Visigoth wrote on 03/03/09 at 15:13:18:


I don't think you need to defer to my opinion.  Hopefully from what we and others have written the players that will benefit from the book will be the ones who decide to purchase it.  I rarely play the Dragon these days but find it interesting enough to buy most of the material put out on it.  I'm definitely going to purchase Martin's Dragon dvd.

@halfacreek: After 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 d6 6.Bc4 you cannot easy go for the Dragon with 6...g6 because of 7.Nxc6 bxc6 8.e5! Now 8...dxe5?? is a blunder - 9.Bxf7. But the alternatives aren't good at all...

Visigoth wrote on 02/27/09 at 14:39:09:


I certainly agree that the book contained some good material but I think that even in a "Starting Out" book all major variations should be presented.  Certainly other "Starting Out" book have been able to do that including some on equally complicated openings.  I do really like some of Martin's books and DVD's.  I just feel that this wasn't one of his better efforts.

I have it in e-book form, and I have enjoyed it. I think it has improved my play, and I learned about some lines that I wasn't previously familiar with. It's a good start to learning the Dragon.

Greetings,

Given that the Dragon is such a theoretical opening, I was expecting him to do something similar to IM John Cox's Starting Out: Sicilian Sveshnikov - in other words, 300+ pages for someone discovering/exploring the Dragon for the first time.

Even though it's "only" a Starting Out book, that's what's needed to do it justice. A similar argument can be used for the Najdorf.

Kindest regards,

Dragan Glas

A very good book and even useful for low level players like myself. I've actually sent some copies to friends. It gives good advice, for example, on what to aim for in the Bc4 variation of the Yugoslav attack and what to avoid (the old NxN to drag Queen off of the same diagonal as white's dark squared bishop). One is still hard pressed in this line but one is pointed down the more promising paths. I do wish some of these "Starting Out" books dealt with some 'early aggression' lines that one encounters, like 2. Bc4  or 3. Bc4  which seems to preclude the Dragon altogether. I've noodled it out for myself---BUT it might be helpful to be pointed down those other paths. One book that DID do that is Neil McDonald's "Starting Out: The Dutch"  which guides one through some of the annoying gambits that may mean one must choose the Leningrad rather than the Stonewall. I suppose lower level players should focus on tactics and endgame stuff, but I actually enjoy looking at opening theory and replaying GM games.

  Thank you so far   

  I think I will buy this book.

  While I agree with the last post about Chris Ward it is good to have another view.

  Ken

The author, IM Martin, explains some of the newer ideas in the dragon, like Topalov's variation.  Another example is delayed castling against one of the main lines in the Yugoslav attack, 9.000, and the transpositional wrinkles introduced by doing that.  I also enjoyed the sections on the Classical Dragon, as well as Levenfish Attack, 6.f4. I haven't examined the sections on the Soltis Variation, since I don't play it.

I believe Martin really is objective about the dragon, and at the same time 'gets it' when it comes to practical play. I'm impressed with how many newer, significant ideas, he came up with.  Also, the book does a good job explaining what move orders avoid certain variations that are currently considered critical.

A teacher, and very strong IM, played the white side of the line in the book recommended for white against the ...Qa5 variation of the Yugoslav attack and busted me right out of the opening over a year ago in a training game.  So it almost feels like Martin's now well circulated answer to ...Qa5 (which was 'pre-released') was 'insider information' even before it's pre-release and accepted by professionals as a way to get very good chances for white. At least that was the impression I was left with. I'm still struggling to find a counter to this 'antidote'.  On a side note, the debate on this forum regarding this 'antidote' has focused on the alternative 14.h4, but hardly touches on 14.Rhe1, which seems very strong. Love to hear from anyone with comments or suggested improvements for black or to show me if I missed it on this forum. The book analyzes both moves, which arise after 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cd 4.Nd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 g6 6.Be3 Bg7 7.f3 Nc6 8.Qd2 Bd7(or 8...00 9.Bc4 Bd7) 9.Bc4 00 10.000 Qa5 11.Bb3 Rfc8 12.Kb1 Ne5 13.Bg5 Rc5. 

Been playing the dragon exclusively since 1999 and love it.  My rating has been bouncing between 1900 and 2000 for the last couple years.  I have most dragon books.