THE HYPER

ACCELERATED
DRAGON

by

Raja Panjwani

www.thinkerspublishing.com
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Second extended edition 2018 by Thinkers Publishing

The Hyper Accelerated Dragon

Copyright © 2018 Raja Panjwani

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or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording
or otherwise, without the prior written permission from the publisher.

ISBN 978-94-9251-034-1
D/2018/13730/16

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 TABLE OF CONTENTS

KEY TO SYMBOLS 5
INTRODUCTION 7

CHAPTER 1. CLASSICAL VARIATION (e2) 15

CHAPTER 2. 7. c4: ANTI-YUGOSLAV VARIATION 29
CHAPTER 3. 7. c4: MY SYSTEM 57
CHAPTER 4. MAROCZY BIND: BREYER VARIATION 89
CHAPTER 5. MAROCZY BIND: MAIN LINE 131
CHAPTER 6. 4.xd4 VARIATION 177
CHAPTER 7. ANTI-SICILIANS: ALAPIN AND MORRA 189

AFTERWORD 225
 KEY TO SYMBOLS

! a good move
? a weak move
!! an excellent move
?? a blunder
!? an interesing move
?! a dubious move
 only move
= equality
 unclear position
 with compensation for the sacrificed material
 White stands slightly better
 Black stands slightly better
 White has a serious advantage
 Black has a serious advantage
+- White has a decisive advantage
-+ Black has a decisive advantage
 with an attack
 with initiative
 with counterplay
 with the idea of
 better is
 worse is
N novelty
+ check
# mate
 INTRODUCTION

It simply isn’t an adventure worth telling

if there aren’t any dragons.

J.R.R. Tolkien

My Favorite Sicilian 8.0–0

8...xe4! 9.xc6
I was introduced to the Accelerated
Dragon when I was ten years old, more 9.xe4 xd2+ 10.xd2 xd4
than seventeen years ago. It was argu-
ably my first ‘serious’ defense against
8 r+l+k+-tr
7 zpp+pzppvlp
1.e4: prior to then I would develop
my pieces in a manner my father and 6 -+N+-+p+
I called ‘P-Play’ (the ‘P’ deriving from 5 wq-+-+-+-
our family name) but which I later dis- 4 -+L+n+-+
covered is widely known as the Hip- 3 +-sN-vL-+-
popotamus Defence. He and I were of 2 PzPPwQ-zPPzP
similar strength at the time, and we
1 tR-+-mK-+R
studied the opening together from the
then recently published, and now clas- a b c d e f g h
sic, Accelerated Dragons by IMs Don-
aldson and Silman. 9...xc3!! 10.xc3

What drew me to the opening initially 10.bxc3 xd2 11.xd2 bxc6

was the abundance of cheapos I could
set up for my opponents in the early 10...xc3+ 11.bxc3 bxc6
stages of the game, which even experts
and masters seemed unprepared for. Beyond simple tricks like this one,
The following was always one of my I found that the positional themes of
favorites: the opening were fairly easy to digest;
for example, dark square control, cen-
1.e4 c5 2.f3 g6 3.d4 cxd4 4.xd4 tral breakthrough (especially ...d7-d5),
g7 5.c3 c6 6. e3 f6 7. c4 queenside expansion, as well as the
a5 8.d2? typical favorable and unfavorable end-
8 THE HYPER ACCELERATED DRAGON

