Fischer treated these two variations in the same way, so generally they merged into one.
Specifically he usually rejected the chance to set up a Maróczy Bind and instead continued with his normal anti-Sicilian strategy of developing the white light-square bishop to c4.
The starting tabiya of these two merged dragons comes after move-orders that typically run 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 g6 5.Nc3 Bg7 6.Be3 Nf6 7.Bc4 and 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 g6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nc6 5.Nc3 Bg7 6.Be3 Nf6 7.Bc4.
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| Starting tabiya of the merged Accelerated & Hyper-Accelerated Dragon |
Black attacks the bishop with 7...Na5?!
Fischer - Norbert Leopoldi
Western Open (Bay City, Michigan) 1963
8.Bb3!?
Two years earlier Fischer had preferred 8.Be2, which has also been played by Keres, Stein, Nakamura and Anand. The text has been played by Suetin and Carlsen.
It may be significant that none of these great names chose the line favoured by my main analysis engines, Stockfish12 and Komodo11.01, namely 8.Bxf7+!? Kxf7 9.e5, one point being that retreating the attacked knight by 9...Ne8? or 9...Ng8 loses to 10.Ne6! A computer rapid game between Spaghetti Chess and Komodo1 in 2008 continued 9...Nc4 10.exf6 Bxf6 11.Qf3 Kg7 12.0-0-0 d6, reaching a position my modern engines reckon favours White, although the game was drawn in 36 moves.
8...Nxb3 9.axb3
As we have seen earlier in this series, Fischer prefers to capture on b3 with a pawn rather than withdrawing his aggressively placed king's knight.
9...d6 10.f3 Bd7 11.g4!?
Later games, albeit between weaker players, featured 11.Qd2.
11...a6
Leopoldi is understandably reluctant to castle into Fisher's kingside attack.
12.h4 h6
My engines strongly dislike 12...0-0?!
13.Qd2 Rc8 14.h5 e5
The engines prefer 14...g5, but like White.
15.Nde2 gxh5 16.gxh5 Be6
The engines give 16...Bf8, but basically they cannot suggest anything good for Black.
17.0-0-0 Rc6 18.Kb1 b5 19.Nd5 a5 20.Rhg1!
A pawn sacrifice that was hardly needed to confirm White's advantage, but it is the best move in the position, according to my engines.
20...Nxh5 21.Nec3 b4 22.Nb5 Bf8 23.Na7 Ra6 24.Qd3
The black queen's rook is trapped.
24...Bc8 25.Nxc8 Qxc8 26.Qxa6!?
A simple-enough combination - once you have seen it! - but by now there were several ways to win.
26...Qxa6 27.Nc7+ Kd7 28.Nxa6 Kc6 29.Rd5 1-0
Black commits to castling short with 7...0-0
This is the most-popular move in the position in ChessBase's 2020 Mega database, and is generally regarded as the sharpest.
Fischer replied 8.f3!? the first time he reached this position, but subsequently always played 8.Bb3, which is considered by most authorities to be most accurate.
A)
Fischer - Samuel Reshevsky
US Championship (New York) 1958
8...Na5?
While ...Na5 is regarded as dubious at move seven, it is a definite mistake one move later.
9.e5 Ne8
Or 9...Nab3 10.exf6 Nxa1 11.fxg7 Nxc2 12.Qxc2 with a large development advantage for White in Georgy Bastrikov - Leonid Shamkovich, Russian U18 Championship (Sochi) 1958 (1-0, 43 moves).
10.Bxf7+! Kxf7 11.Ne6
This is also the answer to 10...Rxf7.
11...dxe6 12.Qxd8 (1-0, 42 moves).
B)
Fischer - Reshevsky
Match, Game 4 (Los Angeles) 1958
8...Ng4!? 9.Qxg4 Nxd4 10.Qd1 Nxb3 11.axb3 b6!?
This is easily the most-popular move, but Fischer's reply makes it look strange. The main alternative is 11...a6, but the engines reckon White's lead in development is enough for an edge after 12.Qd2, eg 12...d6 13.Bh6 Bxh6 14.Qxh6 with a kingside attack.
12.Qd5
Also strong is the more-popular 12.Bd4.
