because of 19.b4 and Black loses material. Stockfish recommends the provocative 18...Re5!? 19.Rd4 with the idea of either (Black is also provoking White to play 19.f4 and Black is better after 19...Rxc3! 20.Qxc3 Qxc3 21.bxc3 Rxe4) 19...d5 (or 19...g5!?) 20.f4 Rxe4 21.Nxe4 dxe4.

18...Rhc5

No doubt Black will hit White with the ...Rxc3 exchange sacrifice, so White decides to distract him a bit with a pawn sacrifice. 19.e5? dxe5 20.fxe5 Rxe5 21.Qd4 Rec5 Black munches the snack and continues his original plan. 22.Bf3 Rxc3 23.bxc3 Rc4!

Not allowing the Qb4 defense. 24.Qd2 Qxa3 25.Rxe6 Ra4 26.Rb6 Qa1# 0–1 NM Todd Bryant - Junior Tay, Chess.com 2022.

Chapter 7: 10.Be3 – Move order issues (why 11...Be6 is preferred over 11...a6 and 11...Qa5) In this chapter, I would like to explain why I chose the particular move order ...Be6, ...Qa5, and then ...Rc8 for the development of the Black queenside pieces. Both 11...a6 and 11...Qa5 have been played in tournament praxis, but I think it is harder for Black to press compared to the 11...Be6 line as White in these other lines seems to get a slight pull if he slots in Bc4 first. Generally speaking, these choices are not that bad, but, in my opinion, the resulting positions are less dynamic if White knows what to do. 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 g6 6.Be3 Nc6 7.f3 h5 8.Qd2 Nxd4 9.Bxd4 Bh6 10.Be3 Bxe3 11.Qxe3

This is our tabiya position. 11...a6 As mentioned above, despite this move being played by the 2675-rated grandmaster Sanan Sjugirov, I feel it offers Black fewer chances than our main line. After 11...Qa5, White can try to use the a2–g8 diagonal with 12.Bc4 and following 12...Be6 13.Bxe6 fxe6 14.0–0–0 Rc8 15.Rhe1 e5 16.Kb1 Kf7 17.h4! Qc5

White has a slight pull, though, at this point, because it is not easy for Black to do anything active, nothing serious, though. As noted earlier, my preferred move order to get to the chapter position is 11...Be6 12.0–0–0 Qa5 13.a3 Rc8 14.Kb1. 12.0–0–0 Once again, omitting ...Be6 allows White to plonk the bishop on the most active square - 12.Bc4 b5 (or 12...Qc7 13.Bb3 Be6 14.0–0–0 Bxb3 15.axb3 b5 16.Rd4 0–0 17.Re1 and White’s position is preferable with solid central control) 13.Bb3 b4 14.Na4 Rb8 15.0–0–0 Qc7 16.Rd4 Rb5 17.Kb1 (D) with a slight pull for White.

White is slightly preferable, and it's not easy to find active play for Black. 12...Qa5

13.Kb1 GM Chris Ward noted that White could also flick in 13.Bc4 Be6 14.e5 Qxe5 15.Qxe5 dxe5 16.Bxe6 fxe6 17.Rhe1 with a big advantage for White due to pawn structure woes for Black in the center. So to me, it is important to get the move order straightened out so that Black can avoid getting into these Bc4 lines where White has the better game. 13...Be6! And we reach the stem position. Therefore, I reiterate, the preferred move order is 11...Be6 and to reach this position, the following moves will be 12.0-0-0 Be6 13.Kb1 a6 (though I prefer 13...Rc8). 14.Qd4!?

White discourages Black from playing ...Kf8–g7 with the queen posted on the long black diagonal. Also, White prepares g2–g4 or Nd5 with this queen shift. 14...Rc8 15.a3 15.Nd5 Bxd5 16.exd5 Qc5 17.c4 is pretty much equal after 17...Qxd4 18.Rxd4 h4, if anything, Black may be slightly better thanks to his better knight vs. White's bad light-squared bishop. 15...0–0 16.h4 Ward analyzed 16.f4 with the idea of f4–f5, which is immediately refuted by 16...Rxc3! 17.Qxc3 Qxc3 18.bxc3 Nxe4 and the exchange sacrifice is certainly highly favorable for Black.

16...Qc5!? Black opts for simplification though Ward indicated that Black could simply double his rooks on the c-file with good play. Additionally, 16...b5!? can be considered for Black. 17.Qxc5 Rxc5 18.Rd4 Rfc8 19.Be2 Nd7!

Patience is a virtue in chess. There is no need to give White queenside play. 19...b5?! 20.a4 would benefit White as after the trade of pawns on b5, White can park a rook on b4. 20.Rhd1 Ne5 21.R1d2 Nc6 22.R4d3 Ne5 23.Rd4 Kg7 24.Nd5 Bxd5 25.exd5 b5 26.f4??

Overpressing. Not the first time and definitely not the last time, weakening moves are played in Dragon (or in general Sicilian endings), allowing Black to seize the advantage.

26...Nd7?! Ward pointed out that 26...Nc4! 27.Bxc4 Rxc4 is highly advantageous for Black as 'there are some pawns Black can target with the black monarch having swift access to the action.' 27.Bf3?! The bishop really doesn't belong here.

27.a4! Rb8 (27...bxa4 28.Bxa6 Ra8 29.Bb7 Rb8 30.Bc6 Nb6 is about equal too) 28.b4! Rc7 29.a5 Nf6 30.Kb2 is harder for Black to breach. 27...Nb6 28.Re2 R8c7 29.g3 Kf6

Black has the easier game and the more active king 30.c3 Rc4 The blocked and fixed pawn structure favors the player with the knight, which can hop all over, creating threats. 31.Rd1 a5

Black cracks on with his queenside play, with White unable to do much more with the half-open e-file. 32.Re3 R4c5 33.Rd4 Rc4 34.Rxc4?! White had enough of the tension and decided to trade to create more space for his remaining pieces. However, this favors Black as he can continue pressing. 34.Rd1 is best, but objectively maybe not worse, it's clear who has the more fun in this situation, and it's not White! 34...Rxc4 Black prefers to keep the c-file open and tie down the White pieces with ...Rc5 before activating his king once the White rook has to go to d3 to help hold the d5–pawn. Grandmaster Chris Ward analyzed that after 34...bxc4! 'Black would be threatening to round up the d5–pawn through ...Rc5 and if 35.Re2 then 35...e5 36.dxe6 fxe6

".... would leave Black with a majority of potential whilst White's b2–pawn won't be having an impact any time soon." (Ward). 35.b4?!

A highly committal and inaccurate move. 35...axb4 Black has a large advantage after 35...Rc7! 36.Ka2 Nc4 37.Re2 Kf5 and one interesting variation goes 38.Kb3 a4+ 39.Ka2 Nxa3 40.Be4+ Kg4 41.Kxa3 Rxc3+ 42.Ka2 Rxg3 when Black can try for the win. 36.axb4 Rc7 37.Kc2 Ra7

Now Black is threatening to invade down that newly opened a-file. 38.Re2 Ra3 39.Kd3 Ra1 It's blitz after all, and White falters big time with... 40.Ke3?

40.Rc2 keeps the game going though White is still suffering. 40...Nc4+ 41.Kf2 Rc1 42.Ra2 Rxc3 43.Be2 Rb3 44.Ra7 Rxb4 45.Rb7 Rb2 46.Kf3 Na3 47.f5 gxf5 48.Bd1 b4 49.Ke3 Nc4+ And White resigned in GM Panneerselvam Iniyan – GM Sanan Sjugirov, Titled Tuesday, chess.com 2020. 0-1

Chapter 8: 10.Qf2 with 11.Bc4 In this and the next chapter, we focus on 10.Qf2 instead of trading bishops. White wins a tempo by targeting the a7-pawn, but the Black queen was heading for a5 anyway. The key theme in this chapter is the trade of bishops on e6 (after 11 Bc4) to give Black an awkward-looking pawn structure which is akin to what GM Anish Giri recommends as a secondary line in his Lifetime Repertoire: The Sicilian Dragon (Chessable) after 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 g6 6.Be3 Bg7 7.f3 0–0 8.Qd2 Nc6 9.Bc4 Nxd4 10.Bxd4 Be6 11.Bxe6 fxe6, except we have a Hungarian pawn on h5. If you are a classical purist who likes structural integrity of your pawns, this variation is not for you. My take is it is not easy to take advantage of the weaknesses, and very often, the structure can help Black strategically to secure important squares later. 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 g6 6.Be3 Nc6 7.f3 h5 8.Qd2 Nxd4 9.Bxd4 Bh6 10.Qf2

White chooses to keep the bishops on and places pressure on the a7–pawn. Since Black's objective is to exchange dark-squared bishops, this can look like a solid alternative; it does, however, also remove the option for White to castle queenside. 10...Qa5! This is the queen's typical square anyway; of course, it holds the a-pawn from there. Not 10...0–0? as Ward had demonstrated that White could simply take on a7 without serious repercussions after 11.Bxa7 Qa5 12.Be3. 11.Bc4

In the next chapter, we will examine 11.Bb5+. A third option is 11.Be2 was tested in an online game. Black's best option appears to be 11...0-0, when 12.0-0 e5 13.Be3 Bxe3 14.Qxe3 Be6 seems to equalize for Black without too much trouble. But also 11...h4!? can be considered even if it leads to more unbalanced play. 11...Be6!

