Do people still play the dragon?

Do people still play the dragon?

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c

Joined
02 Feb 06
Moves
8557
11 Apr 07

Originally posted by !~TONY~!
I just play the main line Soltis Variation with all the ..h5 business. I think that the time wasted by White to put his bishop on the a2-g8 diagonal doesn't compensate for it's effectiveness on this square. The irony is that it almost always gets exchanged off for a knight that lands on c4. I think the strongest line for White in the whole Yugoslav complex ...[text shortened]... .Nxc3!?, but the more popular and accepted move is 12..e5, when White of course plays 13. Bc5.
I don't know if I should even risk it...but, I think you're wrong! *silence* 😛

Seriously though, I don't see too much wrong with the 12.Nxc3!? pawn gambit lines against 9.O-O-O (I'd much rather play that than lines where white exchanges everything off with a plus pawn). On the other hand the 12.Kb1 lines seem more dangerous for black right now. But not the line RahimK played against me, instead the 17.Nd5! line which seems to be a major pain in the ass. The real question around that move seems to be though, how often do you actually see it? And I know that between you and me combined we've seen it exactly *0* times.

A

Joined
02 Feb 07
Moves
394
11 Apr 07

Previous posts on this thread have discussed 9.Bc4 and 9.O-O-O.
I was wondering what is present theory regarding 9.g4.

r
Orc slayer

Gondor

Joined
20 Jan 06
Moves
15582
12 Apr 07

Originally posted by cmsMaster
I don't know if I should even risk it...but, I think you're wrong! *silence* 😛

Seriously though, I don't see too much wrong with the 12.Nxc3!? pawn gambit lines against 9.O-O-O (I'd much rather play that than lines where white exchanges everything off with a plus pawn). On the other hand the 12.Kb1 lines seem more dangerous for black right now. But ...[text shortened]... ually see it? And I know that between you and me combined we've seen it exactly *0* times.
what line are you talking about cmsMaster when you say 17. Nd5!

c

Joined
02 Feb 06
Moves
8557
12 Apr 07

Originally posted by rotk
what line are you talking about cmsMaster when you say 17. Nd5!
Everything Rahim and I played, except that replace his 17th move with 17.Nd5.

1...c5!

Your Kingside

Joined
28 Sep 01
Moves
40665
12 Apr 07

Yeah I tend to agree with CmsMaster. All the lines in the 9. Bc4 Yugoslav where White heads down the mainlines and inserts Kb1 in at move 12 or 14 are good attempts for White to gain the advantage as well. This move is almost always helpful for white, removing his king from the c-file, the c1-h6 diagonal, and covering the important squares a2 and a1 on the queenside. It also turns out that the best Black has is to also wait with ..Re8!? In a sense, Black always waits to counterattack and to adapt a plan that reacts to what White does, so Kb1 forces Black to find a move that just waits. It turns out that these ..Re8!? ideas are probably fine. If I recall I had quite a battle against David Tebb in these positions, but I threw away a great position after a dubious but complicated exchange sac. 🙁

c

Joined
02 Feb 06
Moves
8557
13 Apr 07
2 edits

Originally posted by !~TONY~!
Yeah I tend to agree with CmsMaster. All the lines in the 9. Bc4 Yugoslav where White heads down the mainlines and inserts Kb1 in at move 12 or 14 are good attempts for White to gain the advantage as well. This move is almost always helpful for white, removing his king from the c-file, the c1-h6 diagonal, and covering the important squares a2 and a1 on the ...[text shortened]... se positions, but I threw away a great position after a dubious but complicated exchange sac. 🙁
I remember that game, very tough....

BTW, I order Play the Queen's Gambit on Chessbase CD format yesterday...now I just wait.