Chess Opening Theory/1. e4/1...c5/2. Nf3/2...d6/3. d4/3...cxd4/4. Nxd4/4...Nf6/5. Nc3/5...g6/6. Be3/6...Bg7/7. f3

Yugoslav attack B72 Sicilian defence → Dragon variation → 6...Bg7 7. f3 · Yugoslav attack White's f-pawn defends e4, freeing the c3-knight from the duty, and controls the g4-square. This prevents ...Ng4, which Black was threatening to play and gain time on White's bishop. The pawn on f3 is critical for supporting a king's side attack with g4, h4, and h5 in the future, where White aims to take advantage of the "hook" in the Black king's side, the g6 pawn. 7...O-O is the main move, which gets the king to safety, and aims to setup a sharp and exciting game involving opposite-sides castling. 7...Nc6 is the Belezky line. Usually this is just a small move order difference, and transposes to the main line after 8. Qd2 O-O. However, seeing that White is already preparing to storm the king's side, Black's idea may be to avoid castling completely. 7...a6!? is an alternative. The move ...a6 on turn five is the start of the Najdorf variation, so this line that mixes the Najdorf with the dragon is given the twee name dragondorf. That's where the similarities end, though: the usual way of combatting the English attack (the Yugoslav's cousin in the Najdorf) involves ...e5 and ...Be6, where ...a6 serves to prevent Nb5 or Bb5+, but a pawn on e5 is hardly desirable in the Dragon with Black's bishop on g7. Instead the idea of ...a6 in the dragondorf is usually to support ...b5, and Black plays with a queen's side fianchetto and avoids castling. Theory table 1 7...O-O 8. Qd2 Nc6 9. O-O-O d5 10. exd5 Nxd5 11. Nxc6 bxc6 12. Bd4 Yugoslav attack, Modern line 7. ... ... 8. ... ... 9. Bc4 Bd7 10. O-O-O Rc8 11. Bb3 Ne5 12. Kb1 Traditional line 7. ... ... 8. ... ... 9. g4 Be6 10. Nxe6 fxe6 11. O-O-O Ne5 12. Be2 Panov variation 7...Nc6 8. Qd2 Bd7 9. O-O-O h5 10. Kb1 Rc8 Belezky variation 7...a6!? 8. Qd2 Nbd7 9. O-O-O b5 10. g4 Bb7 Dragondorf variation References See also Yugoslav Attack