games which tend to arise. As I have been justifiable half a century ago,
matured as a player, my perspective Black has since demonstrated coun-
on this opening has correspondingly terattacking prospects against the e4/
transformed, but my respect and ap- c4 clamp in a variety of structures, as
preciation for its strength has only in the Hedgehog, Kalashnikov, Kan,
been enhanced. This book is an at- Taimanov, and certainly no less in the
tempt to convey my current under- Accelerated Dragon.
standing and approach with black.
I suspect that computers have de-
I have always felt that the Acceler- terred many potential devotees away
ated Dragon does not get its due re- from the Accelerated Dragon. Com-
spect among the Sicilians. Even its puter evaluations in the main lines
prodigal brother, the un-accelerated tend to fluctuate between +0.25 and
Dragon, had its time in the spotlight +0.5, which plausibly leads to the ra-
when it was used by Kasparov to tionale that playing the Accelerated
twice defeat (and twice draw) Anand Dragon instead of the Berlin or Mar-
in their 1995 PCA World Champion- shall — where evaluations are closer
ship match. Why then, has the Accel- to +0.15 — is like playing with a small
erated Dragon — the theoretically no handicap straight out of the opening.
worse off, and much safer of the two Things, however, are not so simple.
(I like to think of it as the only Sicil- Computers evaluate each position
ian where Black needn’t worry about by objective features, without regard
getting mated in 25 moves) — histori- for subjective factors which are very
cally been only an occasional guest in often more important in tourna-
top events, and, unlike every other re- ment chess. Machines systematical-
spectable Sicilian, never occupied the ly ignore the value of, for example,
central battlefield of a World Cham- being able to follow one of a small
pionship match?1 Part of the discrep- number of thematic plans, irrespec-
ancy is a vestige of the old (pre-1970s) tive of what the opponent does, sav-
dogma that in the Sicilian, to avoid ing on clock time as well as risk of
suffocation, Black must prevent White mishandling the position. This sort
from obtaining a ‘clamp’ pawn cent- of human element is unaccounted
er (pawns on e4 and c4). Indeed, the for by the engine, resulting in an in-
Maroczy Bind (5.c4) has always been flated estimation of White’s chances.
the bane of the Accelerated Dragon’s In this regard, there are similarities
existence. However, while this atti- between the Accelerated Dragon and
tude towards the Sicilian may have the King’s Indian Defense — another
opening notoriously bastardized by
1 The only time it was played in a World the engine. King’s Indian devotees are
Championship Match was Spassky-Petro- used to seeing +0.5 computer evalu-
sian 1969, Game 3. ations, but they are not discouraged
 INTRODUCTION 9

because they recognize that there is The Accelerated Dragon

a narrow margin of error for White, State of Mind
and to err is human. The same can be
said for the Accelerated Dragon.
A friend of mine (a strong IM) re-
Fortunately, the tide of fashion is cently commented to me that if he
turning, and contemporary Accel- could be certain that his opponents
erated Dragon experts like (super) wouldn’t play the Maroczy bind, he
Grandmasters Tiviakov, Mamedov, would always play the Accelerated
Iturrizaga, and Malakhov have dem- Dragon instead of his usual (un-
onstrated that this opening can be accelerated, but I sometimes teas-
a reliable counter to 1.e4 even against ingly prefer ‘un-playable’) Dragon,
top opposition. Recently, in fact, because White can’t play the criti-
World Champion Magnus Carlsen cal Yugoslav Attack against the Ac-
upheld the Black side of a Maroczy celerated Dragon (despite this being
to put a halt to Caruana’s 7-0 run in lesson #1 of the Accelerated Dragon,
the 2014 Sinquefield Cup. I predict a surprising number of masters have
a bright future for this opening, for not gotten the memo). “However”, he
many reasons, but most of all be- continued, “in the Maroczy, Black is
cause 1) The resulting positions are just playing for a draw, you can nev-
difficult for computers to properly as- er win!” A loyal defender of my be-
sess- many ‘+=’ evaluations are more loved pet opening, I insisted he had
accurately ‘=’ but more important- it all wrong, and that I welcome the
ly ‘easier to play for Black’, a factor Maroczy in must-win games with
which should not be underestimated Black. “That’s really weird dude,
especially considering the increasing- you’re probably the only one” was his
ly short time controls, and 2) There is retort, but I think when it comes to
plenty of unexplored terrain, which the Accelerated Dragon, there’s a req-
cannot be easily navigated by the po- uisite state of mind needed in order
sitional dictums we are brought up to properly handle it — some players
with, because the Accelerated Dragon have had a conversion experience af-
is a genuinely nonstandard opening. ter catching a glimpse of its incredible
This means that there is a competitive power, while others haven’t. Plausibly
advantage to those who work out its as a result of this, from my experi-
unusual nuances, unlike in, say, the ence there is a peculiar camaraderie
Najdorf or Sveshnikov where it often among Accelerated Dragon practi-
feels like the strategic ideas are all tioners. Whereas Najdorf ‘bros’ es-
well known, and only concrete nov- pouse a Darwinian angst that their
elties are yet to be discovered (if it is novelty on move 25 in the Poisoned
unclear what I mean by this, I hope it Pawn variation will be discovered,
isn’t by the end of the book!). used, and rendered useless by their
10 THE HYPER ACCELERATED DRAGON

