In chess , the Dragon Variation is one of the main lines of the Sicilian Defence and begins with the moves:
41-621: B79 or B-79 may refer to: Bundesstraße 79 , a German road Sicilian Defense, Dragon Variation , according to the Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings Silver City Highway , in New South Wales, Australia, designated B79 Tamworth in the list of postal districts in the United Kingdom [REDACTED] Topics referred to by the same term This disambiguation page lists articles associated with
82-405: A passed pawn . Exchanges of pawns or other pieces are often made or avoided to prevent such deficiencies or to obtain a pawn structure advantage. If an opponent moves a pawn into a position diagonally adjacent to a player's pawn, effectively offering an exchange of pawns, sometimes it is possible to avoid a disadvantageous pawn exchange by moving the attacked pawn directly forward instead of taking
123-403: A queen is valued at about 9. Since the king is indispensable, it has infinite value. Pieces, especially as distinguished by their value, are often referred to collectively as material in chess. These values are not absolute because the usefulness of a piece also depends on its position in a particular game, commonly in a way hard to quantify. For example, an advanced passed pawn with
164-655: A sacrifice is the deliberate giving up of a piece by a player, allowing or forcing an opponent to capture the piece or exchange it for a lower value piece. In a desperado situation, a trapped piece which would inevitably be lost can sometimes be exchanged for another piece, even if it has lower value, in order to minimize net material loss for the player having the inevitably lost piece. Exchanges of chess pieces are commonly involved in chess tactics and strategy. Exchanges can appear in connection with practically any kind of attacking or defensive chess tactic or combination of tactics. Such tactics can involve checkmating
205-584: A Yugoslav-style attack is still playable after both 6.Be2 g6 or 6.f4 g6. Some famous exponents of the Dragon are Veselin Topalov , Andrew Soltis , Jonathan Mestel , Chris Ward , Sergei Tiviakov , Alexei Fedorov , Mikhail Golubev , the late Tony Miles and Eduard Gufeld . Garry Kasparov used the Dragon with success as a surprise weapon against world title challenger Viswanathan Anand in 1995 but did not use it subsequently. The Dragon saw its popularity declining in
246-541: A bishop to have slightly more value than a knight, especially in open positions, or consider that a knight is better than a bishop in closed positions, and may make or avoid exchanges accordingly. Exchanges may be made to clear out pieces to be relieved from cramped situations or incur other positional advantages or avoid positional disadvantages. Pawn structure is commonly important in positional chess. Deficiencies in pawn structure can include having doubled pawns or isolated pawns . A positional advantage can be having
287-407: A game. The exchange of a rook for bishop or knight is an uneven exchange because a rook is generally more valuable than a bishop or knight . A minor exchange is a less commonly used term which refers to the exchange of a bishop for a knight. A player's objective in a chess game is to checkmate the opponent's king and/or to avoid checkmate of his own king. In this ultimate sense,
328-520: A good probability of promotion is commonly more valuable in a particular situation than a backward or isolated pawn that is not a passed pawn. A forced exchange is an exchange in a position where one of the players is required to initiate or undergo an exchange, either because no alternative play is allowed by chess rules or because the consequence of not making the exchange would be unacceptably detrimental to that player's game. Many exchanges can be offered, but they are not forced. In such cases,
369-407: A king, rook, and bishop or knight may try to exchange rooks leading to a draw because a king and lone bishop or knight cannot force checkmate. Often an exchange or a series of them are used to set up a tactic. Often an attacking player initiates an attack by making the first capture in a series of exchanges leading to a tactical trap; the opponent recaptures to avoid material loss but can fall prey to
410-453: A pair of very potent bishops which, together with the queen on c7, will cause trouble for the White king. Better (and the main line) is 12. Bd4 e5 13. Bc5 Be6!! Capturing the exchange after 14. Bxf8? relinquishes too much control of the dark squares after 14...Qxf8. Instead, the theory continues 14. Ne4 Re8 with a complex positional battle ahead. The purpose of 9.Bc4 is to prevent Black from playing
