Dragon variation (Chess)

In chess, the Dragon Variation is a variation of the Sicilian Defence that begins with the moves: 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 g6 In the Dragon, Black's bishop is fianchettoed on g7, castling on the king's side while aiming the bishop at the centre and queenside. In one of the most popular and theoretically important lines, the Yugoslav Attack, White meets Black's setup with Be3, Qd2 and Bh6, exchanging off the Dragon bishop, castling queenside, and launching a kingside pawn storm with h4–h5 and g4. Black often counterattacks using the semi-open c-file. The result is often both sides attacking the other's king with all available resources. The line is considered one of the sharpest of all chess openings. The modern form of the Dragon was originated by German master Louis Paulsen around 1880. It was played frequently by Henry Bird that decade, then received general acceptance around 1900 when played by Harry Nelson Pillsbury and other masters.