(776) ENTER THE DRAGON (TBN-August 18, 2014)

PRR vs. PPR (Roberto vs. Cyril and Bernard vs. Pax)

                      The Clash of the Titans (PRR top 2 and PPR top 2) was held at Dormitory 1 of Palau Royal Resort during the 2012 Palau National Chess Championship. Roberto Hernandez, right, defeated Palau top player Cyril Tomas Montel, Jr. while Paquito ‘Pax’ Suringa, Jr., standing right, defeated CM Bernard Garcia for a rare PRR sweep of PPR top players.   (Photo by Roberto Hernandez)



                 ENTER THE DRAGON
 

CHESS players who adore the swashbuckling King’s Gambit are also smitten with the audacious Sicilian Dragon.

                As a commentator once said, the Sicilian Dragon is “more than an opening, it’s an aggressive style of playing, a way of seeing and understanding chess.”

                The Dragon, true to its name, is a fierce weapon in the hands of a player unafraid of a fight, who relishes tactics, enjoys taking risks and loves to decimate his opponent through an all-out attack.

                The Sicilian Defence in itself is already an aggressive reply to 1. e4. Black, by breaking the symmetry at the first move, “lays down the challenge to White to take the initiative before Black can!”

                With the Dragon variation, Black develops his pieces to maximize the strategic pluses granted him in the Open Sicilian. “If White is to expose a defect in the Dragon, it must be by a direct attack, and this leads to ferocious battles, with White trying to checkmate the Black king via the h-file, while Black seeks to gain counter-play down the c-file and on the long diagonal…

                Even Dragon endgames tend to be very sharp, with Black often possessing a swathe of mobile pawns in return for an exchange, a piece or even a whole rook.”

                The Dragon variation’s main feature is the fianchetto of Black’s king bishop in a bid to dominate the a1-h8 diagonal. Why is this defense called the dragon? According to an opening theorist: “Some people see a dragon in the Black pawn structure. Others see a dragon in the play that results ---sharp and dynamic, with plenty of sacrifices and combinations to keep you alert!”

                According to GM Andrew Soltis, while F. Y. Dus-Chotimirsky, a pre-Revolution Russian master, was studying astronomy in Kiev in 1901, he noticed that Black’s pawns on d6, e7, g6 and h7 resembled the pattern of the constellation Draco in the sky. Hence its name.

                Draco the dragon, astronomers say, is a circumpolar constellation, which means it revolves around the North Pole. It can be seen all-year round. But Draco is only present in the Northern Hemisphere, so those living in the Southern Hemisphere—meaning you and I—cannot see this long constellation.

                For the ancient Greeks, Draco was a horrible dragon that guarded a sacred spring and slew the soldiers of Cadmus, the first king of Thebes, who had been sent to gather water.

                Cadmus then fought the dragon and won. After the dragon died, the goddess Athena appeared and told Cadmus to sow the ground with the creature’s teeth. The teeth sprang up as a group of armed soldiers who helped Cadmus found Thebes.

                The Romans, for their part, called the dragon Ladon, the guardian of the golden apples on a tree in a garden tended by the Hesperides, the daughters of Atlas. It was Hercules who killed Ladon with an arrow, which allowed Atlas to enter the garden and pluck the golden apples. But the goddess Hera was greatly distressed by the death of Ladon and she placed the dragon in the heavens.

                Palau first titled player Candidate Master Bernardo Garcia, is an advocate of Sicilian Dragon. He defeated National Master Roberto Hernandez in the 2012 Palau National Chess Championship by using this sharp and dynamic defense.

                The duo, who are roommate in the 2012 World Chess Olympiad in Istanbul, Turkey, are playing side-by-side again (Board 3 and 1 respectively) in the 2014 World Chess Olympiad in Tromso, Norway.

                Whether CM Garcia or Roberto will get a FIDE or CM title, along with Palau top player Cyril Tomas Montel, Jr., Dennis Gonzales and Jeffrey Balbalosa, is remain to be seen.  GOOD LUCK, GUYS!

     **In the last 2 rounds of 2014 World Chess Olympiad, only Jeffrey Balbalosa has the chance to get at least CM title if he would have won his last 2 games. He lost in the penultimate round but won in the last round against Guyana to avert a shutout ala Roberto Hernandez in 2012 WCO and Joselito Marcos in 2002 WCO).

 

                Solution to last week’s puzzle: 1. Qe2+ Kc2 2. d3+ Kxc1 3. 0-0! Mate.

                This week’s puzzle: White to move and mates in 3 (Solution next issue)


Sources: Chessmate by Roberto Hernandez
               Tia Belau Newspaper
               Pages 9-10
               Volume 23
               Issue 66
               August 18, 2014

              64 by Zaldy Dandan
              Marianas Variety