hey...been away awhile doing classwork and studying other openings for my upcoming tournaments. I thought i would post my sicilian dragon games online from here on out..only standard games though..since blitz arent really worth it. Here is one i had today against a 2280 on ICC (i am 2020). It actually ended up being this variation which i presented in this column! And for the first time i played it right and white misjudged his position.

anonymous (2280) vs. dafish298 (2024) --- 2004.10.30 19:02:20
Rated Standard match, initial time: 15 minutes, increment: 0 seconds

Move  anonymous            dafish298      
----  ----------------    ----------------
  1.  e4       (0:06)    c5       (0:01) 
  2.  Nf3      (0:02)    d6       (0:01) 
  3.  d4       (0:01)    cxd4     (0:02) 
  4.  Nxd4     (0:01)    Nf6      (0:01) 
  5.  Nc3      (0:02)    g6       (0:00) 
  6.  Be3      (0:02)    Bg7      (0:01) 
  7.  Bc4      (0:05)    O-O      (0:02) 
  8.  f3       (0:01)    Nc6      (0:02) 
  9.  Qd2      (0:01)    Bd7      (0:05) 
10.  O-O-O    (0:02)    Ne5      (0:08) 
11.  Bb3      (0:01)    Qa5      (0:01) 
12.  Kb1      (0:01)    Rfc8     (0:03) 
13.  g4       (0:02)    b5       (0:11) 
14.  h4       (0:04)    b4       (0:03) 
15.  Nd5      (0:02)    Nxd5     (0:02) 
16.  Bxd5     (0:03)    Nc4      (0:04) 
17.  Bxc4     (0:11)    Rxc4     (0:02) 
18.  h5       (2:13)    Rac8     (0:30) 
19.  hxg6     (0:04)    fxg6     (1:32) 
20.  Nb3      (2:50)    Qc7      (0:55) 
21.  Qh2 ?     (0:30)    Rxc2     (0:31) 
22.  Qxh7+    (0:14)    Kf7!      (3:08) 
23.  Bd4      (0:04)    e5 !      (0:18) 
24.  Rh6  ?    (4:13)    Rxb2+ !!!   (2:00) 
25.  Bxb2     (0:25)    Qc2+     (0:03) 
26.  Ka1      (0:14)    Qxd1+    (0:03) 
      {White resigns} 0-1
Mate in 2 to follow

i dont know..maybe i havent had time to go through your analysis but i can say ive had great success with the line on icc so far let alone if it even gets to the point where i can play b5. I got into an interesting position against a 2400 computer on icc.
1.e4 c5
2.Nf3 d6
3.d4 cxd4
4.Nxd4 Nf6
5.Nc3 g6
6.Be3 Bg7
7.Qd2 0-0
8.f3 Nc6
9.Bc4 Bd7
10.0-0-0 Qa5
11.h4 Rfc8
12.Bb3 Ne5
13.g4 b5
14.h5 b4
15.Nb1!? Nc4
16.BxNc4 RxBc4
17.hxg6 fxg6
18.Na3 Rc7!? I misplayed this, should have played Rcc8
19.Nb3 Qa6
20.Qxb4 Qe2
21.Qd2 Qxf3
22.g5 Ne8
23.Qd5+ e6
24.QxRa8 QxBe3+
25.Kb1 Qxg5
1/2 1/2
the draw was only agreed because we were each in time trouble...i misplayed alot of moves but it shows how moves like Nb1 hurt whites position and punish him for not playing Kb1. Obviously i should have played Rcc8 instead of Rc7 to eliminate the threat of QxRa8. I think i posted all the moves in the right order lol..i did it from memory so sorry if it isnt dont go analyzing the game it was a g/15 so not much to look at

I probably shouldn't spend any more time on this line, and instead start going about the business of systematically learning the Chinese dragon lines, but I can’t resist…

Let's start with what I think is White's best:

14.h5 b4
15.Nd5 Nxd5
16.exd5 Nc4
17.Qf2!? Nxe3
18.Qxe3 Qc5!

I agree that this is something of an improvement for Black, and a line I had not specifically looked at.

19.hxg6 hxg6
20.Qxe7 Rc7
21.Qe4 Re8

This is much stronger.  Everyone knows that the queen is going nowhere on h4.  Re8 seems critical; maybe other moves are as good.

22. Ne6! Qb6

This is the thematic move in these lines, and must always be considered.  The knight is invulnerable, and makes it difficult for Black to coordinate his pieces.        I think Qb6 is forced, otherwise, White can play Qd3 and black already looked busted.  Black needs to stay on the a7-g1 diagonal so as to threaten Qe3+ and hope to get the queens off, i.e. now 23.Qd3? fxe6 24.Qxg6 Qe3+ 25.Kb1 Qe5 and black is much better.

The only alternative is then 22…Qf2 23.Qxb4 fxe6 24.dxe6 and you can check that the tactics work out for white.  (I haven’t, but Fritz seems pleased).  White has all sorts of mate threats.  Ignoring the knight doesn’t help; if white can take on g7 everything is over.