451-507: A queen sacrifice - Golubev credits "J. Diaz" and himself with discovering it independently in 1996: 9.0-0-0 d5!? 10.Kb1!? Nxd4 11.e5! Nf5! 12.exf6 Bxf6 13.Nxd5 Qxd5! 14.Qxd5 Nxe3 15.Qd3 Nxd1 16.Qxd1 Be6!, where Black has almost sufficient compensation for the queen. Instead of 10. Kb1!?, the main line continues 10. exd5 Nxd5 11. Nxc6 bxc6. While the pawn on d5 appears to be hanging, the seemingly obvious 12. Nxd5? runs into 12...cxd5 13. Qxd5 Qc7! when 14. Qxa8 Bf5 15. Qxf8+ Kxf8 leaves Black with
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#1733085242069492-461: A specific square is defended by one or more of his other pieces. This typically means that if an opponent's piece captures the defended piece, the capturing piece would be subject to recapture by a defending piece ( defender ). An opponent's piece in a position to capture a given piece could be considered an attacking piece ( attacker ). Positions could develop where a player's piece on a square has one or more attackers and one or more defenders. This
533-399: A time of difficulty in the 9...d5 line facing a brilliant idea by Ivanchuk which seemed to give White the advantage. Some Black players began experimenting with 9...Bd7 and 9...Nxd4. A brilliancy found for White one day is soon enough overturned by some new resource for Black. A case in point is the following line where the evaluation of a major line was turned upside down overnight because of
574-406: Is a common way in which exchanges could occur, although there are other ways also. In such positions, a player with the attacking piece(s) may decide whether it is worthwhile for him to initiate a capture likely to result in recapture, likely decided by the value of the pieces to be taken in the ensuing exchange. Pinned pieces often cannot be counted on being attackers or defenders. In chess,
615-401: Is a series of closely related moves, typically sequential, in which the two players capture each other's pieces. Any type of pieces except the kings may possibly be exchanged, i.e. captured in an exchange, although a king can capture an opponent's piece. Either the player of the white or the black pieces may make the first capture of the other player's piece in an exchange, followed by
656-408: Is an exchange sacrifice on c3 by Black to break up White's queenside pawns, and sacrifices to open up the long diagonal for Black's bishop on g7 are also common. An example of both ideas is the line 9.Bc4 Bd7 10.0-0-0 Rc8 11.Bb3 Ne5 12.h4 Nc4 13.Bxc4 Rxc4 14.h5 Nxh5 15.g4 Nf6 16.Bh6 Nxe4! 17.Qe3 Rxc3!. The Soltis Variation was the main line of the Dragon up until the late 1990s. Garry Kasparov played
697-442: Is considered mandatory, as after 6...Bg7 7.e5 Nh5 8.Bb5+ Bd7 9.Qe2 Bxb5 10.Qxb5+ Nd7 11.Nf3 dxe5 12.fxe5 a6 13.Qe2 Qb6 14.Bd2 Qe6 15.0-0-0 Nxe5 16.Rhe1 White has some initiative. The Harrington–Glek Variation is another option for White. Named for Grandmaster Igor Glek , who has devoted considerable effort evaluating the resulting positions for White. 6.Be3 Bg7 7.Be2 0-0 8.Qd2!? GM John Emms wrote, "Although it's difficult to beat
738-504: Is equal in a certain situation, some players may consider that having two bishops, which can cover both dark and light squares, is advantageous over having just one bishop which can cover only half the squares, and so may exchange or avoid exchange to obtain or maintain such an advantage. A player may decide to take an opponent's well-posted or well- developed pieces in exchange for undeveloped, poorly developed, immobile, or otherwise poorly posted pieces of his/her own. Some may consider
779-610: The Chinese Dragon. The Classical Variation, 6.Be2, is the oldest White response to the Dragon. It is the second most common White response behind the Yugoslav Attack. After 6...Bg7, White has two main continuations: The Levenfish Attack, 6.f4, is named after Russian GM Grigory Levenfish who recommended it in the 1937 Russian Chess Yearbook. It is not currently very common in the highest levels in chess. White prepares 7.e5, attacking Black's f6-knight. Therefore, 6...Nc6 or 6...Nbd7
820-559: The Dragon formation without 2...d6, White must watch out for ...d5 which often immediately equalises. Lines where Black does this include the Accelerated Dragon (1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 g6) and Hyper-Accelerated Dragon (1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 g6). Another option for Black is to play what has been called the "Dragodorf", which combines ideas from the Dragon with those of the Najdorf Variation . While this line may be played via