12...Bxc3+ 13.bxc3 Qc7! 14.0-0-0
Not 14.Qxa8? Qxc3+ 15.Kd1 (15.Ke2 Ba6+ etc) Qxa1+ 16.Bc1 e6, when Black is a pawn up and has the safer king.
14...Qxc3 15.Bd4 Qc6 16.Qe5 f6 17.Qxe7 Bb7 18.f3
White is much better, according to the engines, but Reshevsky saved the game in an opposite-coloured bishops ending.
C)
8...a5
This, the main choice of dedicated Accelerated Dragon fans, was not faced by Fischer.
The main line in Mega20 runs 9.0-0 a4!? 10.Nxa4 Nxe4 11.Nb5 Ra6 12.c4 d6 13.Qe2 Nf6 14.h3!? with the better position for White, according to my engines.
D)
8...d6
This is actually Black's main move in Mega20, but again was not faced by Fischer.
The main line runs 9.f3 Bd7 10.Qd2 Rc8 11.0-0-0, reaching an opposite-sides castling position that the engines reckon is good for White. However, there are more 7,600 games with this position in Mega20 and we are very much still in theory.
Black develops the queen with 7...Qa5
This arguably more-positional approach has been recommended by grandmaster Nigel Davies in a ChessBase DVD.
Fischer - Friðrik Ólafsson
Bled (Yugoslavia) 1961
8.0-0 d6!? 9.Nb3!? Qc7 10.Be2 0-0
This position is normally reached via the move-order 8...0-0 9.Nb3!? Qc7 10.Be2 d6. A major difference is that in the latter move-order White more often plays 9.Bb3. The point of Ólafsson's move-order may have been that in it 9.Bb3 can be met by 9...Ng4!?, which the engines reckon gives equality.
11.f4 a5 12.a4 Nb4!?
This is the most-common move in Mega20. Black has latent pressure against c2 and, in some lines, may get in ...d5.
13.Rf2!?
More popular today is 13.Bf3 but Fischer presumably judged that he did not yet need to impede ...d5.
13...e5 14.Bf3
This would probably have also been the answer to 13...Rd8, one point being that it allows White to play Rd2.
14...Bd7 15.Rd2 Rfd8! 16.Kh1
16.Rxd6?! is met by 16...Ba4 or 16....Ne8 17.Rd2 exf4, both of which give Black equality, according to the engines.
16...Bc6 17.Qg1!
Fischer decides the backward d pawn is defendable from immediate direct attack and instead latches on to the weakness at b6.
17...Nd7 18.f5 b6 19.Rad1 Nc5 20.Nb5 Qe7 21.Nxd6 Nxc2 22.Nxc5 Nxe3?!
Better, according to the engines, is 22...bxc5 23.Rxc2 Rxd6, but they still prefer White.
23.Qxe3 bxc5 24.Be2!
The engines point out that 24.b3 can be met by 24...Bf8 25.Qxc5 Bxa4! 26.bxa4 Ra6 when Black will regain his piece with a reasonable game.
24...Bxa4
Black has to accept the pawn sac as, for example, 24...Bf8? now runs into 25.Bc4 Be8 26.fxg6 hxg6 27.Qg3 with a big attack.
25.b3 Be8 26.Bc4 a4 27.Bd5! Rxd6!?
Komodo11.01 agrees this exchange sac is Black's best chance, but Stockfish12 gives 27...Ra7 28.fxg6 hxg6 29.Nxe8 Rxe8, albeit much preferring White.
28.Bxa8 Rd4 29.fxg6 hxg6 30.bxa4 Bxa4 31.Ra1 Qf8?
White is only slightly better after the largely forcing-line 31...Qd8 32.Bd5 Bc6 33.Rxd4 exd4 34.Bxf7+ Kxf7 35.Qb3+ Ke7 36.Ra7+ Kd6 37.Rxg7 Bxe4. Indeed Stockfish12, but not Komodo11.01, reckons Black's bishop and pawn give full compensation for the exchange despite the exposed position of the black king.
32.Bd5! Bh6 33.Rad4!
Fischer gives up his queen, having seen the attack on f7 means White is winning.
33...Bxe3 34.Rdxa4 Qh6 35.Rf1 Bf4 36.g3 Qh3 37.Raa1 Bxg3?
Black loses trivially after this, but is lost anyway.
38.Ra8+ 1-0
I feel a lot more people need to read this, very good info!
ReplyDeleteman and van London