Do you know what the sicilian dragon actually is? There's no possible way it would ever have anything to do with the Kings gambit or the queens gambit. Perhaps you could use a good opening book for beginners
Thanks chessmicky! That was so very relevant, helpful, AND nice!
What chessmicky is trying to say is that chess openings, such as the dragon, are created by play from BOTH SIDES.
As you probably know the dragon arises after:
Now, if black were to play the exact same moves, but white played differently, this would no longer be a dragon, even if blacks setup is the same:
Obviously whites moves are silly, but you get the point: this is not a dragon.
So, unless white plays 1.e4, and trades the pawn on d4 for blacks c5 pawn at some point, there is no way for it to be a dragon.
In the case of the kings gambit, white is not trading the d4 pawn for a c5 pawn, so it is not a dragon. Queens gambit, 1.e4 wasnt played, although the d4 pawn may even get traded for a c5 pawn at some point, if e4 doesnt come it will not be a dragon.
If you are trying to ask whether fianchetto setups, maybe with c5 are effective against the kings and queens gambit, then that is a completely different, and more reasonable questions.
What chessmicky is trying to say is that chess openings, such as the dragon, are created by play from BOTH SIDES.
As you probably know the dragon arises after:
Now, if black were to play the exact same moves, but white played differently, this would no longer be a dragon, even if blacks setup is the same:
Obviously whites moves are silly, but you get the point: this is not a dragon.
So, unless white plays 1.e4, and trades the pawn on d4 for blacks c5 pawn at some point, there is no way for it to be a dragon.
In the case of the kings gambit, white is not trading the d4 pawn for a c5 pawn, so it is not a dragon. Queens gambit, 1.e4 wasnt played, although the d4 pawn may even get traded for a c5 pawn at some point, if e4 doesnt come it will not be a dragon.
If you are trying to ask whether fianchetto setups, maybe with c5 are effective against the kings and queens gambit, then that is a completely different, and more reasonable questions.
Ok, I appreciate you taking the time to explain. Until now I've been under the impression that black simply needed to open with c5 while eventually fianchettoing and castling kingside in order to reach the Dragon variation of the Sicilian Defense. Thank you for the clarification!
I know the Sicilian is used generally as a response to E4 openings, but how does it fair against, say, the King's Gambit or Queen's Gambit? I've recently started playing the Sicilian when i'm playing as black and so far I've only used the Dragon variation.
Godlike's response was instructive and useful. Chessmicky's response didn't explain anything. I understand that to those of you who have nothing to do but play chess, my original question sounded something like, "Is snowboarding good with cream and sugar?". One has nothing to do with the other, but learning how to play chess is like learning a new language, and it takes a lot of time and study to really master it.
It's true, up until now I really DIDN'T know what the Dragon variation of the Sicilian actually was, much like I didn't know what modulationg from Gmaj7 to Amaj7 really meant when I started playing the guitar. I enjoy learning, though.
about fianchetto set ups. they are great but I personally do not do as well with them.
If you always use the same set up you often end up with good practical results. Just rember that playing a fianchetto in one variation can lead to completely different play than in another.
A Sicilian Dragon setup agains the Queen's Gambit would be some kind of Benoni. A modulation is a way to move between keys, not chords, and it's a very often misused term today. Sudden key changes in pop music aren't really modulations. A modulation is smooth and takes a while. You hear the new key coming for a long time before it arrives and cadences in the new key. Key changes in pop music are sudden, like flipping a switch. Modern instruments are fully chromatic so we can do that in tune even with a full orchestra and we like the sound. That hasn't always been the case. If you want to call a pop key change that takes two measures a modulation a lot of people do, but anyway Gmaj7 is a chord, not a key.
A Sicilian Dragon setup agains the Queen's Gambit would be some kind of Benoni. A modulation is a way to move between keys, not chords, and it's a very often misused term today. Sudden key changes in pop music aren't really modulations. A modulation is smooth and takes a while. You hear the new key coming for a long time before it arrives and cadences in the new key. Key changes in pop music are sudden, like flipping a switch. Modern instruments are fully chromatic so we can do that in tune even with a full orchestra and we like the sound. That hasn't always been the case. If you want to call a pop key change that takes two measures a modulation a lot of people do, but anyway Gmaj7 is a chord, not a key.
If you "pop-modulated" from The key of G to the key of A and the chord happened to be Gmaj7, you would "modulate" to a major seventh as well, in this case Amaj7. But yes, I agree, pop music has watered down correct music terminology much like Starbucks has ruined terminology in the coffee/espresso realm.
It's true, up until now I really DIDN'T know what the Dragon variation of the Sicilian actually was, much like I didn't know what modulationg from Gmaj7 to Amaj7 really meant when I started playing the guitar. I enjoy learning, though.
thats would be a transposition rather than modulation. Modulating would require more specific explicit steps from Gmaj to Amaj. Gmaj to Cmaj or D minor would be easier to call a modulation.
You are correct, transposing is a more accurate way to describe simply changing from one key to another. Thanks for the input!
I know the Sicilian is used generally as a response to E4 openings, but how does it fair against, say, the King's Gambit or Queen's Gambit? I've recently started playing the Sicilian when i'm playing as black and so far I've only used the Dragon variation.