Black is certainly not bothered about getting doubled e-pawns. If White trades the bishops immediately, Black will have a useful half-opened f-file, and the pawn weaknesses cannot be exploited easily. 12.Bxe6?! White can try 12.Bb3 Bxb3 13.cxb3 0–0 as seen in J.Nithiananthan - Junior Tay, Balestier, Singapore 2022. Black does not fret his crappy pawn structure after 14.Bxf6 exf6, for instance:

a) He is able to get active central play following 15.0–0 f5 16.exf5 Qxf5 17.Rad1 Rfe8 with equal chances. For example, after 18.f4 Rac8 (18...Qc5 19.b4 Qxf2+ 20.Rxf2 Bg7 21.Nd5 Rac8 is also about equal but easier to play for White, so, if possible, Black should keep queens on the board), and now a1) 19.Rd5 Qe6 20.Rfd1 Qg4 21.Rf1 (21.g3 Bg7 22.f5 Be5 gives equal chances) 21...Qe6 22.f5 Qe3 23.g3 Qxf2+ 24.Kxf2 Bg7 25.Rxd6 Bxc3 26.bxc3 Rxc3 27.fxg6 fxg6 28.Rxg6+ Kh7 29.Rf6 Rc2+ 30.Kg1 Rxa2 is an equal ending. a2) A tricky line is 19.Qxa7 Bg7 20.Qf2 (20.Qxb7 Bxc3 21.bxc3 Rxc3 22.Rd2 Qc5+ 23.Kh1 Rc1 24.Rdd1 Rxd1 25.Rxd1 Qf2 26.Qb4 d5 27.h3 Re2 when Black's activity compensates for his pawn minus) 20...Bxc3 21.bxc3 Rxc3 22.Rxd6 h4 23.h3 Rg3 with the idea of ...Qxh3 and if 24.Kh2?! (here,

24.Qb2 Qxh3 25.f5 Qg4 26.fxg6 fxg6 seems to hold for White) when 24...Ree3! is not easy to meet for White. b) If White clamps down on d5, Black has to play actively with 15.Rd1 f5 16.Rd5 (or 16.0–0 fxe4 17.Rd5 Qa6 18.Nxe4 Rac8 19.a4 Rc6 20.Rfd1 Rfc8 with even chances) 16...Qa6 17.exf5 Rae8+ 18.Kd1 Re3! 19.Qd2 (The idea of the rook tuck is to answer 19.fxg6?? with 19...Rd3+! 20.Kc2 Rxc3+! 21.Kxc3 Qc6+ and Black is winning) 19...Rfe8 20.fxg6 Rxc3 and White cannot do better than 21.gxf7+ Kxf7 22.Rf5+ Kg8 23.Rg5+ Bxg5 24.Qxg5+ Kh7 25.Qxh5+ Kg7 26.Qg5+ with perpetual check. White has also tried 12.Bb5+ in an online game, and while it seems a little inconsistent, it is less easy to dismiss. It seems necessary for Black to play 12...Kf8 13.0-0 and now 13...Bg7 looks best to be able to answer 14.f4 with ...Ng4. 14.Bd3 h4 15.Rae1 (or 15.Ne2 h3 16.g3 Nd7 with chances to both sides) 15...Nd7 (15...h3!? can also be considered) 16.Bxg7+ Kxg7 17.f4 f6 when Black has a solid and playable position. 12...fxe6

Black's pawns look like crap, but it's not easy to target them, and in the meantime, the Black heavies are coming out fast. 13.0–0 Alternatively, 13.Bxf6!? exf6 was tested in an online game where White continued with the natural but faulty 14.Rd1?! (14.f4 is playable), and now, instead of Black's equally obvious reply 14...Ke7, Black should have played 14...Bf4! (or 14...Rc8! may lead to the same position but gives White the option to play the tempting but badly mistaken 15.Rxd6? which is met with 15...Bc1! and White's queenside collapses) 15.0-0 Rc8 16.Qd4 (16.Kh1 h4! is excellent for Black) 16...Be5 and Black has a comfortable edge. 13...e5!

Fixing the pawns to render White's center static. Black has an easy game after this. 14.Be3 Bxe3 15.Qxe3 Rc8 16.Rad1 The setup wasn't new to me anyway, as I got the same structure in a previous game with a good endgame, too, after 16.Rfd1 Qc5 17.Qxc5 Rxc5 18.Rd2 Kf7 19.Nd1 Rhc8 20.c3 b5 21.Ne3 a5 and Black is pressing in CompletementGourcuff – Junior Tay, Chess.com 2022. Another online game saw White try 16.a3 Qc5 17.Rfe1 Kf7 18.Rad1, and here 18...g5 or 18...Qxe3 19.Rxe3 g5 would have given Black a solid edge in the endgame. 16...Qc5

Black has a nice pull. White has no active plan and has to wait and see what Black does. 17.Rfe1 Kf7 Stockfish recommends 17...g5! , further fixing the White kingside pawns and preparing an eventual ...g4. 18.Rd3 (18.Qxc5 Rxc5 19.Rd2 Rf8 20.h3 b5 21.Nd1 g4 22.hxg4 hxg4 23.Kf2 and Black's slight edge persists) 18...g4 19.Qxc5 Rxc5 20.Re2 Rf8 21.fxg4 hxg4 22.a4 a6 and Black is a tad better. 18.Kh1?! White does best to stop ...g5 with 18.h4! 18...Qxe3 19.Rxe3 Rc5 20.h3? Giving Black all the positional plusses he wants. 20...h4!

Black is thrilled to nail down the g3– and f4–squares for the knight and fix the kingside pawns. 21.Kh2 Rhc8 22.Rf1? Making a pass... and Black just takes the dark squares. Either 22.Rd2 Nh5 23.Re1 Nf4 24.Rc1 or 22.Re2 to hang on tight would be better, but White is still suffering nevertheless. 22...Nh5 Lovely juicy squares on g3 and f4 await the Black knight. 23.Rf2 b5 24.a3 a5 25.Ree2

How should Black best continue? 25...b4? I was too anxious and missed a powerful conversion. Black wins after 25...Nf4! 26.Rd2 Rxc3!! 27.bxc3 Rxc3 28.Rf1 Rxa3 29.Rb1 b4 30.Kg1 Ne6 31.Kf2 Nc5 and White is relegated to waiting to see how Black intends to finish the game. 26.axb4 axb4 27.Nd5 Rb8 28.b3 Ra8!?

Setting up a trap to capitalize on White's time trouble. 29.Re1 A Grandmaster isn't going to fall for it. Even under chronic time trouble, he didn't walk into 29.Nxb4?? Ra1! with the idea of ...Ng3 and ...Rh1 mate. 29...Ra2 30.Ne3??

A time pressure blunder. White could have gotten out of trouble after 30.Nxb4 and White has nothing to worry about, for instance, 30...Rb2 31.Ra1 Nf4 32.Kg1! and Black cannot win. 30...Nf4?! Black could do even better with the immediate 30...Rc3!. 31.Rd2? White can hold out longer with 31.Rd1. 31...Rc3! Setting up the threats of ...Rxb3 and, very soon, ...Ne6-d4 with no reasonable way for White to counter it.

Now White cannot escape material loss. 32.Rb1?? White was also losing after 32.Rdd1 Ne6 33.Rc1 Nd4, but the text move ends the game immediately. 32...Rxe3 White lost on time in GM Sergey Iskusnyh - Junior Tay, Titled Tuesday, Chess.com 2022. I did mess up the ending somewhat, but I think the Hungarian Dragon sufficiently confused my opponent to play sub-optimally, and he burned up most of his time trying to extricate himself from the non-stop pressure.

Chapter 9: 10.Qf2 with 11.Bb5+ I am not a firm believer in mugging specific opening lines, even for the arcane Sicilian Dragon, unless there is no choice. In this particular line, Black, in playing ...e5, gives himself a backward d-pawn and even has to give it up later. Accuracy is needed for Black to continue without being worse, so there is some memorizing to do here, but, of course, one needs to understand why the positions arise. Moreover, the right way to deal with 16. Rxd6 is not easy to work out without preparation. 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 g6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 d6 6.Be3 Nc6 7.f3 h5 8.Qd2 Nxd4 9.Bxd4 Bh6 10.Qf2 Qa5 11.Bb5+

This is White's most challenging option. The alternatives were discussed in the previous chapter. 11...Kf8 Most definitely not 11...Bd7 12. Bxd7 Kxd7 when Black is asking to be crushed. 12.0–0 e5!

Forcing a bishop trade at Black's terms. The backward d6–pawn and the weakened d5–square aren't crucial in this current position because White can hardly find time to nail them down. In an online game, Black got away with 12...Be6 after 13.13.Rfd1 Bf4 14.Bf1 Be5 15.a3 Kg7 16.Rd2 Rhc8 17.Rad1 Bxd4 18.Qxd4 Qc5 and Black already had the better chances. The problem, however, is that 13.f4! Rc8 14.Be2 Bg7 15.h3! gives Black an awful position. 13.Be3 Bxe3 14.Qxe3 Be6 15.Rad1 Tournament praxis has also seen 15.Ba4:

a) 15...Rc8 16.Bb3 Qc5 17.Qxc5 Rxc5 18.Rfd1 Ke7 19.Rd2 as played in K, Librelato-J.Alboredo, Aracaju 2018, and here Black can inject a little more pressure with 19...g5!. b) 15...Qc5 16.Rfe1 occurred in B.Perez Manas-D.Martinez Martin, Linares 2020, and Black can even punt 16...Ke7 and has the slightly easier game after 17.h4! (if Black gets in ...g5, he will have another lever to use to squeeze White, such as after 17.Rad1 Rhc8 18.Rd2 g5 19.Bb3 g4 20.Qxc5 Rxc5 21.a4 Rg8 and Black has a slight pull) 17...Rac8 (or 17...Rhc8!?) 18.Rad1 Qxe3+ 19.Rxe3 a6 20.Bb3 Rhd8 21.Red3 b5 22.R1d2 Rc6 with Black having slightly better chances. 15...Rc8! Black should not play 15...Ke7? as 16.Qg5! is very troublesome.

However, 15...Qb4 is also playable. 16.Qg5 Kg7 17.f4 Nh7 18.Qe7 exf4 19.Qxd6 Qxd6 20.Rxd6 g5 and Black isn't worse.

Black correctly gauges he can sacrifice the d6–pawn. 16.Rxd6 The reason why I showed this game was because the correct way to handle this position is counter-intuitive, and Black played the seemingly correct idea only to get crushed by the ensuring tactics. Alternatively, 16.Ba4 gives Black a valuable tempo to regroup, and after 16...Rxc3 17.Qxc3 Qxa4 18.Rxd6 Kg7 19.Qxe5 Qxc2 20.g4 Rc8 21.Rxe6! (21.g5?? Bh3! ends the game promptly in Black's favor) 21...fxe6 22.g5

Qc5+ 23.Qxc5 Rxc5 24.gxf6+ Kxf6 Black has an excellent rook ending with the better-placed king. 16...Qb4! Surprisingly, this is how to take advantage of the temporary pawn sacrifice. In the actual game, the convincing looking 16...Rxc3?? fails to 17.Qxc3 Qxb5 18.a4! Qe8 19.Qxe5 Qe7 20.f4! when Black has no good answer to the coming onslaught, even if he has material parity; Black eventually lost in S.Vega Gutierrez – A.Espinosa Aranda, Los Cancajos 2020. 17.Rfd1! 17.Rd3 a6 18.Ba4 Bc4 wins the exchange. 17...Kg7 After 17...Qxb2 18.Nd5 (Not 18.R1d3? Kg7 19.Ba4 Qb4 20.Qd2 Qc5+ 21.Re3 Rhd8 22.Rxd8 Rxd8 23.Qf2 Bxa2 and Black nets the pawn because after 24.Nxa2 allows 24...Rd1+ with impending back rank mate) 18...Bxd5 19.Rxf6 Kg7 20.Rd6 Bxa2 21.c4 Bxc4 22.Bd7! Rcd8 23.h4!, despite White's 2 pawn deficit, it isn't easy to shake off his initiative. 18.Bd7! Another challenging move for White to find. 18...Nxd7 18...Bxd7 19.Rxf6 Be6 20.Rxe6 fxe6 21.Rd7+ Kf6 22.h4 leads to the same thing. 19.Rxe6 fxe6 20.Rxd7+ Kf6 21.h4 Qc5 21...Qb6 22.Qxb6 axb6 23.Rxb7 Rb8 24.Rxb8 Rxb8 and it isn't easy for Black to try to win this ending.

