Chess Opening Theory/1. e4/1...c5/2. Nf3/2...Nc6/3. d4/3...cxd4/4. Nxd4/4...g6/5. Nc3/5...Bg7/6. Be3/6...Nf6/7. Bc4

Modern Bc4 variation B35 Sicilian defence → Accelerated dragon → Modern variation → 6...Nf6 7. Bc4 · Modern Bc4 variation This is the main line. White develops their bishop and increases control of d5 before playing f3. This prevents Black's rejoinder 8...d5, that otherwise equalises against the move order 7. f3 O-O 8. Qd2. After 7...O-O, the main move, White must first move their bishop again, 8. Bb3, before continuing with f3 (controlling g4), Qd2, and O-O-O. Otherwise, 8. f3?! is answered with 8...Qb6!, 8. Qd2? with 8...Ng4!, exposing an attack on d4 while attacking White's dark square bishop. 7...Qa5!? is a sideline. This compels White to give up on the idea of long castling. The immediate threat is that 7...Qa5 pins the knight, so 8. Qd2? hangs the e-pawn. 8...Nxe4 9. Nxc6 Qxc3 10. Qxc3 Bxc3+ 11. bxc3 dxc6 --. 8. f3 Qb4 threatens to take the bishop. 9. Bb3 Nxe4! and it turns out the f-pawn wasn't enough to protect the e-pawn, as Black has now unleashed three attacks on d4. 10. fxe4? Bxd4 11. Bxd4 Qxd4 12. Qf3 --. 8. Nb3 attacks the queen, but can also be met with 8...Qb4 threatening to take the bishop. The line may continue e.g. 9. Nd2 Qxb2 10. Nb5 Qe5 --. Therefore White's best play is 8. O-O, unpinning the knight and defending the e-pawn. If Black continues with 8...Qb4?! anyway, then 9. Qe2 defends the bishop and the b-pawn is poisonous. (9...Qxb2 10. Ncb5 Nxe4 11. Rab1 Nc3 12. Rxb2 Nxe2+ 13. Bxe2 +++.) Alternatively 7...d6 transposes into the regular dragon variation. History thumb|right|His victory over Reshevsky secured the 14-year-old Bobby Fischer the US championship title. This line was popularised in the 1950s. One of the most famous games in this position is Fischer v. Reshevsky, 1958.Fischer v Reshevsky, 1958. Chessgames.com After 7...O-O 8. Be3!, Reshevsky thought to trade off the bishop with 8...Na5?, and ran afoul of 9. e5 Ne8?? 10. Bxf7+ Kxf7 11. Ne6 dxe6 12. Qxd8 +++. The game, which Chess Life described as "sensational", served Reshevsky his only loss in the tournament and clinched the US chess championship title for Fischer.Fischer Does It Again Chess Life 1959-01-05 https://uscf1-nyc1.aodhosting.com/CL-AND-CR-ALL/CL-ALL/1959/1959_01_1.pdf XIII 9 Theory table References See also