Accelerated Dragons (Chess Openings) [Paperback]

John Donaldson (Author), Jeremy Silman (Author)

Book Description

Series: Chess Openings | Publication Date: April 1, 1998

Many players are attracted to the Dragon Sicilian, but are put off by the fierce mating attacks that White can launch. In the Accelerated Dragon, Black aims for an improved version, saving a move with his queen's pawn. If White tries to ignore the difference, Black's instant detonation of the centre will come as an unwelcome cold shower!

The authors show that White's main reply, the Maroczy Bind, is not so fearsome as was once thought Black has many ways to break out, while quite often it is possible to manoeuvre around White's 'binding pawns' and show that they imprison White's pieces as much as they do Black's.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Many players are attracted to the Dragon Sicilian, but are put off by the fierce mating attacks that White can launch. In the Accelerated Dragon, Black aims for an improved version, saving a move with his queen's pawn. If White tries to ignore the difference, Black's instant detonation of the centre will come as an unwelcome cold shower! The authors show that White's main reply, the Maroczy Bind, is not so fearsome as was once thought. Black has many ways to break out, while quite often it is possible to manoeuvre around White's 'binding' pawns and show that they imprison White's pieces as much as they do Black's. Written by two outstanding experts on the Accelerated Dragon, this book offers complete coverage of all lines of the Accelerated Dragon and many ideas for breaking the critical Maroczy Bind. International Master John Donaldson is Associate Editor of the acclaimed magazine inside Chess (Seattle). He is the author of several books, including theoretical opening works and painstakingly researched player biographies. He plays regularly and successfully in North American tournaments. International Master Jeremy Silman is co-author (with Yasser Seirawan) of Microsoft Press's series of chess books, and author of several openings books. (320 pages, 5 3/4' X 8 1/4')

About the Author

International Master Jeremy Silman is co-author (with Yasser Seirawan) of Microsoft Press's series of chess books, and author of several openings books. International Master John Donaldson is an Associate Editor of the acclaimed magazine Inside Chess (Seattle). He is author of several books, including theoretical opening works and painstakingly researched player biographies. He plays regularly and successfully in North American tournaments.

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Everyman Chess; 1st edition (April 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1857442083
• ISBN-13: 978-1857442083
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #307,540 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Jeremy Silman is an International Master and a world-class teacher, writer, and player who has won the American Open, the National Open, and the U.S. Open. Considered by many to be the game's preeminent instructive writer, he is the author of over thirty-six popular books, including How to Reassess Your Chess (universally accepted as a modern classic), The Amateur's Mind, The Complete Book of Chess Strategy, and The Reassess Your Chess Workbook. Fans of the game instruction, book reviews, theoretical articles, and details of his work in the creation of the chess scene in the movie Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Solid, down to earth, May 4, 2001

By 

Robert H. Nunnally Jr. "gurdonark" (Allen, TX United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Accelerated Dragons (Chess Openings) (Paperback)

I am one of those people who doesn't play the Sicilian often, because of how sharp and bookish it can be. In particular, the Sicilian Dragon is something I play only in the least important blitz games, as there are so many variations, and one's king gets stormed so darn often. From hard experience, I'd known that the Yugoslav variation stuff doesn't work against the accelerated dragon, but I'd never known the move sequences nor how to deal with all those c4 Maroczy Bind situations. This book capably tells you how to play the Accelerated, how to turn back white's efforts to try the Yugoslav Attack, and how to deal with the bind. It has a nice chapter on the Hyper Accelerated, and a mildly throwaway chapter on the Semi Accelerated system with ...Nc6 and ....g6. This is a good book, easily understandable by a B player like myself. Well done.

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What I needed, January 3, 2001

By 

"scarblac" (Groningen, Netherlands) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Accelerated Dragons (Chess Openings) (Paperback)

I bought this book a week ago. Although I haven't had time to study it all in depth, I already like it more than my other opening books. I already played the accelerated Dragon, without knowing a lot of theory.

Many Whites play some sort of move order to reach the Yugoslav variation of the Dragon. That's not possible against the Accelerated, since Black can play ...d5!. But there are many tactical points in those lines to make Black equalize or win a pawn right away, and I always missed them. This book will allow me to punish mistakes every White seems to make, and I like that most :).

Furthermore, this is an opening book with quite a lot of text. It starts out with an overview of typical plans for both sides, and in the analysis chapters, many moves are accompanied with a small line saying what the idea is. I know I played many moves from other books not knowing why...

And it is complete. Aside from the main Accelerated e4 c5 Nf3 Nc6 d4 cxd4 Nxd4 g6, it also covers lines like the hyper-accelerated (e4 c5 Nf3 g6) which I sometimes like to play to avoid 3.Bb5, in 23 pages!, and things like the dubious e4 c5 Nf3 Nc6 d4 cxd4 Nxd4 Nf6 Nc3 g6.

The authors are absolute Accelerated enthusiasts so maybe there is a small Black bias, but I think most people who want to buy this book play it as Black anyway. The opening is completely playable.

25 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book, March 1, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Accelerated Dragons (Chess Openings) (Paperback)

After searching for a great way to create a battle from move 3, I found the accelerated dragon. This book gives wonderful examples of classic positions and discusses new theory. Full of lots of games for each major variant, it does a good job of verbally explaining the main ideas behind each line. This is for both black and white, though it is a little biased towards the black side.