23. f4

The position is better for White.  I’m not sure it pays to spend the time here to analyze this out to mate, because I just don’t see how Black will continue to generate counterplay.  There is certainly no time for pushing the a-pawn.

If you think Black can survive, I'd like to see the continuation.

Now, let’s look at some other lines.

I should point out that after
14.h5 b4
15.Nd5 Nxd5
16.exd5 Nc4
17.Bxc4!? Rxc4
18.hxg6 Qxa2
19.gxf7+ Kxf7 (19…Kf8 is met strongly by 20.Qd3!)
20.Qd3

The position is very messy, and it is far from clear that Black is ok.  This is actually, with the Qf2 line, one of the most critical lines in the entire line.  20…h6 21.Rxh6, for example, is a possible continuation. Then Bxh6 22.Bxh6 Rh8 23.g5 Ke8 is basically forced and now 24.Nb3 is a testing continuation.  I certainly can’t judge the position at a glance.

On the positive side, my old analysis convinced me that black was OK after Nce2.  Since it is favored by Kudrin (he has played it, remarkably, at least twice), one has to wonder, though.  His wins, however, both featured some over-ambitious play by black.  I don’t think that this line is necessarily much better for white, but certainly deserves closer scrutiny.  Kudrin may be playing this way simply because it is solid for White, and even if it isn't the most critical continuation, it allows him to defeat inferior opponents with little risk.

Finally, I am not so sure that your main line is as solid as you believe.  Black has a lot of alternatives, though, and while there may be ways of refuting them all(!), I would agree that Black has a very playable game.

15. Nd5 Nxd5
16.Bxd5 Nc4
17.BxNc4 Rxc4
18.Kb1 Rac8

Black has an alternative here, in 18…Qe5.  I think it is safer.

19.hxg6 fxg6
20.Qh2 h6

What else?  Now 21.Rd2 and Nb3 are alternatives, but Rd2 seems stronger since it carries the immediate threat of Bxh6 and keeps the knight around in case it wants to go to f5.  I stopped my analysis here when I last looked.

I’m not sure I want to look at this any more until I have a verdict on the Qf2 lines, as both 21.Rd2 g5!? And 21…Ba4 seem promising enough for Black, and earlier deviations are also potentially strong, or at least playable.

Well, I think this is what I had judged to be most critical.  In my opinion, we should focus on Qf2 first, though, as I really do believe that to be the most dangerous.

And watch out for Ne6!  It really is very dangerous, and the computers tend to underestimate it.

When I analyzed this system previously, I was always fascinated by 15. Nce2 instead of Nd5. I don't have a great deal of analysis on it at the moment because my computer w/ Fritz is on the fritz    and I can't access my analysis (though I think there was some analysis under " ..Qa5 busted?") , but I was very impressed with GM Sergei Kudrin's game against William Aramil at the 2002 Chicago Open. The game went 15. Nce2 Nc4 16. Bxc4 Rxc4 17. Kb1 Rac8 18. hxg6 fxg6 19. Nf4 Rxd4 20. Bxd4 e5 21. g5 Ne8 22. Qh2! exf4 23. Qxh7+ Kf7 24. Bxg7 Nxg7 25. Rxd6 Be6 26. Rxe6 1-0 While black's play may not have been 100% accurate (I  analyzed this game previously), I seem to recall that even with improvements white's attack was just too hot to handle.

Sorry - I meant 19...h/fxg6, not 18...h/fxg6. Still, Scholar's analysis seems to make this a moot point anyway.

Topic: Qa5 Dragon busted? deals with this move, which apparently has been considered by several people independently as a possible alternative (myself included).  I ultimately concluded that White had a very good game if he played precisely; perhaps some of the analysis in that old thread with interest you, and when I get the chance, I'll see if the line that you posted deviated early enough to offer black new chances.

I don't agree with your assessment of the position after the sequence 14. h5 b4 15. Nd5 Nxd5 16. Bxd5 Nc4 17. Nxc4 Rxc4 18. Kb1 Rac8 - why can White not simply take on g6? Black's options are suddenly very limited here.

18...hxg6 loses to 20. b3 Rc5 21. Bh6 [facilitated by White's last move] Bh8 (anything else will be quickly defeated by Qh2 and moving the bishop) 22. Bf8! Rxf8 23. Rxh8+! Kxh8 24. Qh6+ Kg8 25. Rh1 +-.  This is a standard trap, although it comes up more often in the 9. 0-0-0 lines, where an h-pawn recapture is standard.

Oh, and Fritz 6 doesn't look at it for several hours at least.

So, after 19...fxg6, why can't White play 20. Qh2, as this seems to turn up the pressure on Black's kingside too much?

It's a decent idea, but the b-pawn just gets in the way on b4.  Furthermore, in the Dragon one of the main points of an exchange sac on c3 is to stop White's Nd5, removing a key Black defender; why try and force him to play this, which he already wants to play, if you don't have to?