colleagues, I have found that Ac- “White’s position looks ideal. That’s the
celerated Dragon players enjoy dis- naked truth about it, but the ‘ideal’ has
cussing their ideas with each other. by definition one drawback — it can-
A personal anecdote of mine is fair- not be improved. ...In the early 1970s,
ly typical: in the final round of the the successes of Karpov and Anders-
2013 US Masters tournament I was in son showed that [Hedgehog] positions
a must-win ‘money game’ with Black are not only playable but offer as many
against Cuban GM Abreu, and I no- winning chances as any other open-
ticed GM Rauf Mamedov (a leading ing. This was in glaring conflict with
expert on the Black side of the Accel- classical strategy. White enjoys more
erated Dragon) was taking an inter- space, better development [and] his
est in the Maroczy Bind on my board. position has no weaknesses. How is it
I won the game in a tense struggle, possible that Black not only resists in
and afterwards when I was collecting these positions but sometimes wins?
my prize, Rauf kindly congratulated The only plausible answer lies in the
me on the win and took an interest hidden dynamics of the positions. Af-
in the 15...e6 line I played (see chap- ter the opening, White’s position has
ter 5), which he said he hadn’t studied all the qualities of a successful picture,
before. I told him I was not too happy but lacks concrete possibilities for im-
with the more popular 15...Qb6, but provement. Within our terminology,
he asserted that from his analysis it is rigid (not elastic). Black’s position,
Black has no problems there — “it’s in contrast, ‘looks’ bad but has greater
equal” he said. His confident procla- scope for improvement.” (p. 26)
mation was just the nudge I needed
to look closer into some of the lines This description applies equally well
I thought were undesirable for Black, to the Maroczy. In fact, you might say
and on closer inspection I realized that the Accelerated Dragon (specifi-
(unsurprisingly) he was right! cally the Black side of the Maroczy)
‘state of mind’ is, to borrow Suba’s
While this elusive ‘state of mind’ phrase, an appreciation for the “hid-
is somewhat ineffable, and better den dynamic factors” in each position
grasped from experience than any- which compensate for the static defi-
thing else (if I am successful then the ciencies (again, the best way to ‘sense’
contents of this book will convey pre- these is by studying the opening — the
cisely this), I think it is helpful to think variations in this book are meant to
of the Maroczy as a close cousin of the illustrate these factors). Moreover, as
Hedgehog. I understand the ‘philoso- a long time Hedgehog player myself,
phy’ of the Hedgehog in terms of how I must say that in my opinion, Black
Mihai Suba describes it in his excellent has much more freedom in the Ma-
Dynamic Chess Strategy. It is worth roczy than in the Hedgehog; for in-
quoting him at length. stance, in the Hedgehog, it is usual-
 INTRODUCTION 11

