The Monthly Dragon – The White dragon

Chris Ward flips the usual “Monthly Dragon” perspective by studying why White wins against the Sicilian Dragon, using the classic Karpov–Korchnoi game to highlight recurring mating themes. He then shows how those same ideas transfer across openings and how he used the lessons in his own games to punish opponents who weren’t aware of the patterns—especially tactics involving sacrificesand mating nets. The takeaway for Dragon players: don’t avoid White’s best wins, learn the “warning signs,” so you can prevent them and steer the positions toward Black’s counterplay instead.| Photo: John Upham