22.Qxc5 22.Nd1! is the toughest way for White to resist: 22...b6 23.Qxc5 (or 23.Rxa7 Rhd8 24.Kh2 Qxe3 25.Nxe3 Rd2 is more active for Black) 23...Rxc5 24.Ne3 (not 24.Rxa7? as 24...Rxc2 allows Black to make a breakthrough) 24...a5 and White might hold the ending with careful play. 22...Rxc5 23.Rxb7 Rc6 And Black retains some chances to press. For example, White cannot play 24.Rxa7? as Black will take over after 24...Rb8!.

Chapter 10: 10.Bb5+ with 11.Qd3 Bc6! With 10. Bb5+ and 11. Qd3, White sets problems for Black (no natural and automatic queenside play), and, as the game progresses, the latter might have to accept doubled f-pawns and an isolated d-pawn in the middlegame. Black's compensation comes from active play and good Dragon bishop, but he has to play actively and fight for the initiative to avoid getting ground down strategically. The way GM Richard Rapport handles the initiative in the stem game is very instructive and an ideal advertisement for the Hungarian Dragon! 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 g6 6.f3 Nc6 7.Be3 h5 8.Qd2 Nxd4 9.Bxd4 Bh6 10.Bb5+

White throws in a check to get a tempo before getting the queen out of the way. This is the preference of high-class GMs like Shirov and Saric. 10...Bd7 Note that Black here, unlike in several earlier chapters, does not have the option of playing 10...Kf8 as 11.f4 Qc7 12.0-0-0 is clearly better for White. 11.Qd3 White can also consider 11.Qe2!? when Black, like in our main line, continues 11...Bc6, whereas 11.Qf2 Bxb5 12.Nxb5 Qa5+ 13.Nc3 0-0 is fine for Black. 11...Bc6!

As noted by Ward, this is an important move to contest the d5–square. 12.0–0 0–0 13.Bxf6 It is essential to cover 13.Bc4!?: a) 13...e6, which Ward mentions in Chesspublishing.com.

Black isn't bothered by the weakening of the d-pawn, blunts the light square bishop, and prepares to advance his d-pawn later. He must be prepared to jettison the d-pawn following 14.Rad1 (A kingside vs queenside fight is up after 14.a4 a6 15.Rad1 Rc8 16.b4 h4 17.Bb3 Nh5 18.Be3 Nf4 with mutual chances) 14...Rc8, and now: a1) 15.Bb3 a5 16.a4 Nd7 17.Qe2 Bf4 18.Be3 Bxe3+ 19.Qxe3 Nc5 is about equal. a2) For Black to play this way, he must recognize that, like many Sicilian Rauzer positions, Black can give away the d6–pawn for dark-square compensation. In this case, 15.Bxf6 Qxf6 16.Qxd6 and Black does not miss the pawn at all with his powerful dark-square control.

b) Another possibility is 13...Nd7, allowing White to target the g5–pawn; Black is okay after 14.e5 Kh7 15.exd6 exd6 16.f4 Nc5 17.Qh3 Bg7 18.Bxg7 Kxg7. 13...exf6

There's the other thing...Black must be prepared to be saddled with this pawn structure (similar to the Classical Sicilian line 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 Nc6 6.Bg5 g6 7.Bxf6 exf6) to get the bishop pair and active play. 14.Kh1 No tricks allowed. White tucks the king away from potential ...Qb6+ tricks. 14...Qb6 15.a4 As pointed out by Ward, Black is not afraid of 15.Qxd6?? Rad8 16.Qb4 a6, winning a piece or 15.Bxc6 bxc6 16.Qxd6? Rad8 17. Qa3 Rd2, which 'leaves Black pretty active.' 15...Qc5

The queen defends the d6–pawn for now and is going to wend itself into the thick of kingside operations soon 16.Rfd1 Rfd8 17.Nd5?!

I remember an Aagaard lecture a few years back where he indicated that while it might be ideal to blockade an isolated pawn weakness, it might shield the weakness in some instances. This is the case here. 17...Kg7?! Rapport isn't interested in simplifications and aims to go after the White king. Black can get an easy game after 17...Bxd5 18.exd5? (or 18.Qxd5 Qxc2 19.Bc4 Rd7 20.Bb5 Rc7 (20...Re7 21.Qxd6 Re6 22.Qd4 Rc8 with mutual

chances) 21.Qxd6) 18...Rac8, where Black surely has the better oppositecolored bishop. 18.b4 Qf2 19.Bc4?! As Ward pointed out, 19.Bxc6! bxc6 20.Ne7 Bf4 21.g3! is the way to go for White, but I think that after 21...Be5 22.Rac1 Re8 23.Nxc6 h4, Black has good play for the pawn. 19...Rac8 19...h4!? is another good Ward suggestion. 20.c3 Qh4

Rapport is certainly giving Saric a lot to think about. Alternatively, 20...Bxd5 21.Bxd5 Qb2 22.c4 h4 gives Black superb control over the dark squares. 21.g3 Presumably played to nip ...Bf4 in the bud, but now the kingside weaknesses allow Black to keep probing. It is too much to ask Saric to find the computer defense in a blitz game with 21.Rg1! (at first glance, blocking the king seems unnecessarily risky) as after 21...Bxd5 22.Bxd5 Bf4 isn't possible due to 23.g3. Instead, 22...Qf2 23.Bxb7 Rc7 24.Bd5 Qb2 25.c4 Qxb4 26.Rgb1 Qd2 27.Qxd2 Bxd2 28.a5 gives White the better game though Black still retains good drawing chances. 21...Qh3 22.Qd4 Bxd5 23.Bxd5?? 23.Qxd5 gaining a tempo by hitting the f7–pawn is mandatory. Just when it seems that Black's attack has run out of gas, here comes a sidewinder. 23...h4! The queen is overworked as it is now required to hold the c3–pawn and on the kingside to deal with ...h4. 24.Rg1? Now the Hungarian genius demonstrates his tactical acumen. However, after 24.Qf2 Rxc3 25.Qg2 Qc8, White is in dire straits as the black heavies can easily enter his turf.

How does Black continue his attack? 24...Bf4!! What a tremendous shot! The h-file is cleared for the rooks to join in the attack, and the pressure on g3 and h2 cannot be parried off adequately. 25.Rg2 White goes down in flames after 25.gxf4?? Qxf3+ 26.Rg2 h3. 25...hxg3 26.Qxa7 Rh8 27.Re1 It is just a matter of time when Black will finish the job by sacrificing on h2, which occurs soon enough.

27...Rxc3 28.Bxf7 Kxf7 29.Qxb7+ Kg8 30.e5

How can Black finish White off? 30...Qxh2+! At last! An exquisite queen sacrifice to clinch the game. 31.Rxh2 Rxh2+ 32.Kg1 Be3+ 33.Kf1 g2+ What a finish! White resigned in GM Ivan Saric – GM Richard Rapport, Warsaw (blitz) 2021.

Chapter 11: 10.Bb5+ with 11.Bxd7+ - The critical line White can choose to (quoting from IM Christof Sielecki's well-known book titles) 'keep it simple' by trading off light square bishops and be content to use a small spatial edge to press Black. I think it is easy for Black to drift into worse, lifeless positions in this line, so he must play for active counterplay (see...the ...e6 and ...f5 ideas) to maintain the balance. 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 g6 6.f3 Nc6 7.Be3 h5 8.Qd2 Nxd4 9.Bxd4 Bh6 10.Bb5+ Bd7 I have experimented with 10...Kf8!? and although it worked out in practice, Stockfish showed why the line is just bad. In my game, my opponent played 11.Qd3?! after which, I decided to offer the d-pawn, and my opponent took the bait: 11...Qa5 allowing White to play 12.Bxf6?! exf6 13.Qxd6+? Kg7 14.0–0 Be6.

The powerful dark-squared bishop and the impending d-file control for Black is hard to fend off. After 15.a4 Rad8 16.Qe7 Rd2 (a nice way to trap the queen is 16...a6! 17.Bd3 Rd7 18.Qa3 Be3+ 19.Kh1 Bc5) 17.Bd3? Qb6+ (17...Qg5 would terminate the game sooner) 18.Kh1 Bf4 19.Qa3 Qc7 20.Nb5 Qb8 21.h3

How should Black continue? Black gets to finish with a flourish after 21...Bxh3! 22.gxh3 Rh2+ 23.Kg1 Be3+ and White resigned in acrawford28-Junior Tay, Chess.com 2022. Instead, Stockfish's 11.f4! is very strong!

11...Kg7 12.Qf2! (12.0–0–0 a6 13.Be2 b5 14.Kb1 with Bf3 and Nd5 to follow, is also good enough for a clear edge) and the engine claims that the best Black can do is 12...e5 13.fxe5 Ng4 14.exd6+ f6 15.Qg3 h4 16.Qf3 Qxd6 17.Nd5 h3 18.gxh3 Ne5 19.Qf2 with a large advantage for White.

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11.Bxd7+!? This is the crucial line to analyze. White can revert to a positional game and subsequently use his slight space advantage.

11...Nxd7 12.Qf2 0–0

13.0–0 Not 13.Bxa7?? b6, and the bishop is toast. 13...a6 14.Rad1 Rc8 15.f4

I showed this position to GM Kevin Goh, and we concurred that Black is a trifle uncomfortable, and it is not easy to find a concrete way for Black to improve the situation. 15...e6! A pivotal move to finding counterplay for Black. Besides discouraging f4–f5, Black prepares to annex space later with ...f7–f5 himself. 16.Qg3 16.f5 would allow 16...Qg5. 16...Kh7 17.a4 Rc6 Another beneficial preparatory move to keep an eye on the d6–pawn.