861-416: The Dragon move order (see the Yugoslav Attack with 9.Bc4). Black can arrive at it with a Najdorf move order: 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Be3 g6 (or 5...g6 6.Be3 a6), with the idea of Bg7 and Nbd7. Such a move order would be used to try to avoid a Yugoslav type attack; for instance, after 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6, White could play 6.Be2 or 6.f4. In both cases, especially
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#1733085242069902-471: The Dragon, Black's bishop is fianchettoed on g7, castling on the king's side while aiming the bishop at the center and queenside . In one of the most popular and theoretically important lines, the Yugoslav Variation, White meets Black's setup with Be3, Qd2 and Bh6, exchanging off the Dragon bishop, followed by launching a kingside pawn storm with h4–h5 and g4. To involve the a1-rook in
943-609: The Russian chess master and amateur astronomer Fyodor Dus-Chotimirsky claimed that he coined the name "Dragon Variation" in 1901, after the fancied resemblance between Black's kingside pawn structure and the constellation Draco . The earliest known printed reference, found by chess historian Edward Winter , is in the Jan-Feb 1914 issue of Wiener Schachzeitung . The main line of the Dragon continues: 6. Be3 Bg7 7. f3 7... 0-0 8. Qd2 Nc6 The Yugoslav Attack with 9.Bc4 exemplifies
984-555: The Yugoslav in terms of sharp, aggressive play, 7.Be2 0-0 8.Qd2!? also contains a fair amount of venom ... White's plans include queenside castling and a kingside attack. And there's a major plus point in that it's much, much less theoretical!" After the main moves 8...Nc6 9.0-0-0 we reach a tabiya for the position. Here, Black has several options for continuation, listed in order of popularity: Other options on White's sixth move include 6.Bc4, 6.f3, and 6.g3. When Black adopts
1025-542: The attack, White usually castles queenside, placing the white king on the semi-open c-file. The result is often both sides attacking the other's king with all available resources. The line is considered one of the sharpest of all chess openings . The modern form of the Dragon was originated by German master Louis Paulsen around 1880. It was played frequently by Henry Bird that decade, then received general acceptance around 1900 when played by Harry Nelson Pillsbury and other masters. In his 1953 autobiography,
1066-406: The b-pawn and pressure on the long diagonal. Black will generally omit ...a6 because White will generally win in a straight pawn attack since Black has given White a hook on g6 to attack. In general, White will avoid moving the pawns on a2/b2/c2, and so Black's pawn storm will nearly always be slower than White's on the kingside. Black can frequently obtain an acceptable endgame even after sacrificing
1107-469: The exchange because of White's h-pawn sacrifice and doubled pawns. After years of players believing that White's best play and chance for advantage lay in the main line with 9. Bc4, this older main line made a major comeback. White omits Bc4 in order to speed up the attack. It used to be thought that allowing 9...d5 here allows Black to equalize easily but further analysis and play have proven that things are not so clear cut. In fact, recently Black experienced
1148-429: The freeing move ...d6–d5. The variations resulting from this move are notorious for having been heavily analysed. In addition to covering d5, White's light-squared bishop helps cover White's queenside and controls the a2–g8 diagonal leading to Black's king. However, the bishop is exposed on c4 to an attack by a rook on c8, and usually has to retreat to b3, giving more time for Black to organize an attack. Common in this line
1189-402: The higher-valued piece can be said to be up the exchange or wins the exchange , while the opponent who captures the lower-valued piece is down the exchange or loses the exchange . Exchanges occur very frequently in chess, in almost every game and usually multiple times per game. Exchanges are often related to the tactics or strategy in a chess game, but often simply occur over the course of
1230-514: The late 1990s as a result of White resuscitating the old line with 9.0-0-0; however, recently there has been a resurgence after a number of new ideas in the 9.0-0-0 line were formulated by Dragon devotees. The Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings ( ECO ) has ten codes for the Dragon Variation, B70 through B79. After 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6, there is: Exchange (chess) In chess , an exchange or trade of chess pieces
