1. Joined
    15 Dec '20
    Moves
    53
    19 Sep '21 17:26
    The book How Purdy Won, starting on page 55, gives Purdy's notes to his game against M. C. Salm (Black) from the second Correspondence Championship of Australia, which started in 1945. The game, a Sicilian Dragon, began as follows:



    Purdy writes, "This has gone rather out of fashion, but I am not quite convinced that Black can completely equalise against it as maintained by D. N. Levy in his classic The Sicilian Dragon, published 1972."

    Fair enough. However, Black has developed rapidly and actively without creating any glaring weaknesses. Therefore, it seems to me that if a quiet move like 6. Be2 appears to bring about a White advantage, the variations should be scrutinized with particular care.

    The game continued 6...Bg7 7. Be3 O-O 8. Qd2 Nc6 9. f4! (Purdy's exclamation point), bringing about the following position:



    Purdy writes, "Playing this befoe castling was an idea of my own. If now 9...Ng4 10. Bxg4 Bxg4, White can already play 11. f5! threatening to catch the Bishop. Best for Black then, I think, is 11...Nxd4! 12. Bxd4 e5! 13. Bf2 gxf5 14. h3 Bh5 15. exf5 f6. White seems to get at any rate a preferable with 16. Nd5 (prevents ...Qa5) Qd7 (say) 17. O-O (to be considered is g4 and O-O-O). White has a healthy initiative. Neither of Black's Bishops is very good, and one is very bad." (See the following diagram.)



    Returning to the position after 11. f5,



    Black can improve by 11...gxf5! (instead of 11...Nxd4), with the idea 12. h3 f4!. Now 13. Nxc6 (13. hxg4? loses material to 13...fxe3) 13...fxe3 14. Qxe3 (14. Nxd8? loses the knight after 14...exd2+ followed by 15...Bc8!) 14...bxc6 15. hxg4 makes it hard for White to pursue the attack because (1) so many pieces have been exchanged; and (2) if White provokes ...h6 and then plays g5... and gxh6..., the h-file would be blocked. (See next diagram for this sequence in bold starting with 11. f5.)



    Perhaps after 11. f5 gxf5 12. h3 f4, White should play 13. Bxf4 (rather than 13. Nxc6), but after 13...Nxd4 14. hxg4 Qd7 15. Rh4 Rfc8 (not only to develop but to unpin the bishop in anticipation of White's Bh6...), Black has a counterattack and the better pawn structure. (See next diagram for this sequence in bold starting with 11. f5.)



    Although Black has an edge in these lines, the weakening of Black's kingside does give White practical chances. This seems best avoided by answering 9. f4 by 9...Nxd4 (not mentioned by Purdy) 10. Bxd4 (10. Qxd4 concedes the two bishops after 10...Ng4.) 10...e5!, to meet 11. fxe5 dxe5 12. Bxe5? by 12...Qxd2+ 13. Kxd2 Nxe4+ 14. Nxe4 Bxe5, regaining the pawn and emerging with the two bishops. (See next diagram for this sequence.)



    Instead of 12. Bxe5, White might try 12. Be3, but after 12...Qxd2+ (Tempting is 12...Qa5 followed by ...Rd8, but 13. Bf3! allows the White queen to slide over to the kingside.) 13. Bxd2 Be6 14. O-O-O Rfc8 (keeping the a-pawn protected in anticipation of Be3... or Nb5... by White), Black has the more mobile pawn majority and one fewer pawn island than White, whose dark-square bishop's movement is constrained by the latent thematic sacrifice ...Rxc3; bxc3 Nxe4. (See next diagram for this sequence.)



    If White varies with 11. Be3 (instead of 11. fxe5), then 11...exf4 12. Bxf4 Re8 (see next diagram), and the liquidation of the center seems to favor Black.



    For example,

    A) 13. Bxd6 Nxe4 14. Nxe4 Rxe4, threatening 15...Bxb2, 15...Bg4, or 15...Rd4.
    B) 13. Qxd6 Qxd6 14. Bxd6 Nxe4 15. Nxe4 Rxe4, with 15...Bxb2 or 15...Bg4 again threatened.
    C) 13. O-O-O Nxe4 14. Nxe4 Rxe4 15. Qxd6 Qxd6 16. Rxd6 Rxe2 17. Rd8+ Bf8 18. Bh6 Rxc2+! 19. Kb1 (otherwise Black's light-square bishop gives check while creating a discovered attack on the d8-rook) 19...Bf5! 20. Rxa8 Rc8+ 21. Ka1 Rxa8. (See next diagram for this sequence.)



    The above seems to show that after 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 g6 6. Be2 Bg7 7. Be3 O-O 8. Qd2 Nc6 9. f4 Nxd4 10. Bxd4 e5!, the task of trying to equalize rests with White rather than Black.
  2. e4
    Joined
    06 May '08
    Moves
    42492
    20 Sep '21 10:41
    Hi FMDavidHLevin

    As usual Interesting analysis. I'd like to just add something about 6.Be2.

    it has good annoynace value as Dragon players will be booked up on
    the popular 0-0-0 systems which are good fun for both sides. After 6.Be2
    Black could quite easilt dift into a poor position thinking 6.Be2 is harmless.

    Black has to work for their win playing v the Be2 system. It cannot be too bad,
    In reverse a tempo down it is a valid and acceptable method of meeting the English.

    Historically Black does OK with this system.

  3. Joined
    15 Dec '20
    Moves
    53
    22 Sep '21 15:33
    My original post neglected to mention that Black actually played 9...Bd7, after which White conducted a nice positional game and won in 50 moves.

    Amusingly, while typing up line (C) near the end of the post, I hadn't realized that after capturing White's e-pawn, the Black rook at e4 is pressuring also the dark-square bishop (whose capture would eliminate White's subsequent back-rank mating possibilities). It's as if I'd imagined Black's rook as having inertia of motion along the e-file. 🙂

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