Glenn Snow wrote on 03/30/13 at 10:23:32:


Well, in the English case, ...f6 can come after a3 and b4; in the (unreversed) Classical Dragon, f3 by White could lead to Black quickly playing ...d5.  An idea of Euwe's was 6. Be2 Bg7 7. 0-0 Nc6 8. Nb3 0-0 9. f3.  In the 1970s, David Levy wrote in his Dragon book that Black gets good play by 9...Be6 10. Nd5 Bxd5 11. ed Nb4, meeting c4 or Bc4 with ...b5.

I actually play the Be2 Be3 yugoslav like variation from time to time with both sides. This line is both in Dangeroeus Weapons: Sicilian book and also in a chessbase magazine dvd video.

I think that quick d5 is slightly better for white in the takes both rooks line. Had the pawn been at f3 I would have said the opposette.

In my humble opinion the most critical line is Ng4 line when Bxg4 Bxg4 f3 Be6 leeds to positon with about equal chanses.

I'm not sure if it's considered very good today, but I remember seeing the variation 6.Be3 Bg7 7.Be2 0-0 8.Qd2!? followed by 0-0-0, h4 etc. getting some favourable coverage (including a couple of articles by Chris Ward at this site).  It's a hybrid of the Classical and the Yugoslav Attack.

How about 9. 0-0-0 yugoslav? Not as theory-heavy, and very positional (compared to 9. Bc4, where the main line pretty much runs Kb1, pawn storm, exchange sacrifice, small mistake, mate!)

btw, perhaps the most recent encounter in that line (it was played today) ...


[Event "Schack-SM 2012"]
[Site "Falun"]
[Date ""]
[Round "5"]
[White "Jonny Hector"]
[Black "Axel Smith"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[Board "4"]
[Input "DGT4459"]
[Owner "Swedish Chess Federation"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 g6 6. Be3 Bg7 7. f3 Nc6 8. Qd2
O-O 9. g4 Nxd4 10. Bxd4 Be6 11. Nd5 Bxd5 12. exd5 Qc7 13. h4 Rac8 14. Rh2 e5
15. dxe6 fxe6 16. O-O-O Nd5 17. Bxg7 Qxg7 18. Re1 Rxf3 19. Bg2 Rf7 20. Bxd5
exd5 21. Qxd5 Qf6 22. h5 Qf4+ 23. Rd2 Rc5 24. Qxd6 Qxd6 25. Rxd6 gxh5 26. gxh5
Rxh5 27. b4 Rg5 28. Rd8+ Kg7 29. Ree8 Kh6 30. Kb2 Rc7 31. Re6+ Rg6 32. Re2 Kg7
33. Rd5 h6 34. Red2 Kh7 35. Rh2 Kg7 36. a3 Rg5 37. Rd6 Rg6 38. Rd3 Rb6 39. Kb3
a5 40. c4 axb4 41. axb4 Rf6 42. Rh4 Rcf7 43. Rdd4 Rf5 44. c5 h5 45. Ka4 Kg6 46.
Rh1 Rf4 47. Rg1+ Kh6 48. Rd6+ R4f6 49. Rf1 Kg6 50. Rg1+ Kh6 51. Rd8 Rf8 52. Rd2
b6 53. cxb6 Rxb6 54. b5 Rg6 55. Rxg6+ Kxg6 56. Rg2+ Kh6 57. b6 h4 58. Kb5 Kh5
59. b7 h3 60. Rg7 Kh4 61. Rf7 Rb8 62. Kb6 h2 63. Ka7 Rxb7+ 64. Rxb7 Kh3 65.
Rh7+ Kg2 66. Rxh2+ Kxh2 1/2-1/2

I don't know that there is a "best" non-Yugoslav line; of course there are various decent lines which could appeal to different tastes.  One thing I would mention is stuff with Bc4 plus 0-0; you could, for example, look at the discussion of that in Vlastimil Jansa's nice book Dynamics of Chess Strategy.  I also seem to recall Mikhail Golubev once writing that he thought that approach was a decent try for an edge, and he was surprised that it wasn't seen more often. 

What is the best line against the dragon that is not the Yugoslav Line. I am an amateur player rated 2049, so I do not have the time to study massive amounts of theory on something so specific. 

A friend of mine recommended the levenfish variation. What are your thoughts on that and your suggestions on other lines?