1271-439: The latter, a Yugoslav-style attack loses some momentum. Usually the bishop is more ideally placed on c4, where it can pressure f7 and help defend the white king (though the 9.0-0-0 variation of the Dragon shows that this is not completely necessary), and if White plays f4 and then castles queenside, they must always be on guard for Ng4 ideas, something which the move f3 in traditional Dragon positions usually discourages. Nonetheless,
B79 - Misplaced Pages Continue
1312-521: The move three times in the 1995 World Championship against Viswanathan Anand, scoring two wins and a draw. The line goes 9.Bc4 Bd7 10.0-0-0 Rc8 11.Bb3 Ne5 12.h4 h5 (the key move, holding up White's kingside pawn advance). Other important deviations for Black are 12...Qa5 and 12...Nc4. More recently, White players have often avoided the Soltis by playing 12.Kb1, which has proven so effective that Black players have in turn tried to dodge this with 10...Rb8, known as
1353-490: The offered pawn. However, one may also consider making exchanges of pawns or other pieces to open up a file for one's rooks and queen or opening up a diagonal for one's bishop and queen, even if a pawn deficiency is incurred. If a player gains material superiority in a game, a strategy can involve making even exchanges to eliminate other pieces for simplification to make the superiority more decisive. The opponent with less material may try to avoid exchanges, but then
1394-411: The opponent, avoiding checkmate, gaining a material advantage, avoid losing more material than necessary, helping a pawn to promote, preventing an opponent's pawn promotion, or setting up a draw by any of a couple methods. Some tactics can lead to draw by stalemate , threefold repetition , or insufficient material to checkmate. For example, a player with a king and rook against an opponent with
1435-405: The other player capturing a piece of the first player, often referred to as a recapture . Commonly, the word "exchange" is used when the pieces exchanged are of the same type or of about equal value, which is an even exchange . According to chess tactics , a bishop and a knight are usually of about equal value. If the values of the pieces exchanged are not equal, then the player who captures
1476-410: The player presented with the possibility of an exchange may decide to make the initial capture, may decline making the initial capture, or may even move to avoid the exchange. The player can weigh the advantages and disadvantages of each move to decide. For a prospective uneven exchange, the values of the pieces are often the deciding factor. Chess positions are often set up where a player's piece on
1517-525: The same title formed as a letter–number combination. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=B79&oldid=1059163910 " Category : Letter–number combination disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Sicilian Defense, Dragon Variation In
1558-451: The spirit of the Dragon with race-to-mate pawn storms on opposite sides of the board. White tries to break open the Black kingside and deliver mate down the h-file, while Black seeks counterplay on the queenside with sacrificial attacks. Typical White strategies are exchanging dark-squared bishops by Be3–h6, sacrificing material to open the h-file, and exploiting pressure on the a2–g8 diagonal and
1599-465: The trap. Exchanges are often made to try to improve a position from a strategic point of view. Since positional advantages are often smaller than those due to difference in material value, exchanges to gain a positional advantage are commonly even exchanges in terms of material. A player may undertake an exchange to capture an opponent's piece having better positional value than the piece that will be lost. For example, even if overall material count
1640-402: The value of chess pieces remaining in a game does not matter. Although no official score is kept of the value of pieces on the board for each player, much experience in chess play has determined approximate average strategic and tactical value of various pieces relative to a pawn , which is given a value of 1. Bishops and knights have about the same value at 3, rooks are valued at about 5, and
1681-458: The weakness of the d5 square. Black will typically counterattack on the queenside, using the queenside pawns, rooks, and dark squared bishop. Black sometimes plays ...h5 (the Soltis Variation) to defend against White's kingside attack. Other typical themes for Black are exchanging White's light-squared bishop by ...Nc6–e5–c4, pressure on the c-file, sacrificing the exchange on c3, advancing