18.Kh1 f5! Black has good counterplay after this. Instead, 18...Bg7 19.Bxg7 Kxg7 20.f5 Qe7 21.h3 Nf6 22.Rd2 Qc7 23.Rd3 d5 is playable too. 19.exf5 19.Rde1 Qe7 20.exf5 Rxf5 is fine for Black. 19...Rxf5 20.Ne4 d5

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Not an easy move to make as now Black has to give up the Dragon bishop, but the subsequent position is playable. 21.Ng5+ Bxg5 22.fxg5 Qf8

Black is still very much in the game despite the dark square weaknesses.

Chapter 12: 9.Qxd4 White can also deal with the central knight trade with the queen-recapture. This prevents Black from flicking in ...Bh6, and the resulting positions are more like the Yugoslav 9.0-0-0 Nxd4 10 Bxd4 Be6 line, except White has his dark-square bishop on e3 instead of d4, and Black has a Hungarian pawn on h5. 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 Nc6 6.f3 g6 7.Be3 h5 8.Qd2 Nxd4 9.Qxd4

In this chapter, White leaves the bishop on e3 and captures on d4 with the queen instead, and he must be prepared to move it off as soon when Black plays ...Bg7. 9...Bg7 10.0–0–0 After 10.Qd2, which has not been played much, I suppose Black can choose between: a) 10...a6 11.Bd4 (11.0–0–0 Be6 12.Bd4 Rc8 13.Kb1 b5 14.h4 Qc7 is also playable) 11...Bh6 12.Qf2 0–0 13.Bb6 Qe8 14.Bd3 Qc6 15.a4 Be6 with mutual chances. b) 10...Be6 11.Bb5+ (11.Nb5 with the idea of Nd4 and c4 is interesting too, while 11.Nd5 as tested in an online game is surprisingly pleasant for Black after 11...Rc8 12.Bb5+ Kf8 13.0-0-0 a6 14.Ba4 Nxd5 15.exd5, and now 15...b5 16.Bb3 a5 gives Black the initiative) 11...Nd7 12.Bd4 Bxd4 13.Qxd4 0–0 14.0–0–0 Nf6 15.f4 Qa5, which is worth investigating. c) 10...0-0 11.0-0-0 Be6 12.h3 Qa5 13.Kb1 Rfc8 14.Nd5 Qxd2 15.Rxd2 Nxd5 (Black can also capture with the bishop) 16.exd5 Bd7 17.g4 h4 18.Bg5 Bf6! and Black had equalized in an online game. Finally, 10.Bc4 0-0 is likely to transpose to the variation in the following comment; Black certainly has no problems after 11.Qd2 a6 12.Bb3 b5. 10...Be6 Following 10...0–0: a) 11.Bc4?! leaves the white queen on d4 a little too long and after 11...Ng4!

in CM Fahmi Azaiz - Junior Tay, chess.com 2022, Black was already in control after 12.Qd2 Nxe3 13.Qxe3 Bd7 and White rued the absence of his dark-square bishop. b) Instead, after 11.Qd2 Be6 12.h4 Qa5 13.a3 Rfc8, White decided to play the standard Dragon trade with 14.Nd5 Qxd2+ 15.Rxd2 Nxd5 16.exd5 Bf5 17.Bd3 Bxd3 18.Rxd3 with an equal but certainly not drawish ending, M.Grineva - G.Martin Carmona, Chess.com, 2021. 11.Bb5+!? As usual, Black is happy to be denied castling rights. White can try 11.Bc4 Qc7 (11...Qc8!?) 12.Bxe6 (or 12.Bb3 0–0 13.Qd3 Nd7 14.Bd4 Nc5 15.Qe2 Nxb3+ 16.cxb3 a6 with even chances) 12...fxe6 13.Nb5 Qc6 14.Qd3 Kf7 15.Nd4 Qa4 16.Kb1 Rac8 with good counterplay.

11...Kf8 12.Qd3 Qa5 13.Bc4 Rc8 Also, the alternative 13...Bxc4 14.Qxc4 Nd7 with the idea of ...Nb6 and ...Rc8 is fully playable for Black. 14.Bxe6 fxe6 15.Kb1 Or 15.Bd4 Nd7! 16.Kb1 Bxd4 17.Qxd4, and now both 17...Rg8 and 17...Kf7 offer Black a satisfactory position. 15...Nd7!

This knight is going to be a real nuisance on c4. 16.Ne2 Ne5 17.Qb3

Strongly threatening Nf4, but Black is ready to deal with this. 17...Nc4 18.Bc1 Kf7 19.Rhf1? This is really way too slow. Instead, 19.f4!? Rc6 20.Nd4 Bxd4 21.Rxd4 Rhc8 with mutual chances. 19...Rc6! With the idea of doubling and ...Rb6/Ra6. 20.c3 Rhc8 There is already no good way of defending against the Black heavies. 21.Ka1 Perhaps 21.Rd3 might hold out longer. 21...Rb6 22.Qc2 Na3! Going for a glorious finish. 23.Qd3

How should Black continue? 23...Bxc3! 24.Nxc3 Rxc3! 25.bxc3? Better resistance is offered by 25.Bd2 Nc2+ 26.Qxc2 Rxc2 27.Bxa5 Rbxb2 28.Bc3 Rxa2+ 29.Kb1 Rxg2 and White faces an uphill task to hold the ending. 25...Qxc3+! Simply crushing! White resigned in NM Ivan Khabinets – GM Nikita Matinian, Titled Tuesday, Chess.com 2021. 0-1

Chapter 13: 8.Bc4 with 11.Bb3 In the final three theoretical chapters, the early development of the c4-bishop is covered, and my take is that this move order is the litmus test of the Hungarian Dragon. Black can no longer gain a tempo with ...Bh6 or stall with ...a6 to see if White will move Qd1-d2 (see the notes to Black's 8...Bd7). My preference for Black in terms of queenside play is to flick in...Na5 to put the question to the light-squared bishop and subsequently play a queenside pawn advance. We cover the natural 11.Bb3 in this chapter, Black seems to have good chances whichever way White recaptures on b3. 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 g6 6.Be3 Nc6 7.f3 It is too early to whip out the 'Sozin' bishop. Black gets the initiative after 7.Bc4 Ng4! with the idea of ...Nxe3.

8.Nxc6 (the only reasonable way to prevent ....Nxe3) 8...bxc6 (Black already has a good game with good central pawn control and the b-file) 9.Bd4? e5!. Black wins material no matter what White does subsequently, IM Catalin Patrascu – GM Gawain Jones, Titled Tuesday, Chess.com 2019 10.Be3 (or 10.Qf3 d5 11.exd5 exd4 winning material soon) 10...d5 with the pawn fork ...d4 to follow. 7...h5 8.Bc4!

This is what I consider the best line against the Hungarian Dragon. 8...Bd7 Black cannot make good use of ...Bh6 in this line, so he will just have to develop his bishop onto the regular fianchetto square. There is no point trying to wait for White to play Qd2 (before ...Nxd4) with 8...a6 as Black is in serious trouble after 9.Nxc6! bxc6 10.e5! and the worst way to lose is 10...dxe5 11.Bxf7+! and White pockets the queen. 9.Qd2 Bg7 Instead, 9...Nxd4 10.Bxd4 Bh6 is less palatable because White is simply better after 11.Qf2 (The less dangerous 11.Qd3!? was played in the TCEC 20 Superfinal match between the two strongest engines 11...0–0 12.Rd1 e6 13.0–0 Bf4! A strong rejoinder ensuring Black has adequate counterplay,

LCZero-Stockfish, tcec-chess.com 2020. See Chapter 16 for the complete game.) 11...0–0, although White has to avoid being greedy: a) 12.0–0! White does better to focus on the center. 12...a6 (Or 12...Rc8 13.Bb3 a6 14.Rad1 Bg7 15.h3 Be6 16.Nd5 Nd7 17.c3 and White has a strong grip in the center.) 13.Rad1 b5 14.Bb3 b4 15.Bxf6 exf6 16.Nd5 Bb5 17.Rfe1 White's strong central control is worth more than the bishop pair. b) Black gets sufficient counterplay if White grabs the a-pawn with 12.Bxa7 b5 13.Bb3 b4 14.Ne2 Be6 15.0–0 Bxb3 16.axb3 Qc7 gives Black excellent counterplay on the queenside. 10.0–0–0 Na5!?

White has to decide where to place this bishop. The most conventional square is on b3 so let's examine it first. GM Bojan Vukovic on the Chess24/7 website pointed out that after 10...Rc8 11.Nxc6 bxc6 12.Rhe1 0–0 13.Bxa7 Ne8 14.Bd4 Bxd4 15.Qxd4 gives White a slight advantage, considering Black has insufficient compensation for the a-pawn. 11.Bb3

'The most natural square to retreat to,' Jones pointed out. Vukovic preferred the non-standard 11.Bd3 a6 12.Kb1 b5 13.h3 and claimed a slight edge for White, with the idea of g2–g4; I will cover that move in Chapter 15. 11...Nxb3+

Black has an interesting alternative in 11...Rb8 in the style of the Chinese Dragon; this line has been roadtested in some online games. If White tries 12.Kb1, then Black is immediately okay after 12...b5. The online games saw White try 12.Rhe1 and after 12...b5 13 Kb1 Nc4 14.Bxc4 bxc4, we have a sharp position on the board where the situation on the queenside quickly can become serious for White. One game ran 15.Ka1!? Qb6 16.Rb1 Qa5 17.Bg5 Rb6 18.h4?! 0-0 19.Nd5?? Qxa2+! and White resigned before he would be mated. Another game went 15.Nd5? Nxd5 16.exd5 and now 16...0-0 17.Ka1 Re8 would have given Black a definite advantage. 12.Nxb3

