IM Andrew Martin’s introduction to the Sicilian is very good. Even after going through John Emms’ book on the Sicilian, I found a number of extremely valuable remarks on particular variations of the Dragon that weren’t discussed in Emms’ “Starting Out: Sicilian.” For example, the Dragondorf was not covered by Emms, and IM Martin gives extremely potent lines for black to try out against very, very formulaic white players.
Keep in mind that this is mostly an intro for the black side of things. If you are looking for a complete introductory discussion of main lines for white, you are not going to find it here. However, you will find some stuff that black might try, though it will be up to you to figure out how to respond. IM Martin is mostly giving lines that give good middle games for black. He’s particularly interested in providing lines that will force white to play originally, not regurgitating theory developed by a GM and winning inside of 20 moves.
I’d recommend this Fritz Trainer to anyone who has been messing around with the Sicilian and wants some decent lines to play, while learning theory. Of course, this Fritz Trainer is not a permanent fix for avoiding theory, but it can get you started and give you lots of good ideas about the opening, in general, and ideas about the theory and strategy of main lines. I would probably recommend being moderately knowledgeable about the opening before starting this Fritz Trainer on this specific variation. John Emms’ “Starting Out: Sicilian” is an excellent way to go.
The ABC of the Sicilian Dragon Chess Opening Software Program DVD
5 | 2 ratings
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Last update: 02-04-2025
About this item
The Sicilian Dragon is one of Black’s best counterattacking options against 1.e4 and therefore very attractive.
After 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 g6! Black develops aggressively and rapidly.
Black has clear intentions on the half-open c file and the long diagonal. He retains options of levering open the Queenside with the help of ...b7-b5 and ...a7-a5.
Andrew Martin constructs a battle plan for the average player, which relies less on theory and more on understanding.
IM Martin argues conclusively that this excellent opening can be used by every player and give fine results. Video running time: 4 h 10 min.
After 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 g6! Black develops aggressively and rapidly.
Black has clear intentions on the half-open c file and the long diagonal. He retains options of levering open the Queenside with the help of ...b7-b5 and ...a7-a5.
Andrew Martin constructs a battle plan for the average player, which relies less on theory and more on understanding.
IM Martin argues conclusively that this excellent opening can be used by every player and give fine results. Video running time: 4 h 10 min.
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David Milliern