ly unfavorable for Black to exchange ally it is White who chooses whether

queens, whereas in the Maroczy (and to enter into an opposite side castling
the Accelerated Dragon more broad- situation, or to exchange pieces early
ly), White often takes pains to avoid on and maneuver around in a simpli-
exchanging queens so as to not lose fied middlegame, or invoke the center
the initiative, and that is a liability as the locus of battle, ensuring king
which contributes to the “rigidity” safety above all.2 Furthermore, Black
(another apt term of Suba’s) of White’s usually needs to play accurately to not
position. Terms like ‘elastic’ and ‘coun- end up slightly worse, or at least give
terattacking potential’ will be inter- the initiative to White. The situation
spersed throughout this book — they is, to the well prepared Accelerated
are much more informative than re- Dragon player, precisely the reverse:
ductive evaluations like ‘=’. in the Maroczy, for example, there are
half a dozen different ways for Black
to develop, and players of diverse
An Inclusive Opening styles can choose the one which suits
them best (or vary their choice de-
pending on practical considerations).
One of the remarkable things about Black controls the tempo and deter-
the Accelerated Dragon is its appeal mines the character of the struggle,
to players with vastly different styles. which is why it is so effective in must-
Compare Bent Larsen, the epitome win games. Furthermore, unlike in
of dynamic, off beat, risky chess, many 1...e5 openings, or in most oth-
with Sergei Tiviakov, who claimed er Sicilians like the Kan, Sveshnikov,
in an interview recently that his style or even the Najdorf, White’s choices
has been shaped most by Petrosian are rather limited if he does not want
(who was a great Accelerated Dragon to end up slightly worse out of the
devotee himself), Smyslov, and Kar- opening. In practice, White meets
pov — both these players have cham- the Accelerated Dragon with either
pioned the Accelerated Dragon as the Maroczy Bind or the 7. c4 vari-
their main weapon against 1.e4 and ation; this is simply not so in the Na-
yet their styles are in many ways polar jdorf where every single reasonable
opposites of each other! How can this move is a viable candidate from the
be? I think the answer to this ques-
tion is subtle and instructive. I think 2 This is why most White openings — the
that when playing the Accelerated Open Sicilian for example — are suitable
Dragon it ‘feels’ like you are playing for both positional and tactical players,
White, not Black (albeit in a hyper- because the fact that White controls the
modern manner). What I mean is, in character of the struggle means that White
chess, White tends to be the one to can steer the position in the desired direc-
control the tempo of the game — usu- tion.
12 THE HYPER ACCELERATED DRAGON

starting position of the Najdorf (6.h3, King’s Indian:

6. g1, 6.g3, 6.f3, 6. e3, 6.f4, 6. e2,
6. c4, 6. g5, 6.a4, and that is not 1.d4 f6 2.c4 g6 3.c3 g7 4.e4 d6
even to mention variations therein),
and the margin for White error is far i) 5.f3 0-0 6. e2 c5 7.0-0 cxd4
greater (for example 6. e2 e5 7.f3!? 8.xd4 c6
is a serious challenge to the Najdorf
but 6. e2 g7 7.f3?! is just dubious ii) 5.f3 0-0 6. e3 c5 7.ge2 cxd4
against the Accelerated Dragon). 8.xd4 c6

The above may sound a little hyper- Benoni/Benko Gambit:

bolic, and I would like to make it clear
from the outset that I am not claiming 1.d4 f6 2.c4 c5 3.f3 cxd4 4.xd4
that ‘Black is better’ in the Accelerated c6 5.c3 g6 6.e4
Dragon; to do so would be dishonest.
My claim is a serious one: the charac- 1.d4 f6 2.f3 g6 3.c4 c5 4.c3 (4.d5
ter of the Accelerated Dragon is that of either 4...b5 or 4...e6) cxd4 5.xd4
a White opening. In fact, the Acceler- c6 6.e4
ated Dragon reversed is a White open-
ing, called the English, and is fashioned Symmetrical English:
by most of the top players in the world,
including Carlsen, Kramnik, Aroni- 1.c4 c5 2.f3 g6 3.d4 cxd4 4.xd4
an, Anand, Giri, and others: the exact g7 5.e4 c6
piece arrangement occurs with colors
reversed (and a tempo up) after 1.c4 e5 1.f3 c5 2.c4 g6 3.d4 cxd4 4.xd4
2.g3 f6 3.g2 d5 4.cxd5 xd5 5.c3, g7 5.e4 c6
as well as 1.c4 c5 2.f3 f6 3.c3 d5
4.cxd5 xd5 5.g3 c6 6. g2 c7 Of course, there is no obligation on
7.0-0 e5 (reversed Maroczy). I have en- Accelerated Dragon players to deploy
joyed playing this ‘reversed Acceler- these defences in order to allow for
ated Dragon’ with White as well. transpositional possibilities — Tiviak-
ov has been a lifelong Nimzo-Indian/
In addition to being inclusive in the Queen’s Indian devotee as a counter-
above sense, that it can suit players of example — but I have found it useful to
diverse styles, and also that it can be play these systems in tandem myself.
a coherent complement to a 1.c4 rep-
ertoire with White, there are many One more point on the topic of move
interesting ways that the opening ‘fits’ orders: since the Accelerated Dragon
with defenses against 1.d4/1.c4/1.f3, (especially the Maroczy) can come
and can often directly transpose from about from so many different move
them. orders, I have taken some liberties
 INTRODUCTION 13