The most natural way to recapture. After all, why would one want to weaken his queenside pawn structure after castling there? However, this way of

recapturing actually speeds up Black's attack. a) Jones' preference is for 12.cxb3, and once again, here's a top-notch description by Jones – 'this is generally considered best in these structures. This is because recapturing with the a-pawn allows Black to generate counterplay with ...a5–a4 opening up the a-file down to a1 while taking with the knight allows Black to gain time against the knight.' 12...a5 (Black has also tried 12...a6 in some online games, for instance, 13.Kb1 b5 14.Rc1 0-0 15.Bh6 Rc8 16.Bxg7 Kxg7 17.Rhd1, and now 17...b4 would have offered Black equal chances) 13.Ndb5 (Jones also analyzed 13.a4 Bc6 14.Kb1 Nd7 15.Rhe1 and remarked that 'Black probably has to be the more careful as f3–f4, e4–e5 is always a threat, but his position is certainly playable') 13...0–0 14.Kb1 Bxb5 15.Nxb5 a4 16.bxa4 Rxa4 with mutual chances in GM Kamil Dragun - GM Illmars Starostits, Poland 2010, though Black's constant pressure clinched him the game later. b) After 12.axb3, Jones pointed out that 12...0–0 13.Kb1 a5 'looks very logical to me when I would feel more comfortable sitting on the Black side of the board'. That said, 12...a5 before castling may be the better option 13.Ndb5 (or 13.Kb1 a4 14.bxa4 Bxa4 15.Nxa4 Rxa4 16.Nb3 Qa8 and Black had a strong initiative as seen in one online game), and now Black could have equalized with 13...Bxb5 14.Nxb5 Qd7 15.Qd3 0-0 16.Kb1 Qc6. 12...a5! As with lines in the other Sicilians where the knight retreats to b3, the apawn punt to drive away the b3–knight (or to make White play the weakening a2–a4 move) is customary. Perhaps more accurate is 12...0–0 13.Kb1 (13.Rhe1 b5 14.Bh6 is worth considering too) 13...a5 with the same plan was noted by Jones as now 14.a4 runs into 14...Qe8 and the a4–pawn is doomed. Another idea is 12...b5, for instance, 13.Bd4 Bc6 14.Qe2 a5 15.e5 dxe5 16.Bxe5 Qb6 and Black has comfortably equalized. 13.Kb1

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White has some alternatives at this point: a) The untested 13.a4!? is worth considering. A reflex action would be to continue storming with 13...b5 14.Nxb5 Bxb5 15.axb5 a4 16.Nd4 a3 17.Qb4 (Black gets a nice initiative after 17.bxa3 Ra4 18.Qc3 (18.Nc6 Qa8 19.Qe1 Nd7 20.Kd2 Ne5 21.Nxe5 Bxe5 22.Rb1 Rxa3 gives equal chances) 18...Nd7 19.Kd2 0–0 20.Ke2 Ne5 21.Qb3 Qa8 22.Ra1 Rc8 though I am going to cop out with the age old 'unclear' assessment) 17...a2 18.Kd2 0–0 19.Nc6 Qc7 20.Ra1 e6 with some compensation for the pawn. b) 13.a3 a4?! (I should have played the strong attacking charge 13...b5! with ...b4 to come) 14.Nd4 0–0, and White has the upper hand since my attack has been stymied in IM Kyron Griffith – Junior Tay, Titled Tuesday, chess.com 2022; after Black had no semblance of attacking chances after 15.Na2!. 13...a4 14.Nc1 a3

Increasing the scope of the Dragon bishop. 15.b3 Rc8 A logical follow-up after weakening the c-file in provoking b2–b3. 16.N1e2 0–0 Finally, Black castles after achieving his queenside objectives. One must not underestimate the disorientation caused by the delayed castling as White has to constantly deal with Black's initiative and can no longer apply standard Yugoslav attack pawn storm. So, he has to opt for the central pressure ideas with Rhe1 and Nd5 type positions. 17.Bd4

Getting ready to set up Nd5 without relinquishing the long diagonal. Perhaps it is high time to trade off the Dragon bishop with 17.Bh6. 17...Bc6! Anticipating White's plan and setting up his own devious idea. Why would Black voluntarily block the c-file? White missed the point of this clever bishop shift. 18.Rhe1 Black has the easier game after 18.Nd5 Bxd5 19.exd5 b5 with good queenside play. 18...Qc7 19.h3? White prepares to advance g2–g4, but now Black unleashes the concept behind ...Bc6. 19...e5!

All of a sudden, Black takes over the center with an indirect hit on the c2– pawn with the help of the annoying a3–nail. 20.Be3 d5!

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Ouch! The classic Sicilian break comes with a big punch. White can only sit back and watch as Black gets a spatial edge in the center and retain his c-file pressure. 21.exd5 Nxd5 22.Nxd5 Bxd5 23.c4? An attempt to shore up the c-file, but this just leaves the b1–h7 diagonal up for grabs. A better choice is 23.Nc3!? Bc6 and Black retains a significant advantage due to his bishop pair and White's weaknesses. 23...Be6 24.Qb4

Hoping to lessen the impact on the long black diagonal by removing the a3– nail. After 24.Nc3 Rfd8 25.Qc2, Black can blast through the queenside with 25...e4! 26.fxe4 Rxd1+ 27.Rxd1 Bxc4!! 28.bxc4 Qxc4 and White has to return the piece with a deficit. 24...Bf5+ 25.Ka1?? The wrong direction. White was probably demoralized already at this point. Instead, 25.Kc1 Rfd8 26.Nc3 Bd3 accentuates White's suffering. 25...Rfd8 26.Qxa3 e4+ 27.Bd4 Or 27.Nd4 exf3 28.gxf3 b5 and Black will break through anyway. 27...exf3 28.gxf3 Rxd4! 29.Nxd4 Rd8

There is no way to counter Black's dark-square onslaught. With 30.Qb2 Qc5 in the works, White resigned in Mohammadreza Sheykhali - GM Illmars Starostits, Rasht 2015.

Chapter 14: 8.Bc4 with 11.Be2 In this chapter, White meets 10...Na5 by retreating the bishop to e2 to not impede White's d-file operations, and there is nothing on b3 for Black to aim at. Black generally continues his ...a6, ...b5, and ...Nc4 ideas, while White will attempt to play in the center with Nd5 and Bg5 motifs. 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 g6 6.Be3 Nc6 7.f3 h5 8.Qd2 Bg7 9.Bc4 Bd7 10.0–0–0 Na5 Now, let's have a look at the more conservative bishop retreat. 11.Be2

A bit of Dragon trivia for you. If you pull out your database today and check 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 g6 6.Bc4 Bg7 7.f3 0–0 8.Be3 Nc6 9.Qd2 Bd7 10.0–0–0 Ne5 with the non-standard 11.Be2 (most will automatically play 11.Bb3), and you check the games for White players rated above 2400, and you will find an incredibly lopsided score of 15-2 for them! What is going on? Well, my take is that most of the Black Dragon opponents have been thrown off-sync by this lesser-known line. In a training match against IM Hsu Li Yang 4 years ago, he pulled the same stunt on me, and only during the second and third time we played the line was I able to re-orientate myself. Okay, enough digression. 11...a6 Black can also play 11...Rc8 12.Kb1 a6 13.h3 h4 14.Bg5 Nc4 15.Qe1.

How should Black best continue? We have arrived in a position that occurred in GMs A.Neiksans - I. Starostits, Riga 2005; it is a pity that Black missed a tremendous sacrifice here. After 15...Nxb2! 16.Kxb2 Qb6+ 17.Ka1 Qc5, the double attack on g5 and c3 allows Black to recoup his investment with extra gains. 12.Kb1 b5 13.Nd5 White went down very quickly in a correspondence game after 13.h4 Nc4 14.Bxc4 bxc4 15.Nd5? (White's idea is to try opening up the e-file as well as to defend the b-pawn horizontally with..c2–c3, using the d2–Queen; but this helps Black gain time for the attack) 15...Rb8 16.c3? Nxd5 17.exd5 Qa5! (the d-pawn is toast) 18.Bg5 Qxd5 19.Qe2 0–0 20.Qxe7 Qb7 21.Qe2 Bxd4 22.Rxd4 Rfe8 23.Qd2 Bf5+ 24.Ka1 Bd3 25.Qc1 Re2 26.Bd2 Rxg2 27.Rxd6

Qxf3 28.Rg1 Rh2 29.Re1 Qf2 30.Rd1 Qxh4 and White resigned in S.TurmoE.Landes, ICCF email 2013. 13...Nc4 14.Bxc4 bxc4 15.Bg5

Again, White tries to prise open the e-file by encouraging Black to capture on d5, but opening the e-file and leaving Black with a backward e7-pawn. 15...Nxd5 16.exd5 0–0?! The drawback of castling now is that White can slow down the Black assault by trading off the Dragon bishop with Bh6. Black has a couple of better alternatives, both taking aim at the white king:

a) 16...Rb8 has been tested in several online games: 16...Rb8 17.Rhe1 (17.c3 looks solid but can be met with the surprising 17...Bxd4! 18.Qxd4 f6 19.Bf4 Qc7 20.Rhe1 Kf7 21.Ka1 Bf5 and Black is already comfortably better) 17...0–0 18.Rxe7 Be5 19.f4 Bh8 20.b3 (20.Rxf7?? is refuted by 20...Rxb2+ 21.Kxb2 Qb6+ 22.Ka1 Kxf7, and Black is winning) 20...Qc8 21.Bh6 Re8 22.Rxe8+ Qxe8 23.f5 Qe4 24.fxg6 fxg6 25.Kc1 Rc8 with a strong attack for Black, although White may be able to hold the balance if he can defend like a computer. b) 16...Qb6 17.Rhe1 0–0 18.c3 (capturing on e7 gives Black excellent compensation, for instance, 18.Bxe7 c3 19.Qxc3 Rac8 20.Qe3 Rfe8 21.c3 Ba4, and Black is clearly better, whereas 18.Rxe7 Bf5 19.Qc3 Rfe8 20.Rxe8+ Rxe8 21.Be3 Bd7 gives Black strong play for the pawn) 18...Rfe8 19.Bxe7 Ba4 20.Rc1 Rab8, and Black has a good game. 17.c3?! After 17.Bh6, Black might perhaps consider an exchange sacrifice with 17...c3 18.Qe3 Qb6 19.b3 Bf6!?

to grab the dark squares. 17...Rb8 18.Rhe1 Black wants White to try trading bishops as after 18.Bh6 Bxh6! 19.Qxh6 Qa5, both the c3–and d5–pawns are hit. 18...Re8 In a challenging defensive position, White erred with 19.Nc6? 19.Ka1 is more prudent, allowing White to fight, although Black is definitely in command.

19...Bxc6 20.dxc6 Qc7

Now it's just Black having all the fun till the end. 21.g4 hxg4 22.fxg4 Rb5 23.Rc1 e6 24.Rc2 Qxc6 25.h4 Reb8 26.Be7 Rd5 27.Qf2 Qb6 28.Rf1 Qxf2 29.Rcxf2 Rb7 30.Rxf7 Rd2 31.Rf8+ Bxf8 32.Rxf8+ Kg7 and White resigned in R.Perez Garcia - GM I.Starostits, Seville 2011. 0-1.

