[Event "Sicilian Dragon Quickstarter: The Dragon"] [Site "https://lichess.org/study/ZVtwzqXe/8D9tWUpK"] [Result "*"] [Variant "Standard"] [ECO "B70"] [Opening "Sicilian Defense: Dragon Variation"] [Annotator "https://lichess.org/@/Denshi_Jisho"] [StudyName "Sicilian Dragon Quickstarter"] [ChapterName "The Dragon"] [UTCDate "2020.06.14"] [UTCTime "07:11:48"] [Source "https://lichess.org/study/ZVtwzqXe/8D9tWUpK"] [Orientation "black"] 1. e4 c5 { The Sicilian Defense. Classic chess theory suggests that control over the center is paramount. White would love to establish a strong pawn center with e4 and d4. Naturally, the two most popular defenses are ...e5 and ...c5, aiming to guard d4 with a pawn. The idea behind the Sicilian is that by attacking d4 with a flank pawn instead of a central pawn, we will still have our central pawns (the e and d pawns) intact if and when a trade on d4 occurs. In this manner we limit White's approach in the center while keeping our approach to center control more flexible. } 2. Nf3 d6 { The three main options in the Sicilian for Black are 2...d6, 2...Nc6, and 2...e6. } 3. d4 { The Open Sicilian. White allows a trade on d4 and forgoes establishing a strong pawn center. In return, White gets rapid development which lends itself to many flexible and potentially aggressive plans. } 3... cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 { Developing while attacking e4. In 2...e6 Sicilians, Black often has some move order considerations before developing Nf6 due to the threat of e5. Here, d6 prevents any such push. } 5. Nc3 { Here is where we must commit to our main variation. The most common variations arising from this position are the Najdorf (a6), the Classical (Nc6), the Dragon (g6), and the Scheveningen (e6). } 5... g6 { The Sicilian Dragon. We seek to fianchetto our dark square bishop, castle, and finish development. From there we can launch attacks on the center, possibly breaking with d5, or attack the queenside with a minority attack by pushing our b and/or a pawns. } *