page 1 of 7; games 1-25 of 159  Game   Result Moves Year Event/Locale Opening 1. W Kunerth vs T Kapfer   1-0 32 1938 Krakow B71 Sicilian, Dragon, Levenfish Variation 2. Levenfish vs I Rabinovich 1-0 45 1939 Ch URS B71 Sicilian, Dragon, Levenfish Variation 3. M Czerniak vs Pelikan   1-0 57 1945 Buenos Aires ch B71 Sicilian, Dragon, Levenfish Variation 4. Bronstein vs Averbakh 1-0 41 1946 Ch Moscow B71 Sicilian, Dragon, Levenfish Variation 5. Nezhmetdinov vs P Ermolin 1-0 15 1946 Kazan ch B71 Sicilian, Dragon, Levenfish Variation 6. Randviir vs Simagin   1-0 56 1947 Tournament B71 Sicilian, Dragon, Levenfish Variation 7. Boleslavsky vs C Kottnauer   ½-½ 53 1947 Chigorin mem B71 Sicilian, Dragon, Levenfish Variation 8. Julio Bolbochan vs H Rossetto   ½-½ 71 1948 Ch Argentina (match) B71 Sicilian, Dragon, Levenfish Variation 9. Korchnoi vs Spassky 1-0 12 1948 Leningrad B71 Sicilian, Dragon, Levenfish Variation 10. Averbakh vs Lisitsin 1-0 39 1948 USSR Championship B71 Sicilian, Dragon, Levenfish Variation 11. P F Schmidt vs B H Wood   1-0 48 1948 Hastings 4849 B71 Sicilian, Dragon, Levenfish Variation 12. Pilnik vs Kashdan 1-0 28 1948 New York B71 Sicilian, Dragon, Levenfish Variation 13. Korchnoi vs Spassky 0-1 51 1949 Leningrad B71 Sicilian, Dragon, Levenfish Variation 14. J Fuller vs O Barda   ½-½ 57 1949 Hastings 4950 B71 Sicilian, Dragon, Levenfish Variation 15. Pilnik vs Eliskases   ½-½ 34 1950 Mar del Plata B71 Sicilian, Dragon, Levenfish Variation 16. E Pedersen vs A Zografakis 1-0 10 1950 Dubrovnik olm B71 Sicilian, Dragon, Levenfish Variation 17. Rellstab vs Morcken   ½-½ 46 1950 Dubrovnik olm B71 Sicilian, Dragon, Levenfish Variation 18. A Mengarini vs Reshevsky 1-0 27 1951 New York, USA Ch B71 Sicilian, Dragon, Levenfish Variation 19. Schmid vs Gilg 1-0 24 1951 GER-ch 14th B71 Sicilian, Dragon, Levenfish Variation 20. N Kopaev vs Korchnoi 0-1 36 1952 Odessa B71 Sicilian, Dragon, Levenfish Variation 21. Szabo vs Reshevsky   ½-½ 20 1952 Helsinki B71 Sicilian, Dragon, Levenfish Variation 22. H Rossetto vs Eliskases   0-1 29 1952 Rio de Janeiro it B71 Sicilian, Dragon, Levenfish Variation 23. D Katragadda vs B Nyren 0-1 39 1952 Liverpool tt B71 Sicilian, Dragon, Levenfish Variation 24. A Fuderer vs P Trifunovic   1-0 29 1952 YUG-ch B71 Sicilian, Dragon, Levenfish Variation 25. Szily vs P Trifunovic   ½-½ 66 1952 Helsinki ol (Men) B71 Sicilian, Dragon, Levenfish Variation  page 1 of 7; games 1-25 of 159    REFINE SEARCH:   White wins (1-0) | Black wins (0-1) | Draws (1/2-1/2)

