Dragon Variation

The idea

Black fianchettoes the bishop with 5...g6 and ...Bg7, where it points down the long diagonal at the center and White's queenside. Together with the open c-file, it gives Black strong counterplay.

The price is that Black's king, once castled, sits behind the g6 pawn, which White can attack with h4-h5 to open the h-file.

Plans for White

The most dangerous plan is the Yugoslav Attack: 6.Be3, f3, Qd2, and long castling, followed by h4-h5 and Bh6 to trade off Black's best bishop. Quieter options such as 6.Be2 and short castling avoid the race.

Plans for Black

Complete development with ...Bg7, ...O-O and ...Nc6, then use the c-file and the long diagonal. Typical ideas are ...Bd7, ...Rc8, ...Ne5-c4 and an exchange sacrifice on c3.

Watch out for

For Black, the early knight jump. After 6.Be3, 6...Ng4?? looks good because it attacks the bishop, but 7.Bb5+ wins material: after 7...Bd7 8.Qxg4, White has won a piece. Play 6...Bg7 first, and after 7.f3 the jump is no longer possible anyway.

For White, the danger is overextending. If White's attack stalls, Black's bishop on g7 and pressure on the c-file can quickly take over.

History

Louis Paulsen played the modern form around 1880, and by around 1900 Harry Nelson Pillsbury and other masters had brought it into general use. Anatoly Karpov played it against Viktor Korchnoi in the 1974 Candidates final, and Garry Kasparov used it as a surprise weapon against Viswanathan Anand in 1995.