with the games in this book to con- tably not sufficiently skilled in writing
vert the initial moves to the 1.e4 c5 without gender-specific pronouns, so
2.f3 g6 ‘Hyper-Accelerated Dragon’ please regard all generic references to
move order we will be focusing on. ‘he’ as ‘s/he’ (or alternative) and so on.
I have done this, following a not un-
common practice, purely for didactic I provide as much information as
purposes — I don’t want readers happy I think is necessary for readers to play
with their 1.d4 defenses to be confused this opening with Black; however, this
by transpositions from openings they is absolutely not meant to be an an-
don’t play. thology on the opening. I make no
claim to cover every conceivable vari-
ation White can play. Any attempt at
About This Book such, couched under the heading of
a ‘complete repertoire’ would not only
be misleading, but in this day and age
This book presents a repertoire for obsolete. This is not to say that open-
Black after 1.e4 c5 2.f3 g6 — the Hy- ing books are altogether obsolete; on
per-Accelerated Dragon. I am relative- the contrary, as inundated with in-
ly lax about distinguishing between formation as we all are nowadays, it
‘Accelerated Dragon’ (1.e4 c5 2.f3 can be enormously helpful to have an
c6 3.d4 cxd4 4.xd4 g6) and ‘Hy- author divulge opening secrets from
per-Accelerated Dragon’, and I use the their years of experience which would
two interchangeably unless to empha- not easily be gathered from a database
size move order nuances, for example, search.
“the Hyper-Accelerated Dragon avoids
the Rossolimo”. However, this is not What is obsolete is the attempt to
merely ‘a’ Hyper-Accelerated Dragon thoroughly and comprehensively
repertoire, it is my repertoire, and ‘prove equality’ with Black, and more
I present the material as such, from importantly for our purposes it is an-
a first person perspective, making bra- tagonistic to the spirit of the Acceler-
zen use of my own games and offering ated Dragon, which is that of an open-
personal anecdotes and opinions. This ing refusing to be evaluated on static
stylistic choice risks my coming across grounds alone. As Jonathan Rowson
as presumptuous and at times even instructs in his Seven Deadly Chess
boastful, but my hope is rather that Sins, “You need to assess not only the
the conversational mode of presenta- position as it stands but the position as
tion makes readers feel as though I am it has changed and how it is likely to
their tour guide through what might continue to change”. (p.75) So, I am not
otherwise feel like an insurmountable a big fan of evaluations like ‘=’ or ‘=+’
labyrinth of variations. Further on the or ‘+=’ (though I capitulate to these
point of stylistic choices, I am regret- at times) because ‘=’ makes me think
14 THE HYPER ACCELERATED DRAGON