Secrets of Opening Surprises

Jul-14-04    RonB52734: Has this opening been refuted? Or just fallen out of favor? Jul-14-04    SicilianDragon: Mostly fallen out of favor because black can easily equalize with both 6...Nc6 and 6...Ndb7. However, there are still a few unsuspecting persons who fall for it and play 6...Bg7? Jul-14-04    RonB52734: <SicilianDragon> Thanks for the reply. I see an example of the problem with 6...Bg7? in the game J L Alvarez vs C Hounie Fleurquin, 1961 which you have kibitzed as well. Jul-14-04    SicilianDragon: This is certainly a trappy variation, but poses no threat against experienced opposition. Jul-14-04    Helloween: This is one of the most rarely played openings that actually has its own ECO code. 6...Bg7? is of course bad, and both 6...Nc6 and 6...Nbd7 give Black a good position as mentioned earlier. My personal preference, 6...a6, also gives Black a strong position, as preventing Bb5+ is very important. Bronstein vs Tukmakov, 1971 shows 6...a6 in action. Jul-19-04    RonB52734: This variation was mentioned fairly prominently in a novel, written several decades ago (the 1980s?), about a woman world champion, "The Queen's Gambit." Jul-19-04    Jesuitic Calvinist: Ron, I remember the novel "Queen's Gambit" by Tevis(?) from 1983, I think. I recall the parts about sex and dope-smoking, but not f4 against the Dragon. This selective chess reading perhaps explains why I did not pursue chess more seriously in my youth. Aug-07-04    RonB52734: Lol. It does not, however, explain your nickname! Oct-04-04    tacticsjokerxxx: <SicilianDragon> 6...c6 being considered the best move here... (g7 being obviosly bad and bd7 doens't look so hot either) what happens after 7.xc6 - bxc6 8. e5? I personlly don't think I'd favour that position as black, mostly because i just hate it when i get my queen's knight exchanged for a king's knight, which is why I usually delay the development of my queen's knight a bit, which obviosly doesn't work too well against the levenfish.. but also because the early f4+e5 pawn advance ruins the aesthetic quality of the dragon... hm.. what is one to do... fish vs dragon... Nov-17-04    ConspTheory06: Yes although 6...Nc6 refutes the levenfish most people who play the dragon want to get ready to castle right away so they play 6...Bg7 alot of the time. I just yesterday played this variation in my High School Match and won beautifully even after he saved the knight with a double knight sac. It went like this: 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 g6 6. f4 Bg7? 7. e5 dxe5 8. fxe5 Nd5 9. Bb5+ Kd8 10. Qf3 Nxc3 11. 0-0 Qxd4+ 12. Be3 Qd5 13. Rad1! Qxd1 14. Qxf7# After 13. Rad1! Back cannot defend both mate on d8 and f7 if he moves the queen his best variation is 13...Be6 but then after 14. Bc4 he is still lost. May-08-07    Elixir of Life: <ConspTheory06> What about <7...Nh5>?? Isn't it a better move ? Dec-22-07    Cactus: Actually, it is a bid surprise to me that 6...Bg7 is getting bashed. It is certainly a good book move; for example, Emms, in his book on the Dragon, seems to think it is black's best responce to the Levenfish. After 7.e5 Nh5 (Elixir was right; this is the best move) 8.Bb5+ (g4? is worse for white after 8...Nxf4 9.Bxf4 dxe5) Bd7 with an equal game. As well, <tacticsjokerxxx> Nbd7 is actually an exellent move, after which black soon gains equality. For example: Ljubojevic-Miles 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 g6 6.f4 Nbd7 7.Nf3 (still trying for e5)Qc7 8.Bd3 Bg7 9.O-O O-O Here we have: click for larger view Where the game is aboutequal, and black can attack white's e4 pawn by ...a6, ...b5, ...Bb7, ...Nf4, and can certainly defend himself against a white attack. Dec-22-07    Cactus: Sorry, that wasn't Emms, that was Andrew Martin. Aug-20-08    zoren: of course Bg7 isn't bad but Nc6 just stops e5's sting almost immediately. the Nh5 move after e5 used to be regarded as disadvantageous for black in the pre-computer days because it seems dangerous, but computers for awhile have proved it is playable. even during the 21st century, the Nh5 move wasn't really preferred by dragon players, since the character of the struggle shifts, even though it is objectively playable. Aug-20-08    Cactus: True, but really it's all just playing style. Personally, I play 6...Nbd7

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