Accelerated Dragon tactics

The whole system exists to save a single tempo, and every tactic in it is about the moment that tempo is either used or lost.

• 120 positions in the course
• Difficulty 1094–2438
• Section: Sicilian Systems
• 5 levels

What the Accelerated Dragon produces tactically

Black plays ...g6 and ...Bg7 before committing the d-pawn, which means the freeing break ...d5 can be played in one move rather than two. That is the entire point of the system and the reason it is called accelerated. White's main answer is to stop the break by clamping the d5 square with pawns on c4 and e4, which costs flexibility and time of its own.

So the tactics are about the long diagonal and the d5 square, and they usually arrive together. The bishop on g7 does nothing at all while the centre is blocked, and then something in front of it moves and it is hitting a rook. The other recurring shape is ...d5 played one move before it works, which is a losing move rather than an inaccuracy.

How to spot it

• Look down the a1-h8 diagonal before every capture in the centre. The g7 bishop is frequently the piece that makes a combination work.
• Calculate ...d5 explicitly whenever it is legal. In this opening it is either the best move on the board or a blunder.
• The c4 and e4 pawn clamp is White's plan. Ask what happens to those pawns if a piece lands on d4 or b4.
• Watch for tactics against a rook or queen that has parked on the long diagonal while the centre was still shut.

Three Accelerated Dragon positions

Three positions from the 120 in this skill, easiest first. The highlighted squares are the move your opponent has just played. Work it out before you open the answer.

The difference from the ordinary Dragon

In the standard Dragon, Black plays ...d6 first, White castles long and both sides race with pawns at each other's kings. The Accelerated version avoids that race entirely, because White's most dangerous setup against it does not exist and the c4 clamp leads to a slower, manoeuvring game.

That is a real advantage and it has a price: the resulting positions are less forcing, so Black cannot win by knowing a sharper line, and the space disadvantage against the clamp is permanent. It is an opening for someone who would rather understand a structure than remember twenty moves.

Questions people ask

Nearby patterns

Accelerated Dragon sits in Sicilian Systems. The rest of that section:

• Alapinc3, a big centre, two loose queens
• Closed SicilianLocked centre, opposite wings
• Grand Prix Attackf4, and go straight at it
• Smith-MorraA pawn for two open files
• RossolimoBishop takes on c6, then use it
• KanPawns first, pieces later
• TaimanovA queen and knight doing two jobs
• SveshnikovA permanent hole on d5