MNb wrote on 05/18/20 at 07:33:01:


Playing just one opening shortens your knowledge of positions. Unfortunately it is the way it is. Many many years ago I was playing the Najdorf. But it was The Dragon that really became my main defense against 1.e4. And it has always been like that. With wins, draws and loses whether it was blitz or tournament games. I combined it with the King's Indian Defense, Some Indo Benoni and even Benko structures. There has been a short time when I played Some Tartakower of the QGD. Also Semi-Slav Systems. But the KID has always been my main Defense as well as the Dragon. There was a time when I have tried 1.e4 e5 with black. I knew what to play. But I am a Sicilian player anyway. Always I came back to that. In some correspondence I have played Najdorf and Dragon. It has been a little while because I stopped playing it. Also for sometime I combined KID with Gruenfeld. Opening theory has developed so much that what it was good yesterday might not be good today. I found a lot of "nonsense chess" that today is played. Systems in which someone plays g4 or h4 or g5 or h5. So basically I had to learn how to counterpunch clowns that think that they are going to kill you right from move one.
I myself have spent hundreds of hours analyzing many Anti-Sicilians and critical lines of the Dragon. I am not finished. And I am still working on them. But trust me if I tell you that there is no better antidote that your own work. Especially when you play something that NOBODY recommends. I have pulled way too many people out of their books and crushed them with secondary lines. Especially in Anti Sicilians. Just to say I have put out of business The Morra, the Alapin, the Wing Gambit, and so on. I do not trust no GM course 100%. I have seen that GMs suggest you to play different things. But there is no deep analysis of those positions.
Honestly it is better to know well one defensive system against 1.e4 and another one against 1.d4. In case of the Dragon you have to know how to properly play it. Memory has a big role.
Also when you play positions you have to know the structures derived from them and see if you feel comfortable. Sometimes you have to do hard work in order to find the inner truth of them. Many get disappointed when they end up crushed. But it is because they didn't work hard enough to know the depths of those systems.
When Bragesjo mentions Negi's Books is because he finds tricks that favor black, But obviously one is not going to trust the books blindfolded. I myself don't. I have found many errors and bad advices. It's been said that because someone is a GM and writes a book " everybody has to believe it".
Also I forgot to mention there has been a time when I played French with mixed results. The same thing with the Budapest Gambit. But throughout my life. The KID and the Dragon have always been my main weapons. And I still work on them for improvements.

Also I uploaded a small gift from me.

bragesjo wrote on 05/18/20 at 18:39:37:



Slight correction, I actually met 10 h4 without noticing it in the thematial event and I played h5 and white played a later Nxc6 after I played Rc8 and the game became a draw later.

1. What do you mean with the Parma Variation?
The line has been called Parma variation in in every Dragon book I own, But I have no idea why the varaiation got that name or who played are suggested it first or who the players are. For example I have read that Maroczy suggested c4  but never played Maroczy Bind himself.

2. Have you given up on the ...e6 Sicilian, except perhaps in corr. chess (btw I can't remember whether you played the Kan, the Paulsen or the Taimanov)?
To make long story short I did not like developments in Dragon proper in 9 several 0-0-0 lines so I swiched in to the oppostte of the Dragon, the Caro Kann. However I missed the exitment and then the book "The most flexbile Sicilian got I changed option to Taimanov but I never was complety happy with blacks position in the g3 system , my old line for white since over a decade. Also suddenly the Be3 Qf3 system appered from nowhere so I changed opening into French with the idea to remove some, but not all, d-pawn specials and so I could play 1 e6 vs 1 d4 as well. I also started to play Corr chess during that time.  However in over 75% of my gams I met exchange variation so I looked for other defences and in order to prepare for the event this thread was about I bought a couple of accelerated Dragon books where I like Panjawanis book since the repertouar works the thematical events move order and to my surprise I found the Ng4 Qxg4 Nxd4 Qd1 e5 variation playable and the book also had a practial line vs Morra gambit and an intersting line vs c3 sicilian and since accelerted is a g6 opening I can play g6 setups vs some anti siclian move orders without getting move ordered in an other sicilian variation.

3. Have you considered replacing the Maroczy Bind with the Kalashnikov or do you prefer to avoid 3.Bb5?
I prefere to avoid 3 Bb5. The reason are that typical clubplayers  rarely enters open Sicilian unless rated over 2100 elo so I am willing to play some lines that might be slightly better for the opponnet to play just in case I play vs some stronger players.

4. Which line do you think most promising against the Maroczy Bind?
Is a matter of taste black has actually several reasonalbe systems. I play Ng4 Qxg4 Nxd4 Qd1 e5 system since it is the most provactive line. But to make it clear I would never play it in a rated Corr game but I was willing to play in thematical event and I have played in in  several over the board games as well with mixed results. In Corr games I play an anti computer like in French, Winaver with b6 since computers are cluesless in the opening and thinks that Qg4 wins by force. Vs d4 I usually play Bogo Indian and nobody ever allows the Nimzo Indian. I have also tried Ragozin in a few games and I also started play Ragozin in over the board games as main defence since I found none e6 commited setups more effective vs something clubplayers usually plays in over the board games like Colle or London.

kylemeister wrote on 06/14/17 at 20:57:44:


This is what a google search brought up re: the Parma Variation, from an older thread.

edit: 1 e4 c5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 d4 cxd4 4 Nxd4 g6 5 Nc3 Bg7 6 Be3 Nf6 7 Bc4 0-0 8 Bb3 d6 9 f3 Bd7 10 Qd2 Nxd4 11 Bxd4 b5

A bit off topic but I have been starting to play online chess that is no corr chess again for the first time in over 10 years. I play at Lichess since Swedish clubs has started two unofficial Swedish Chess Team competions there, one 3+0 blitz (not realy rated  blitz according to FIDE standard since FIDE rules says more than 3 minutes and less than 10 minutes per player based on 60 moves if increment is used) and one rapid. 
The team competitions are separated from each other and have differnet organzers and have different teams in corresponding divisions. Both competitions have different division where teams can go up or down a division and each team consist of players from the same club. My club currently plays in the highest division in rapid but one of the lower in blitz. We have also played our club championship in Blitz Arena at Lichess.

I have started to play Accelerated Dragon as my main defence vs 1 e4 in using the thematical move order above above, both in team competion and also in other online games and its appears to be a very practial opening even if some lines may be theortical better for white. And I play Parma variation vs Bc4 yugoslav. I have also started to try out new openings with the black pieces too like Ragozin Defence. However I don't use accelerated Dragon as main defence in corr games.