DragonMasters - Volume 1

What makes this book by Andy Burnett so fascinating and original in its ap­proach is that he works from a purely historica! basis. He explains, with copieus examples, when a particular move or idea in the Dragon variation was first played, and how that move or idea developed from what was known theory beforehand.

The greatest benefit of this approach, in my opinion, is that we can follow the development of the many ideas that are the bedrock of the Dragon as we know it today. And following the development of those ideas is a truly excellent way to get to understand the ideas behind the Dragon. The late Bob Wade would, I feel certain, have loudly applauded the publication of Andy's book. With this book the reader is able to gain a superb level of understanding of the ideas behind the Dragon variation. And that is why I was so enthusiastic about getting involved in the editing task to which Andy invited me. Editing this book has been a labour of love which I have truly enjoyed, just as writing it has been the consummation for Andy of his decades long love affair with the Dragon. 

I too have been a Dragon lover for just about all of my competitive chess career. I cannot remember exactly when I adopted the variation, hut I do recall my first Dragon exchange sacrifice on c3, which carne when I was a teenager playing in the Hertfordshire Junior Championships. That affinity with the Dragon has nev­er wavered - I have been a loyal Dragon foot soldier through its (temporarily) bad times as well as the good, and have never regretted my stubbornness, even when I was smashed by Boris Spassky at the 1974 Olympiad in Nice. So, an additional pleasure for me in editing this book has been somewhat like the enjoyment to be found in reading about a lifelong friend. 

During the editing process for this book I have not contributed to the analysis - credit for all of the content is due to Andy. What I hope I have been able to do is contribute to the book's readability. Andy has a chatty style of writing, so readers will experience his exposition of the Dragon more like listening to a conversa­tion between experts than as a study exercise. The experience will, I believe, be refreshing as well as highly instructive.

David Levy
London, December 2022

Excerpt