Chapter 15: 8.Bc4 with 11.Bd3 The bishop placement on d3 could well be the litmus test of the 8 Bc4-line in the Hungarian Dragon. White plans to play in the center and kingside with Rhe1, Nd5 as well as h2-h3, and g3-g4, if allowed. It is not easy for Black to launch a successful queenside offensive with so much going on in the center. Both sides must play carefully as direct methods do not work so well. 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 g6 6.Be3 Nc6 7.f3 h5 8.Bc4! Bd7 9.Qd2 Bg7 10.0–0–0 Na5!? As previously mentioned, Vukovic, on the Chess24/7 website, preferred the non-standard... 11.Bd3

11...a6 12.Kb1 In an online game, White tried 12.Nd5!? and soon gained an advantage after 12...Nxd5 13.exd5 b5 14.Rhe1, but Black seems able to improve the counterplay by either playing 13...Rc8 or 12...Rc8. 12...b5 13.h3 Vukovic claimed a slight edge for White here, with the idea of g2–g4. Let's see how that pans out if White develops sensibly and Black tries to extract the maximum without castling early. 13...Qc7

Black keeps some control over the e5–square. The alternatives are less convincing for Black.

a) 13...Qb8 14.Rhe1 (14.g4!?) 14...Nc4 15.Bxc4 bxc4 16.Ka1 Qb7 17.g4 Rb8 18.Rb1, and it's hard to find a way for Black to increase the queenside pressure.

b) Fixing White's h-pawn with 13...h4 would be logical except White does get the better game after 14.Rhe1 (14.Nd5 Nxd5 15.exd5 Kf8 seems playable for Black) 14...Rc8 15.Bg5! Nc4 16.Bxc4 Rxc4 17.e5 dxe5 18.Rxe5 0–0.

14.Rhe1 Also, 14.g4 b4 15.Nd5 Nxd5 16.exd5 hxg4 17.hxg4 Rxh1 18.Rxh1 Nc4 19.Bxc4 Qxc4 20.Ne2 is playable for both sides. 14...Rb8 15.g4 15.Bg5 e6 16.Nd5!? is an interesting option, but Black seems to be okay after 16...exd5 17.Qf4! (the only move to keep White’s initiative going, as 17.exd5+ Kf8 18.Bxg6 fxg6 19.Qf4 Kf7 20.Ne6 Bxe6 20.Rxe6 Rhf8 and White does not have enough for his sacrificed material) 17...Ng8 18.exd5+ Be5 19.Rxe5+ dxe5 20.Re1 Kf8 21.Rxe5 Nc4 22.Bxc4 (but not the tempting 22.Re8+?? as 22...Rxe8 23.Qxc7 Re1+ 24.Bc1 Nd2+ wins for Black) 22...Qxc4 23.b3 Qc8 which the computer generously informs us is equal as it has found a perpetual check after 24.Re6 Bxe6 25.Nxe6+ Ke8 26.Ng7+ as well as a repetition of moves after 24.Ne6+ Bxe6 25.dxe6 Rb7 26.Qd4 f6 28.Qd3 Rh6 29.Qd5 Rh8. Computers are entertaining creations. 15...Qb7 Black is getting ready for ...Nc4. Black can also consider 15...e6 as well as 15...e5 16.Nde2 Be6. 16.Qe2 The alternatives are:

a) 16.g5 Nc4 17.Qf2 Nh7 18.f4 Bxh3! 19.e5 0-0 which is unclear.

b) 16.Qf2 Nc4 17.Bc1 Qa7 (17...b4!? and 17...Qb6!? are also options) 18.Qg1 hxg4 19.hxg4 Qc5 offers mutual chances.

16...Nc4

16...Nc6!? 17.Nxc6 Bxc6 is worth investigating. 17.Nd5

This knight move is a typical Sicilian motif that is usually played once White centralizes the rooks. Perhaps White should play prudently with 17.Bc1!? 0– 0, and the game is still taut. 17...hxg4 17...e5 18.Nb3 (18.Bf2 Kf8 19.Nb3 Nxd5 20.exd5 Qc7 21.c3 Bf6 22.Nd2 and now Black can commence an attack with 22...Nxb2! 23.Kxb2 b4 24.c4 e4+ 25.Kc1 exd3 26.Qxd3 Bc3 with the upper hand) 18...Nxe3 19.Qxe3 Nxd5 20.exd5 Qb6 21.Qe4 Kf8 22.Qb4 hxg4 23.hxg4 Rh3 with equal chances.

18.hxg4 Nxd5 19.exd5 Qxd5 20.Bf4

20...Ne5 Also playable:

a) 20...e5 21.Nb3 (Or 21.Be4 Qc5 22.Nb3 Qc7 23.Bg5 a5 24.Rh1 Rxh1 25.Rxh1 Qb6 with even play) 21...Qc6 22.Be4 Qc7 23.Bg5 Be6 24.f4 exf4 25.Nd4 Be5 with equal chances.

b) Another way to safety is 20...Bf6 21.Bxc4 bxc4 22.g5 Bxg5 23.Bxg5 Qxg5 24.Qxc4 Qc5 25.Qxa6 Qb6 and the position is level.

21.Qe3 There is the stunning computer variation 21.Bf5!?

21...gxf5 22.Nxf5 Qxf3 23.Qxf3 Nxf3 24.Rxe7+ Kd8 25.Bxd6 Nd2+ 26.Kc1 (of course, not 26.Rxd2 Rh1+ with back rank mate) 26...Bxf5 27.gxf5 Nc4 28.f6 Bxf6 29.Ra7 Bxb2+ 30.Kb1 Bd4 31.Bxb8 Kc8 32.Rc7+ Kxb8 33.Rxc4 bxc4 34.Rxd4 with equality. 21...Qc5 22.Ne6 Qxe3 23.Nxg7+ Kf8 24.Rxe3 Nxd3 25.cxd3

and since the knight cannot escape and Black needs to hold on to the e7– pawn, the game can continue 25...Rh3 26.Bg5 Kxg7 27.Rxe7 Bc6

And Black has a slight edge for Black as his pieces have better activity.

Chapter 16: The Hungarian Dragon in top chess praxis I am not referring to tournament games played by the likes of GMs Magnus Carlsen and Ding Liren but the ones fought between top computer engines in competitive play. The Top Chess Engine Championship (TCEC) is a computer chess tournament run by Chessdom and often regarded as the Unofficial World Computer Chess Championship because of its strong participant line-up and long time-control matches on high-end hardware. The tournament has attracted nearly all the top engines. In the 19th edition, the final two games of the Superfinal were played by Stockfish and LeelaChess Zero in the Hungarian Dragon in 2020. Stockfish won the event 54.5-45.5 though the two Hungarian Dragon games ended in 2 fighting draws. LCZero - Stockfish TCEC Season 19 – Superfinal, tcec-chess.com, 2020 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 g6 6.Be3 Nc6 7.f3! h5 8.Bc4 Bd7 9.Qd2 Nxd4 10.Bxd4 Bh6 11.Qd3!?

A solid and concrete choice, adding to the control of the d5–square, but I don't think it is the critical move to trouble the Hungarian Dragon in this line. As stated in Chapter 13, the reason why I do not prefer to play 8...Bd7 and wait for a chance to play ...Nxd4 and ...Bh6 is 11.Qf2! 0–0 12.0–0 (12.Bxa7?! b5 13.Bb3 b4 14.Ne2 Be6 15.0–0 Bxb3 16.axb3 Qc7 gives Black excellent counterplay on the queenside) 12...a6 (Or 12...Rc8 13.Bb3 a6 14.Rad1 Bg7 15.h3 Be6 16.Nd5 Nd7 17.c3 and White has a strong grip in the center.) 13.Rad1 b5 14.Bb3 b4 15.Bxf6 exf6 16.Nd5 Bb5 17.Rfe1 White's strong central control is worth more than the bishop pair. Note that 11.Be3 has been tested in several online games. It seems that Black's best option is 11...Bxe3 12.Qxe3 Rc8 13.Bb3 and now the untested 13...Qb6 (in the games we have found, Black exclusively played 13...Qa5, which seems to offer White the better chances after 14.0-0-0, although Black

is not without chances) 14.Qxb6 axb6 15.0-0-0 Rc5, when 16.h4 g5 and 16.Rd4 b5 both are okay for Black. 11...0–0 12.Rd1 Winning a pawn with 12.Bxf6 exf6 13.Qxd6 runs into excellent Black counterplay following 13...Be6 (13...Rc8 14.Bd5 Be6 15.Qxd8 Rfxd8 16.Rd1 b5 17.Bxe6 fxe6 18.Nb1 f5 and Black has good counterplay for the pawn) 14.Qxd8 Rfxd8 15.Bxe6 fxe6 16.Rd1 b5 17.Nb1 Rdc8 18.c3 b4 and Black's activity and White's slow development give the former equal chances despite the pawn deficit. 12...e6 13.0–0 Bf4!

A strong rejoinder ensuring Black has adequate counterplay. Black intends to put the bishop on e5 to contest the strong d4–bishop. 14.Kh1 a6 15.Bf2 Be5 16.f4

Forcing Black to decide which capture to make. It would seem that White has the better game after 16.Bh4! and it is hard for Black to shake off the pressure on f6. However, Black is doing fine after 16...Bc6! 17.f4 (Black is doing fine after 17.Bb3 Qc7 18.Qd2 a5) 17...Bxc3 18.bxc3 Bxe4 19.Qd4 Kg7 20.Bd3 Bxd3 21.Rxd3 Rc8 with equal chances. 16...Bxc3!

