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Chess openings adhere to this statement at least as well as any other idiom. The great Danish GM Bent Larsen made this clear in the mid 1960’s. With a seeming minimum of effort Larsen won games against the best players in the world by playing openings that were at least 30 years out of date.
My initial thought about this variation was the age of it. The reason is that my first exposure to this interpretation was a game in one of Botvinnik’s books and that game left the impression that Black needed to play more incisively. Williams’ explanation of the games in “New Sicilian Dragon” demonstrates how that opinion may need to be refreshed. I don’t mean to suggest that Black’s play is any “slower” or more restrained than in the more common lines of the Dragon; instead Black uses a different set of motifs to create active play. The change in mindset that these modern interpretations import are given plenty of page space by Williams, who devotes much of the 10-page introduction to the new directions. One of the first of these motifs that Williams’ points out is that Black should refrain from castling quickly to focus on developing play down the b- and c-files. Introducing these new directions works easily into the written matter as the author describes how he came to play the variation and then later worked through various lines. Games selected for the book display the change in idea, where a few older games are built upon to bring touches from newer games to light. That same game from Botvinnik’s anthology is used as a demonstration here, though I think I preferred Botvinnik’s original notes (no offense to Mr. Williams.) There is a further extension of this philosophy in the chapter selection. Usually a reader might expect to see chapters divided by alternatives at various points of the move sequence. This volume is different as the sequence 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 g6 6.Be3 a6!? 7.f3 Bg7 8.Qd2 Nbd7 is used as a base for four chapters: Early Bc4, White castles and pushes g4 or h4, White castles and early Bh6, finally Positional Tries and early deviations. The titles illustrate that the focus of each chapter is not tied strictly to a sequence of moves, but instead to an approach by White. It is almost certain that in a couple of years this will change and sequences will be more critical, but currently this is a great approach to a fairly fresh variation. Chapter 5 is a further example of how the author is working through the variation, he offers “the Accelerated Dragadorf” in which Black eschews the early Bg7 by Black. Many of the concepts cross over, yet the differences are brought to focus. The final two chapters are devoted to “Classical” lines and “Less Common lines for White”. The work in these final two chapters still has the feel of being Williams’ original analysis. There is a lot of very valuable information in any of the chapters. Sixty-two games have been selected to represent the “New Sicilian Dragon”. The notes to each of the games will assist the reader in learning the important points of the specific position. Some of the games are selected because they have different alternatives for Black. One thing I feel compelled to say about the notes is that sometimes important tactical points are passed over as the strategic points are clarified. My opinion is that anyone who finds these situations difficult will either lose faith in the line or become frustrated because of a lack of reinforcement from the author. There is the point that working out such things can help the reader, but there is enough going on for the reader to absorb that a simple comment pays well. Otherwise, this is quite a good book. I would recommend it to players who are looking for fresh avenues to explore and can create some of the path themselves. For anyone looking to memorize a sequence and start thinking many moves later, maybe not so much. Everyman
has found another good book and for more
check their website. From the Publisher's website: Simon Williams is a Grandmaster who is acclaimed for his dynamic and spontaneous attacking style. He is also an experienced author, whose previous books have received great praise (Dangerous Weapons: The Dutch: Dazzle your Opponents!; How to Win at Chess - Quickly!; Attacking Chess: The French).
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Chessville
The
Advertise to Single insert:
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Well,
it has - kind of - happened again. Simon William’s “The New Sicilian
Dragon” explores a Dragon Sicilian thought to be extinct in the mid-1960’s,
but has recently found new life as a formidable weapon… the Dragadorf
Sicilian.
