[Event "National Elementary School Championship"] [Site "lichess.org"] [Date "2023.05.12"] [Round "1"] [White "Nathan Yan"] [Black "Alexander Soll"] [Result "1-0"] [WhiteElo "2212"] [BlackElo "1457"] [Annotator "IM Sandeep Sethuraman"] [Variant "Standard"] [ECO "B76"] [Opening "Sicilian Defense: Dragon Variation, Yugoslav Attack"] [Source "https://lichess.org/study/OZkFHWFD/dtkTLkld"] [Orientation "white"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 g6 { The Dragon is a combative variation of the Sicilian that has fallen out of favor at the very highest levels due to the complexity of analysis (that tends to favor White), but it is definitely still a great option for a club player. It also tends to produce exciting games. } 6. Be3 Bg7 (6... Ng4?? { doesn't work this early, which is why 6. ... Bg7 is so important. } 7. Bb5+ { Now no matter what piece blocks, 8. Qxg4 wins the game. } 7... Bd7 (7... Nc6 8. Nxc6 { okay here we do not take on g4, but we are still winning }) 8. Qxg4 { is the line that is easy to miss! }) 7. f3! { Prophylaxis against 7. ... Ng4, which is now playable, and it prepares the eventual g2-g4, h2-h4-h5 that is so common in these Dragon structures after White castles queenside. } 7... O-O 8. Qd2 Re8?! { Too slow, Black never really wants to play ... e7-e5 here; it weakens d6 far too much. Perhaps Black wants to meet Be3-h6 with ... Bg7-h8, preserving the good "dragon bishop," but this is a mistaken plan. Sometimes, Black can even trade on h6 and prove that the queen is misplaced. } (8... Nc6 9. O-O-O d5! { To attempt to equalize, Black must strike in the center. } 10. exd5 Nxd5 11. Nxc6 bxc6 12. Nxd5 cxd5 13. Qxd5 Qc7 $13 { White is up a pawn, but Black has bishops and open files towards the queenside. A famous variation continues: } 14. Qxa8 Bf5 15. Qxf8+ Kxf8 { with an imbalanced game. }) 9. O-O-O Nc6 { was still the best try, although White is already clearly better } (9... a6? { Again, just too slow. White's attack develops very quickly in these structures, so there is no time to waste. } 10. h4! { This is second-nature for most Yugoslav attack players, and for one of Yan's caliber, it's automatic. White must start the initiative as soon as possible } 10... h5 11. Kb1 (11. Bh6!? { This isn't as common of a motif, so it's understandable that it was missed, but it's still instructive. } 11... Bh8 { Black can rarely afford to trade the Dragon bishop; the king becomes far too loose, especially since Black played ... Rf8-e8 in order to play this move. } 12. g4! { Back to the surprisingly effective caveman attack. This illustrates why the plan to save the bishop is "too slow." } 12... hxg4? { A mistake that lets White's pieces enter the black kingside. } 13. h5! Nxh5 14. Rxh5 gxh5 15. Qg5+ Kh7 16. Qxh5 { and the king cannot be salvaged. }) 11... b5! { Not the best move according to Stockfish, but it gets this human's approval. Black finally recognizes that he must start his own initiative to not get blown off the board. } 12. Be2 b4? { However, this is a perfect example of making a move without considering the opponent's response. The knight wanted to go to d5 anyway, so this simply loses another tempo. } (12... Nbd7 { The pieces had to come out. You can't fight a whole army with a horse and a bishop, even if it is the Dragon bishop. } 13. g4 { It's time to get used to seeing this, as it's almost always the best move once h2-h4 and ... h7-h5 are on the board. } 13... hxg4 14. h5 Nxh5 15. fxg4! { When the exchange sac on h5 does not lead to an immediate win, the calm recapture is always a great alternative. }) 13. Nd5 { Some players are taught not to put a knight on d5 when they have to recapture with a pawn. But here, removing one of Black's only defenders from the kingside, while also clogging the long diagonal for Black's light-squared bishop after ... b7-b5 was played, justify the decision. } 13... Nxd5 14. exd5 a5? { Failing to understand how dangerous White's attack already is. } (14... e5 { wasn't great, but at least it would ask some questions and create some imbalances. } 15. dxe6 Bxe6 16. Nxe6 Rxe6 17. Bc4! { The contrast is striking; White's pieces are almost all developed, he has the bishop pair, and Black's pieces are sitting on their starting squares. }) 15. g4! { Striking while the iron is hot, and this is a very natural decision to make. } 15... hxg4 16. h5 { The point. White gives up a couple of pawns, but he opens both the g- and h-files, and checkmate isn't far away. } 16... gxh5 17. Rxh5 gxf3 18. Bh6! { Almost everything is winning here, but sacrificing a piece for basically no reason requires guts. } (18. Bxf3 $18 { was perfectly fine. }) (18. Qd3 fxe2 19. Qh7+ Kf8 20. Rg1 { would have been a cruel end. It doesn't "feel" like White is down a piece when you look at what Black's pieces are doing. }) 18... e5! { Black finds the most resilient defense. } (18... fxe2?! { would fail to } 19. Rg1 e1=Q+ 20. Qxe1 e5 21. Bxg7!) 19. Rg1 Kf8 20. Bxg7+ Ke7 { This position is exactly why developing your pieces is so important. Black's king is taking a field trip while the rest of the pieces are stuck on the back rank, and White will almost always have tactics here. } 21. Bf6+ { A nice tactic that wins the queen, but White had an even more ruthless move. } (21. Bb5! { 4 Cutting off the escape square. Qd2-g5+ and Bg7-f6+ can't be stopped. It's mate. }) 21... Kd7 22. Bb5+ Kc7 23. Bxd8+ { The rest is simple. } 23... Rxd8 24. Nxf3 Ba6 25. Bxa6 Nxa6 26. Rg7 Kc8 27. Qd3 Nc5 28. Qb5 Nb7 29. Qc6+ Kb8 30. Rxf7 Nc5 31. Qc7# { 1-0 White wins. }) 10. h4 h5 11. g4!? { The usual plan of attack almost always works, especially if White is up a tempo. } 11... hxg4 12. h5! { Pawns aren't important! All 1. e4 players must be willing to sacrifice material in order to start an attack, as it's very common in all Sicilians and even the French. } 12... Nxh5 13. Bb5 gxf3 14. Nf5!! { Improbable in an over-the-board game, but nonetheless very entertaining to analyze. Additionally, sacrifcing the knight on d5 when the e6-pawn can capture it and on f5 when either the e6- or g6-pawns can capture it are very common Sicilian themes for White. So it's not totally implausible that White would look for this move here. } 14... Bxf5 15. exf5 e6 16. Rxh5! { Ripping apart the black monarch. This is an excellent example of Bobby Fischer's famous recipe for defeating the Dragon: "Sac, sac, mate!" } 16... gxh5 17. Rg1 Kh7 18. Qh2! { The quiet killer effectively ends the game here, White is winning. } 1-0