XChess1971 wrote on 09/27/16 at 02:42:51:

Well, yeah, but looking suspicious and being bad are not synonymous. Any suggestion to improve White's play?


XChess1971 wrote on 09/27/16 at 02:42:51:

I wouldn't call the line 12.Ndb5 Nxb3 13.axb3 d5 14.exd5 Bxb5 15.Nxb5 Qxd5 16.c4 very interesting - just equal. 12.Nde2 Nxb3 13.axb3 Be6 and now 14.O-O-O looks good for White.

XChess1971 wrote on 09/27/16 at 02:42:51:

Imo it's the only line that might be playable for Black. Bragesjo's objection that White's king only becomes safer remains valid.

As a member of ICCF I have direct access; the game is in my database.

De la Calle,I (2108) - Moreno,A (2259) [B77]
XIV Campeonato Nacional-Final ICCF, 01.06.2007



½-½

Frankly I don't see why this should be such a big problem. In another game - a low level one - White couldn't win despite rated 350 points higher:


Isakov,Y (2170) - Petrov,A (1754) [B77]
Vorkuta RUS, Komi Ch 2013 Vorkuta RUS (7.107), 22.02.2013


½-½

Like I already wrote I think 11.h4 harder to meet.
Moreover this is not the pure Chinese Dragon. I'm pretty sure Bragesjo played it only after White already had castled (11.O-O-O).

Because of the transposition via the Accelerated Dragon 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Nc3 g6 4.d4 cxd4 5.Nxd4 Bg7 6.Be3 Nf6 7.Bc4 O-O 8.Bb3 d6 9.f3 Bd7 10.Qd2 I too have wondered if Black can transpose to the Chinese Dragon with Na5, indeed because of 11.O-O-O Rb8.
11.h4 Nxb3 doesn't look good to me. White scores 74%; Black immediately makes his/her intention clear. Better is 11.h4 h5 and only after 12.O-O-O playing Nxb3, but Bragesjo's objection remains valid: White's queenside is actually reinforced, not weakened. But it might be playable as Lu Shang Lei-Bologan, Dubai 2014, can be improved upon.

Later addition: in the link provided by AJZ above TopNotch (who knows a thing or two about the Dragon as well) made another suggestion: 11.h4 h5 12.O-O-O Rc8. Black's results after 13.g4 re horrendous thus far.

bragesjo wrote on 07/02/16 at 10:19:10:

Bragesjo, could you tell us which concrete line that is? Like the previous time a short answer and eventually an important game suffices.
See, I think some lines of the Forintos Variation 10...Nxd4 11.Bxd4 b5 a bit stale, especially 12.a3 a5 13.Nd5 and 12.a4 b4 13.Nd5. It will be hard for Black to create winning chances.

bragesjo wrote on 07/02/16 at 10:19:10:


Against 10.Bb3 there is 10...Na5 and now:
11.0-0-0 Rb8 leads to the Chinese Dragon
while against
11.h4 good is immediate 11...Nxb3:
12. Nxb3 is harmless: Black plays ...b5&...a5 attack
better is 12.axb3 when I think Black should play 12...h5 first and if white goes 13.0-0-0 than ...a5 gives counterplay on the a file.
Finally 12.cxb3 allows 12...Qa5 13.0-0-0 Rfc8 14.Kb1 b5 with counterplay.

After 10.h4 I've always played 10...h5, because I have been happy about playing the Soltis. I checked 10...Rb8 but wasn't impressed at all.

There is a thread here:
http://www.chesspub.com/cgi-bin/chess/YaBB.pl?num=1098554784

and article by Stefan Bücker in Over the Horizons:
https://web.archive.org/web/20140626165932/http://www.chesscafe.com/archives/pas... the Horizons (it's kaiss37 file - game 2)

I am a chinese dragon player ..i want to know how to react if white plays 10.h4 instead of triple O on the 10th move of the yugoslav attack...any suggestions please?