of a draw and ‘+=’ makes me feel like at least one of these suits you. For
I ought to be satisfied with a draw as those among you who will embark on
Black, when in reality Black can very the risky course (‘My System’ against
much be optimistic about his position 7. c4 and the Breyer Variation of
despite such evaluations, and that is the Maroczy), may I caution you
why I prefer evaluations like “coun- to do so with a realistic attitude to-
terplay” or “mutual chances”. wards the cost of risk-taking in chess.
It is in the (mathematical) nature of
If you encounter a variation not cov- risk-taking that it increases the vari-
ered in this book, for example 1.e4 c5 ability of outcomes — both good and
2.a3, my general prescription is this: bad. The mature risk taker is mind-
find a database (no excuses, they are ful of this, cognizant that their risk-
free online), and search the position taking is compatible with their aims
with an Accelerated Dragon player and justifications. This was the atti-
(I gave you a list above) as Black to see tude of Bent Larsen. If you would like
how they have chosen to play the posi- to play the Accelerated Dragon ambi-
tion. Ideally you’ll find a model game tiously, with a tolerance for risk, keep
that you can recall whenever you face in mind the following description of
the system; after all, when it comes to Larsen, given by Reshevsky: “He is
rare systems like 2.a3 it is foolish to a firm believer in the value of surprise.
memorize concrete variations since Consequently, he often resorts to du-
you’ll never remember them anyway, bious variations in various openings.
but the key ideas of a model game you He also likes to complicate positions
can. Even in the main lines of the Ac- even though it may involve consider-
celerated Dragon, don’t try to memo- able risk. He has a great deal of con-
rize the moves given in this book as fidence in his game and fears no one.
if they are the ultimate truth. They His unique style has proven extremely
aren’t. Your learning will be enhanced effective against relatively weak oppo-
if you actively seek out novelties of nents but has not been too successful
your own, and try to understand how against top-notchers.” Alas, this is the
the various positional ideas for both risk-taker’s predicament, but far from
sides fit together. discouraging it, I am thankful for the
risk-takers among you who resist the
To make this book as valuable to the ‘genetic’ drift of our chess community
Petrosian-style (risk-averse) Accelerat- towards timidity and results-oriented
ed Dragon player as to the Larsen-type pragmatism.
(risk-craving), I have recommended
two systems against each of the 7.c4 I sincerely hope you find this to be an
and Maroczy Bind variations. I hope enjoyable and enriching experience.
 CHAPTER 1.
CLASSICAL VARIATION (e2)

1.e4 c5 2. f3 g6 3.d4 cxd4 4. xd4  g7 5.c3 c6

8 r+lwqk+ntr
7 zpp+pzppvlp
6 -+n+-+p+
5 +-+-+-+-
4 -+-sNP+-+
3 +-sN-+-+-
2 PzPP+-zPPzP

1 tR-vLQmKL+R
a b c d e f g h

Contents

1. 6. b3, 6.de2 16

2. 6. e3  f6 7.sidelines & 7. e2 d5!? 19
3. 6. e3  f6 7. e2 0-0 8.sidelines 21
4. 6. e3  f6 7. e2 0-0 8.0-0 26
16 THE HYPER ACCELERATED DRAGON

Despite the fact that this system of-

1 fers White no advantage, it is still
seen in about 15% of Accelerated
We begin with the variation which Dragons (the other 85% are nearly
epitomizes the Accelerated Drag- evenly distributed between the Ma-
on philosophy. In most defenses to roczy and c4 variations), the bulk
1.e4, White has the option of playing of which occur at the club level.
a ‘Classical’ variation by developing
the light squared bishop to e2. This 1.e4 c5 2. f3 g6 3.d4 cxd4 4. xd4
is particularly the case in Sicilians  g7 5.c3 c6
like the Najdorf, Scheviningen and
Taimanov, but also in other defens- 8 r+lwqk+ntr
es like the Pirc/Modern and Alekh- 7 zpp+pzppvlp
ine. In all these systems, the Clas- 6 -+n+-+p+
sical Variation offers White serious 5 +-+-+-+-
chances to obtain an opening ad- 4 -+-sNP+-+
vantage, and the immortal games of 3 +-sN-+-+-
past champions like Geller and Kar- 2 PzPP+-zPPzP
pov provide textbook illustrations of 1 tR-vLQmKL+R
successful ‘Classical’ 1.e4 play. a b c d e f g h

