Accelerated Dragon: free opening course
After 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Black plays 4...g6 at once. The d-pawn stays at home, so it can later jump to d5 in one go. You learn the main line with 7.Bc4, the Yugoslav-style 7.f3 and the Maroczy Bind with 5.c4. You also learn the exchanges on c6 and the traps on both sides.
Key ideas
- Keep the d-pawn at home for now. Against slow set-ups it goes to d5 in one step.
- The g7 bishop is the heart of the opening. It pins the c3 knight and hits b2.
- Against the bishop on c4, push the a-pawn. The bishop on b3 then has to watch out.
- Against the Maroczy Bind, trade knights on d4. Then play for the dark squares and the queenside.
- If White trades on c6, take toward the centre. The b-file opens for the rook.
The 5 variations in the course
- Modern 7.Bc4: 8...a5 and 9...d5: 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 g6 5. Nc3 Bg7 6. Be3 Nf6 … — White develops the bishop to c4 and retreats it to b3. Black pushes the a-pawn toward the bishop. When White plays f3, Black strikes with ...d5 in one go and gets free play.
- Yugoslav set-up: 7.f3 O-O 8.Qd2 d5: 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 g6 5. Nc3 Bg7 6. Be3 Nf6 … — White sets up the Yugoslav Attack with f3 and Qd2. Without a pawn on d6, Black hits the centre with ...d5 in one move. After the trades Black gets open files and active pieces.
- Maroczy Bind: 5.c4 Nf6 6.Nc3 d6: 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 g6 5. c4 Nf6 6. Nc3 d6 … — White puts pawns on c4 and e4 to control d5. Black trades knights on d4, fianchettoes the bishop and plays ...Be6, ...Qa5 and ...Rfc8. Black aims at the queenside and the dark squares.
- Exchange: 5.Nxc6 bxc6 6.Qd4: 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 g6 5. Nxc6 bxc6 6. Qd4 Nf6 … — White trades on c6 and attacks the h8 rook with the queen. Black blocks with ...Nf6. After e5 the knight jumps to d5, and Black answers e6 with ...f6. Black gets a good centre and quick development.
- Later exchange: 5.Nc3 Bg7 6.Nxc6 bxc6: 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 g6 5. Nc3 Bg7 6. Nxc6 bxc6 … — White trades on c6 before playing Be3. Black takes toward the centre, gets the b-file and develops calmly with ...d6, ...Nf6 and short castling.
Traps you will learn (2)
- Nxc6 and e5: no square for the knight — After 7.Nxc6 bxc6 8.e5 the f6 knight must go back to g8. The jump to h5 looks active, but 9.g4 traps the knight. The e3 bishop covers f4, and the pawns cover g3.
- Yugoslav set-up: 10.O-O-O? Nxe3 — After 8...d5 9.exd5 Nxd5 White often castles long by habit. But the d5 knight takes on e3. When the d-file opens, the queens come off with check, and Black wins a piece.
How the opening courses work
Each course teaches an opening in a few main variations. For every move you read why it is played, which other moves are good, and which tempting moves are mistakes and why. Each course also shows the traps of the opening: the ones you can set and the ones to avoid.
After a lesson you play the moves yourself in a drill. The lines you learn go into your review, which brings them back when you are about to forget them (spaced repetition). 30 line courses add many short lines per opening, a few new ones a day, and every named opening, more than 3,800 lines, has a lesson of its own.
Questions and answers
Is the Accelerated Dragon course free?
Yes. The Accelerated Dragon course on chessGM is free, with all 5 variations, 2 traps, the drills and the review. There is no paid plan that unlocks more.
Who is the Accelerated Dragon course for?
It is a course at advanced level for Black, written for players rated around 1700.
How do I practise this opening?
After each lesson, play the moves yourself in the drill. The lines you learn go into your review, which brings them back when you are about to forget them, and you can try the opening in games against the bots.