The price of giving up the Dragon bishop is to inflict queenside structural weaknesses. In this case, Black gets enough counterplay to compensate for our beloved prelate's loss. Taking the f-pawn only helps White increase the pressure on the f-file after 16...Bxf4?? 17.Bh4! Be5 18.Bb3 b5 19.Qf3 and Black is in serious trouble. 17.bxc3 Bc6 18.Bh4 The only way to try for an advantage. Defending the e-pawn directly with 18.Rfe1 allows Black to equalize easily after 18...Qc7 (or 18...d5 19.exd5 exd5 with even play) 19.Bb3 d5 20.exd5 Nxd5 with mutual chances. 18...Bxe4! 19.Qd4 After 19.Qxd6 Qxd6 20.Rxd6, Black has 20...Bd5! and can play the ending confidently. 19...Kg7 20.Bb3 Black is fine after 20.Bxf6+ Qxf6 21.Qxe4 d5; Also, after 20.Bd3 Bxd3 21.cxd3 (Black can also hold after 21.Rxd3! Rc8 22.f5 e5 23.Qb4 Rc6 24.Bg5 e4 25.Rg3 d5 26.Be3 b5 with balanced chances) 21...Rc8 and ...Rc5–f5 allows Black to equalize. 20...Bf5 After this solid setup is erected, Black can resist the White attempts to make inroads. 21.c4 Qe7 22.h3 Rac8 23.Rd2 b5 24.cxb5 axb5 25.Rdf2 Rc5 26.Kg1 Rfc8 27.Re2 Rc3 28.Rfe1

Black also cannot improve his position despite his pawn plus because of the pin on f6, and there isn't a viable way to play for ...e5. 28...R8c7 Not 28...Bxc2? when White crashes through after 29.Bxe6! Rd3 30.Bxf6+ Qxf6 31.Qxf6+ Kxf6 32.Bxc8. 29.Kh2 White keeps offering the c2–pawn for the next few moves; similarly, it cannot be taken due to Rxe6!. 29...R3c5 30.Kg1 Qd8

With both sides having no way to improve their positions, both engines basically shuffled their pieces back and forth for the next 60 moves before a draw was agreed. 31.Kh2 Rc8 32.Kg1 Qe7 33.Bg5 Rc3 34.Kh2 R8c7 35.Kg1 R3c6 36.Re3 Rc5 37.Kh1 Rc8 38.R1e2 R5c6 39.Kh2 Rc5 40.Kg1 Qd8 41.Bh4 R5c6 42.Bg5 Rc5 43.Bh4 Qe7 44.c3 R8c7 45.Bg5 Rc8 46.Re1 R5c7 47.Rf1 Rc5 48.Rff3 R8c7 49.Rf2 R7c6 50.Rfe2 Rc8 51.Kh2 Ra8 52.Re1 Rac8 53.R1e2 Qd8 54.Rf2 Qe7 55.Kh1 R5c6 56.Kg1 Rc5! 57.Kh1 Qd8 58.Kg1 Qe7 59.Kh2 R8c7 60.Rfe2 Ra7 61.Kg1 Rac7 62.Kh2 Ra7 63.Kg1 Rac7 64.Re1 Qd8 65.Ra1 Qe7 66.Rae1 Qd8 67.Rf1 Qe7 68.Kh2 Rb7 69.Kh1 Ra7 70.Rf2 Rac7 71.Kh2 R7c6 72.Rfe2 Ra6 73.Kg1 Rac6! 74.Kh1 Rc7 75.Re1 R7c6 76.Kg1 Rc7 77.Kh1 R5c6 78.Rg1 Rc8! 79.Rf1 Rc5 80.Kg1 R8c7 81.Bh4 Rd7 82.Ree1 Qd8 83.Re2 Rc8 84.Re3 Rdc7 85.Bg5 Rc5

86.Kh1 Ra8 87.Rg1 Qe7! 88.Rge1 Rac8 89.Kg1 R8c6 90.Bh4 Rc8 91.Kh1 Re8 92.Bg5 ½–½ Stockfish - LCZero TCEC Season 19 – Superfinal, tcec-chess.com, 2020 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 g6 6.Be3 Nc6 7.f3! h5 8.Bc4 Na5 9.Bd3 Bg7 10.Qd2 Bd7 11.0–0–0 Rc8

11...a6 is my preferred choice, analyzed in Chapter 15. 12.Kb1

12.f4 Nc4 13.Bxc4 Rxc4 was covered in the Introductory chapter where White overextended with 14.f5?! Ng4 and Black was already better in Anirudh Daga-Teo Hong Ming, Kcfap Rapid, Singapore 2022. 12...Nc4 13.Bxc4 Rxc4 14.Qd3 My main worry about playing this line is how to deal with 14.h3!

when neither 14...h4 15.Rhe1 Qc7 16.Nde2 0–0 17.b3 Rc6 18.Nb5 Qd8 19.Bd4 nor 14...Qb8 15.g4 b5 16.Nb3 b4 17.Nd5 Nxd5 18.exd5 Qb5 19.Rhe1 and White is ready to play Bg5 or Bd4 give Black the kind of counterplay he hopes for. 14...Qc8!

A strong multi-purpose move, holding the Rc8 and keeping tabs on the Bd7 and the g4–square. 15.Nb3 Ruling out any ...Rxc3 exchange sacrifice ideas. 15...0–0 16.h3 b5!

Leela sacrifices the b-pawn to open up the file, and how it generates subsequent play is impressive. Now it is pointless to play 16...h4 as White can simply go 17.Bg5 and capture the h-pawn or play 17.Bf2.

17.Na5! Seemingly a tempo waster, but Stockfish has already worked out that the cpawn is taboo and instead attacks the Black queenside! 17...Rc7 18.Nxb5 Bxb5 19.Qxb5 Qa8!

Black avoids the queen trade, of course, but more importantly, prepares to send in the other rook to join in the attack. Leela also angles the queen for a big central hit to release the Dragon bishop. 19...Rxc2 is met by 20.Rc1 when suddenly, it's White calling the shots in the queenside sector. 20.Bd4

Black carries on the attack in a similar vein after 20.Qe2 Rb8 21.Bd4 e5 22.Bf2 d5. 20...e5! 21.Bf2 d5 22.Bg3 After 22.exd5 Rb8, Black is totally fine following 23.Qe2 Nxd5 24.Nb3 Rbc8 25.c3 Rxc3 26.Rxd5 Rxb3 27.Rhd1 with even chances. White retains the better game after 22.Bh4! Rb8 (White is also much better after 22...Qc8 23.c3 Rc5 24.Qb4 dxe4 25.Bxf6 Bxf6 26.fxe4 Qc7 27.Nb3) 23.Qe2 d4 24.g4 Rb6 25.Rd3 Nd7 26.gxh5 gxh5 27.Bg5 White intends to play the bishop back to c1 for defense and then concentrate on the g-file; White seems to have the better attacking chances. 22...Rfc8 Now a flurry of trades ensued, and both sides could not gain the advantage. 23.Bxe5 Rxc2 24.exd5 Rxg2 25.Rh2 Rxh2 26.Bxh2 Re8!

Black anticipated Qb7 forcing a queen trade when White would be in good shape to push his d6–runner and advance his queenside majority. 27.Qc6 Qd8! No trade! White doesn't find the time to advance the d-passer further. 28.Nc4 Trust the engines to find the way to a draw after 28.Nb3! Nd7 29.Bc7 Qe7 30.a4 Qe2 31.Rd2 Qe1+ 32.Ka2 Re3 33.Ba5 Ne5 34.Qc8+ Kh7 35.d6 Nxf3 36.d7 Rxb3 37.Kxb3 Qe3+ 38.Kc4 Nxd2+ 39.Bxd2 Qe2+ 40.Kb3 Qd1+ 41.Kc4 Qe2+. 28...Nd7! 29.Qc7 Qe7 30.Rc1

Not 30.Qxa7? when Black wins after 30...Qe2! 31.Qa4 Nb6. 30...Kh7! 31.Bg3 Rb8! 32.Qc6 Rd8 33.Bc7 Rc8 34.Qd6 Qe8 35.Qc6 Qe7!

A draw was agreed here. Further analysis shows that the position is firmly balanced anyway. Some examples: a) 36.a4 Nb8 37.d6 Nxc6 38.dxe7 Nxe7 39.Nd6 Rf8 40.Ne4 and yet again, with equal play. b) 36.a3 Bh6 37.Rc2 Nb8 38.Bxb8 Rxb8 39.Qd6 Qxd6 40.Nxd6 Rd8 41.Nxf7 Rxd5 with equal play. c) 36.Qd6 Qe8 37.Qh2 Bh6 38.Bf4 Bf8 39.Qd2 Nb6 40.Nxb6 Rxc1+ 41.Qxc1 axb6 42.Qc4 Qd7 and again with equality.

½–½

Chapter 17: Thematic Exercises Try the following thematic exercises to get yourself ready to play the Hungarian Dragon to wrap up the work from the previous chapters. When you think you have worked it all out, write down your solution to not cheat yourself. The rule is: if you did not write it down, you did not see it!

Question 1: Black has all his pieces fully mobilized, and they can hardly be better placed. He needs a way to make inroads. What would you suggest?

Question 2: What can Black do to pulverize White?

Question 3: White is getting ready to defend his king, but Black spots a way to stir up trouble elsewhere. What did he find?

Question 4: It seems Black cannot improve his position further, or is that so?

Question 5: Does Black have a way to ward off White's kingside pawn storm?

Question 6: How does Black improve his position here?

Question 7: What's the Black plan here? If you don't know this, you probably just skimmed through the book...

Question 8: My opponent's king is caught in the center. How can I take him down before he consolidates with Qd4?

Question 9: What is the best course of action for Black?

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Question 10: What counter-intuitive move does Black play to seize the advantage?

Chapter 18: Answers to Thematic Exercises 1)

24...d5! A timely central break, allowing the Black minor pieces to be unleashed. Black is already winning. 25.Bxf6 25.Qe3 is a better defense but after 25...Nxe4 26.Nxe4 dxe4 27.Bxg7+ Kxg7 28.Nd4 Rhc5, Black's attack is unabated, and it helps that White cannot close the center because 25.e5 is met by 25...Bf5, snaring the queen. 25...Bxf6 26.Nd4

Bxd4 27.Qxd4 dxe4 28.Nxe4 Rd7 with a huge advantage, GM Namig Guliyev - FM Julien Laurent, Paris ch 2007.

2)

18...Bf5 Target the c2–weakness. 19.Rc1 Rc8 The buildup on the c-file is too strong because after... 20.Bxg7 Black has the in-between move (or Zwischenzug). Instead, after 20.Re2 a4 21.Bxg7 Rxc2 once again wins. 22.Rxc2 Qxc2+ 23.Qxc2 Rxc2 24.Rxc2 axb3 25.Bc3 Bxc2+ 26.Ka1 g5 with an easily winning ending. 20...Rxc2 21.Rxc2 Qxc2+ 22.Qxc2 Rxc2 23.Ka1 ...Bc3 is the strong threat. 23...Kxg7 24.Rxe7 a4 The knight can't escape since there is a back rank threat. 25.Rxb7 axb3 26.axb3 Rxg2 27.b4 Rxh2 28.b5 Rd2 29.Ka2 Rxd5 30.Ka3 h4 31.Ka4 h3 32.Rc7 Bd7 0–1, IM Felix Kuznetsov – FM Vladimir Damjanovic. Titled Tuesday, Chess.com 2019.