In contrast, the e2 (Classical) var- 6. b3

iation against the ordinary, un-Ac-
celerated Dragon is rather harm- This move tends to be played later
less for Black, the Yugoslav Attack on anyway in the  e2 system, in
being its critical test. As Acceler- order to hinder Black from play-
ated Dragon players, we are in an ing …d7-d5 (note that the Maroczy
even more favorable situation than and  c4 variation both target the
ordinary Dragon players when it d5-square), so some players prefer to
comes to the Classical variation, be- play 6.  b3 directly without com-
cause we can choose to transpose to mitting the bishop to e3.
harmless variations of the Classi-
cal Dragon by opting for ...d7-d6 at 6.de2 This is not part of the e2
opportune moments, and in some system so I just mention it in pass-
lines we can strike with ...d7-d5 di- ing. Some people who like to fian-
rectly, saving a full tempo compared chetto their light bishop in other
with analogous lines in the Dragon. Sicilians play this ‘Chameleon’ line;
such variations are apt against tam-
 CHAPTER 1. CLASSICAL VARIATION (e2) 17

er Sicilians like the Najdorf, not the 10...b4 11. d5  a6 12.  e1  xd5
unforgiving Accelerated Dragon. 13.exd5  a5 14.  f4 (14. d4  c4
6... f6 7.g3 15.  b1 e5! 16.dxe6 fxe6 ) 14...  c8
15.d6 e6 16.a3 b3! 17.cxb3 b6 18.b4
[7.a4 d5!N 8.exd5 (8. xd5? c4 Perovic-Nikolic, Pula 1991.
 xe4) 8... b4 9. f4 (9. g3 0–0
10.  c4 c7 11.  b3  d8 ) 9... 6... f6 7. e2 0–0 8.0–0
 f5 10.  b5+ f8 11.  d3  xd3+
12.cxd3 g5 13. fe2  xd5 14.  xg5 There are ways of playing this in
 xc3 15.bxc3  xd3 16.0–0 c4=] the spirit of the Accelerated Dragon
but I think Black’s best and simplest
7...b5! 8.  g2  b8 9.0–0 0–0 path is to proceed in Dragon style
with ...d7-d6 and ... c8-e6, aiming
8 -trlwq-trk+ to play ...d6-d5.
7 zp-+pzppvlp
6 -+n+-snp+
5 +p+-+-+- 8...d6
4 -+-+P+-+
3 +-sN-+-zP- 8 r+lwq-trk+
2 PzPP+NzPLzP
7 zpp+-zppvlp
1 tR-vLQ+RmK-
6 -+nzp-snp+
a b c d e f g h
5 +-+-+-+-
10.h3 4 -+-+P+-+
3 +NsN-+-+-
a) 10. d5 d6 11.  g5 (11.h3  d7 2 PzPP+LzPPzP
12.c3 e6 13. b4  xb4 14.cxb4 1 tR-vLQ+RmK-
 b6  Polgar,Z (2550)-Georgiev,V
a b c d e f g h
(2615) Matinhos 1994) 11... d7
12.c3  e8 13. d4  xd4 14.cxd4 9.  g5
 b6 15. b4  b7 16. c1 d7 17.b3
a5 18.c2 b4= 1–0 (57) Kuzmin,G This is likely to be White’s idea if
(2540)-Macieja,B (2460) St Peters- they play 6. b3 directly.
burg 1996;
a) 9.f4?! b5! ;
b) 10.  f4 d6 11. d2 b4 12. d5
 g4 13.  ab1  ge5 14.b3 e6 15.e3 b) 9. h1 e6 10.f4 c8! Preventing
a5; f4-f5. (10...d5?! 11.f5  c8 12.exd5  b4
13.fxg6 hxg6 14.  f3  f5 15. d4)
11. e3 (11.f5? gxf5 12.exf5  xf5 One
18 THE HYPER ACCELERATED DRAGON

might think White has some com- 10... c8 11.f4 a6

pensation because Black’s king po-
sition has been compromised but Black can take his time on the queen-
the far more salient factor is Black’s side because if White continues with
superiority in the center.) 11... d8= f4-f5 then Black will happily take
White cannot prevent ...d6-d5, possession of the e5 square with his
which as a rule (at least) equalizes knight.
for Black.;
12. e1
c) 9. e1 e6
a) 12.f5 d7! 13. c1 e5 14. f4 b5;
8 r+-wq-trk+
7 zpp+-zppvlp
6 -+nzplsnp+
b) 12.  f3  d7!? Just one idea of
5 +-+-+-+- many. 13.  b1  xc3 14.bxc3 c7;
4 -+-+P+-+
3 +NsN-+-+-
c) 12.a4  a5 13. xa5 xa5 14. d3
2 PzPP+LzPPzP
 fe8 15. e2  b4 16.a5  g4
1 tR-vLQ+R+K
a b c d e f g h
17. d2  d7 Black threatens ...d6-
d5 thanks to the pin on the c3-
10.  f1 d5 11. c5 (11.exd5  xd5 knight. 18. e2?!  xb2 19.  xf6
12. e4 b6=) 11...dxe4 12. xe6  xf6 20. d5  b5 21.  xb5 xb5
xd1 13.  xd1 fxe6 14.  c4  f7  22. xb5 axb5 23.  ab1 c5 0–1 (42)
Black’s tripled pawns are not to be Anand,V (2715)-Topalov, V (2640)
scoffed at; they restrict White’s pie- Linares 1994.
ces by controlling important central
squares. 12...b5

9... e6 10. h1 8 -+rwq-trk+

7 +-+-zppvlp
White signals his intention to con- 6 p+nzplsnp+
tinue with f2-f4. Since White’s bish- 5 +p+-+-vL-
op is on g5, it is no longer realis- 4 -+-+PzP-+
tic for Black to aim for ...d6-d5, so 3 +NsN-+-+-
he refocuses attention toward the 2 PzPP+L+PzP
queenside. 1 tR-+-wQR+K
a b c d e f g h
10.f4?! b5! 
 CHAPTER 1. CLASSICAL VARIATION (e2) 19

13.f5  d7 14.  h4  e5 15. d4 ter White has displaced his knight

c5!  from the active d4-square.

Black intends ... d8-a8 with pros- [8.e5 White can’t afford such ex-
pects for the thematic ...  xc3 Sicil- tensions before castling and com-
ian exchange sacrifice. pleting development. 8... e8
9. f3 (9. xc6?! bxc6 10.h4?! d6
15...c4?! 16.d5  xd5 17.exd5 11.h5 a5 12.hxg6 hxg6; 9. d2
d6) 9...d6 10.0–0–0 (10. xc6?!
bxc6 11.xc6  d7 ) 10... d7]
2
8...e5!
1.e4 c5 2. f3 g6 3.d4 cxd4 4. xd4
 g7 5.c3 c6 6. e3  f6 8 r+lwq-trk+
7 zpp+p+pvlp
6 -+n+-snp+
8 r+lwqk+-tr 5 +-+-zp-+-
7 zpp+pzppvlp 4 -+-sNPzP-+

6 -+n+-snp+ 3 +-sN-vL-+-
2 PzPP+L+PzP
5 +-+-+-+-
1 tR-+QmK-+R
4 -+-sNP+-+
a b c d e f g h
3 +-sN-vL-+-
2 PzPP+-zPPzP 9. db5 Black has safe paths to
1 tR-+QmKL+R
equality here like 9... e8, but the
a b c d e f g h
following opportunity, while messy
and slightly risky, is far too appeal-
7. e2 ing to pass up. (9.fxe5  xe5 10.0–0
d6 11.  g5 h6 12.  h4 g5 13.  g3 b6
a) 7. xc6 bxc6 8.e5  g8! (8... d5 14. h1  eg4 15.d3  h5; 9. xc6
I never liked this pawn sacrifice but dxc6 10.fxe5  g4! ) 9... xe4!!N
several grandmasters have played 10. xe4 d5 11. f2 (11. ed6 a6
it. 9. xd5 cxd5 10.xd5  b8) 9.f4 12. xc8  xc8 13. a7  xa7 14.  xa7
 h6 10. d2 0–0 11.0–0–0 d6!=; b6) 11...a6 12. a3 exf4 13.  c1
Black’s compensation is of a long-
b) 7.f4 0–0 8.  e2 Black can of term nature. For the sacrificed piece
course continue with 8...d6 here he currently has two pawns, control
and transpose to the ordinary Drag- over the center, and most of White’s
on but I suggest we only do so af- pieces are awkwardly placed.