3)

19...Bc6! Exploiting the lame e-pawn while targeting the b2–weakness as well. 20.Rb1 Qb7 21.Ng3 h4 22.Nge2 Bxe4 and Black is a pawn to the good and retains attacking chances 0–1 Sergi Subirats Ruiz- Eduard Perales Galindo, Catalunya 2018.

4)

Black played the classical exchange sacrifice 16...Rxc3! 17.bxc3 17.Qxc3? will result in tragedy after 17...Nd5 18.Qd2 Nxe3 19.Qxe3 Bh6 ...which is fitting since the bishop move is the central theme of our book. 17...Nd5 18.Qe2 Rh8 19.Bd2 Qc8 with tremendous pressure on the queenside. It is no surprise that White erred with 20.Bb5? 20.c4 Qc5 21.Rde1! Qxd4 22.c3! Qc5 23.cxd5 Bf6 24.Rhf1 Qxd5 25.c4 Qd4 26.Bxa5 Rg8 is the only way for White to survive, and Black retains attacking chances. 20...a6 21.Bxd7+ Kxd7 22.Rde1 Qc5 Black retains a powerful initiative which persisted for the next 11 moves when White resigned, IM Yochanan Afek – GM Konstantin Landa, Vlissingen 2006.

5)

22...e5! By booting away the centralized knight, Black uses the b5– and c2– squares for his queen and rook, respectively, which suffices to turn the tables on White. 23.Nb3 23.fxe5 dxe5 24.Nf3 Qb5 25.Qh2 Rc2 26.Qxe5 (26.Qxc2 Rxc2 27.Kxc2 hxg4 28.hxg4 Nxg4 is already close to winning for Black) 26...Qb3! 27.Rhf1 Rf2! 28.Rxf2 Qxd1+ 29.Ka2 Rc1 gives Black winning chances. 23...Qa4 23...Qb5 is even stronger. 24.Ka2 exf4 25.Qf2 Rc2 26.Qxf4?? R8c3! 27.Nc1?? White allows a brilliant finish. 27...Qxa3+ 28.Kb1 Qxb2# 0–1 FM Pickanninny - GM Nikita Matinian, Lichess.org 2022.

6)

16...g5! A typical motif for the coming ending in our Hungarian Dragon. Black continues to exert kingside pressure henceforth with 17.Kh1 Qxe3 18.Rxe3 Rc5 19.Rfe1 Nd7 20.g3 h4 White resisted well and held out for forty plus more moves, Lucia Follana Albelda – FM Gaston Manuel Martin Carmona, Linares 2021.

7)

16...Rh5! The rook comes a-swinging via the h-file. 17.Rhf1 Here, the strongest is 17...Rxc3 18.bxc3 Rc5 with an enduring initiative for Black, Marcos Villalba Embid – Jimena Perez Garcia, Salobrena 2021.

8)

17...d5! Of course, we detonate the center! 18.e5 d4! 19.Qxd4 Rd8 0–1, FM Ladislav Havas – Junior Tay, Chess.com 2022.

9)

There is the human way (which relies on White erring under pressure) and the computer way (which relies on the best play by both sides). The human way is 22...Nh5!? This move, with the idea of ...Ng3+ and prising open the hfile, is more likely to induce errors. In the game continuation, White at first countered correctly. 23.c5! White gains counterplay with this powerful pawn sacrifice. However, White missed out on the brutal point of this move. It seems like the point is to clear the a2–g8 diagonal for the queen to use, but Stockfish showed there's a more tricky concept. 23...Rxc5 24.Qg8+?? That's all White has left, and Black takes over. Stockfish showed that this double-hit on the two rooks allowed White to maintain equal chances. Instead, the genius idea 24.Qe3! g5 25.Qxc5 dxc5 26.Nc7+ Kd7 27.Nxa6 Rxa6 gives

mutual chances. 24...Kd7 25.Nxd6 White decided to give up this knight to confuse Black, but the latter prefers to play for mate. 25...Ng3+! 26.hxg3 26.Kg1 Ne2+ 27.Kh1 Qxd6 with one piece to the good is, of course, winning. 26...hxg3+ 27.Kg1 Qb6 28.Qe8+ Kxd6 0–1, IM Aleksandra Maltsevskaya – GM Nikita Matinian Titled Tuesday, Chess.com 2022 On the other hand, the computer method (best play by both sides) is 22...h3! This forces White to weaken his kingside chronically. 23.Rg1 After 23.g3 Black will play ...Kf8, ...Kg7, and reroute the h-rook to h8 and f8 to start applying pressure on the f-pawn (perhaps with ...Nh7–g5 as well), and White is suffering. 23...Kf8 24.Rae1 hxg2+ 24.Rxg2 Kf8 25.Qe3 Kg7 26.Rc1 Qa5 Black is applying pressure across the whole board.

10)

18...e5!! It is quite a pity Black missed the brilliant move. Suddenly, White's central pressure down the e-file is completely nullified. Black can now focus on training his heavy pieces on the c-file and a subsequent queenside pawn advance. White can only sit and watch the outcome. In the game, Black played 18...a5? 19.Bd4! a4 20.Bxg7 axb3? (Black misses the next in-between move by the German GM) 21.Qh6! (Checkmate cannot be prevented) 21...bxc2+ 22.Ka1 f6 23.Bh8 and Black resigned, 1–0. GM Dennis Wagner - FM Gaston Martin Carmona, Titled Tuesday chess.com 2021. 19.h3 White is trying to play for g2–g4. If White tries to keep his central chances on with 19.dxe6?, Black throws in the zwischenzug 19...Qf6! and White gets slaughtered down the long Black

diagonal. 19...h4 Black nixes White's idea immediately. 20.Ka1 Qc7 21.c3 Ra4 and Black has a powerful and winning attack.

About the Author Junior Tay has been a chess author, editor, and coach for the past eight years after being a school teacher for 17 years. He is a former National Rapid and Cairnhill Open Champion and has represented Singapore in international events, including the Asian Team Championships. Tay is the author of The Benko Gambit: Move by Move, Ivanchuk: Move by Move, The Old Indian: Move by Move, and The Schliemann Defence: Move by Move (all Everyman Chess. He has also written articles for magazines such as Chess Life, CHESS (UK) magazines, and the New In Chess Yearbooks.

Other Books by Junior Tay The Benko Gambit: Move by Move (Everyman Chess 2014) Ivanchuk: Move by Move (Everyman Chess 2015) The Old Indian: Move by Move (Everyman Chess 2015) The Schliemann Defence: Move by Move (Everyman Chess 2018)

Other Books in the Opening Hacker Series The Carlsen Variation – a new Anti-Sicilian by Carsten Hansen (2020) Play the Orangutan: 1.b4 by Carsten Hansen (2021) The Basman-Willams Attack by Carsten Hansen (2021) Magnus Carlsen’s Norwegian Rat by Cyrus Lakdawala & Carsten Hansen (2022) Coming Soon: The Tactical 5...e6 Benko by Jesper Dall & Carsten Hansen (2022) The Makogonov Variation by Cyrus Lakdawala & Carsten Hansen (2022) The Damiano Petroff by Kamil Plichta (2022) Italian Stilettos by Junior Tay (2022) The von Hennig-Schara Gambit by Junior Tay (2023)

Other Books from CarstenChess (All titles are written by Carsten Hansen, except where noted otherwise)

Winning Quickly at Chess Series: Catastrophes & Tactics in the Chess Opening - Volume 1: Indian Defenses Catastrophes & Tactics in the Chess Opening - Volume 2: 1.d4 d5 Catastrophes & Tactics in the Chess Opening - Volume 3: Flank Openings Catastrophes & Tactics in the Chess Opening - Volume 4: Dutch, Benonis & d-pawn Specialties Catastrophes & Tactics in the Chess Opening - Volume 5: Anti-Sicilians Catastrophes & Tactics in the Chess Opening - Volume 6: Open Sicilians Catastrophes & Tactics in the Chess Opening - Volume 7: Minor SemiOpen Games Catastrophes & Tactics in the Chess Opening - Volume 8: 1.e4 e5 Catastrophes & Tactics in the Chess Opening - Volume 9: French & CaroKann Catastrophes & Tactics in the Chess Opening – Volume 10: Selected Brilliancies from Volumes 1-9 Entire series also available in Large Print Format

Winning Quickly at Chess Workbook Series:

Catastrophes & Tactics in the Chess Opening Workbook - Volume 1: Indian Defenses Catastrophes & Tactics in the Chess Opening Workbook - Volume 2: 1.d4 d5

Chess Miniatures Series: Winning Quickly at Chess: Miniatures in the Sicilian Najdorf Winning Quickly at Chess: Miniatures in the Queen's Indian Defense: 4 g3 Winning Quickly at Chess: Miniatures in the Ruy Lopez: Main Lines

Daily Chess Training Series: Chess Tactics – Volume 1 (404 puzzles from 2nd half of 2018) Chess Tactics – Volume 2 (404 puzzles from 1st half of 2019) Chess Tactics – Volume 3 (404 puzzles from 2nd half of 2019) Chess Tactics for Improvers – Volume 1 (808 puzzles from 2019)

Specialized Chess Tactics Series: Specialized Chess Opening Tactics: Budapest & Fajarowicz Gambits

Chess Endgame Magic & Tactics Series: The Smyslov Workbook (by Cyrus Lakdawala & Carsten Hansen)

Coming Soon

Chess Basics 101: Chess Fundamentals (by Cyrus Lakdawala & Carsten Hansen) Beyond Chess Basics: Chess Endgame Planning (by Cyrus Lakdawala & Carsten Hansen) Daily Chess Training: Chess Tactics – Volume 4 Daily Chess Training: Chess Tactics for Improvers – Volume 2

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The Hungarian Dragon (1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 g6 6.Be3 Nc6 7.f3 h5!?) is a creative and resourceful way of dealing with White's dangerous Yugoslav Attack to the Sicilian Dragon. With the line's endorsement by the creative Hungarian Grandmaster Richard Rapport in the World Blitz Championships 2021, the line is now receiving the scrutiny of Dragon exponents. In this book, FIDE Candidate Master and ICCF Senior International Master Junior Tay explains this dangerous creature's concepts, tactics, strategic nuances, and theory using model examples and analytical positions.

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