The Antidote from the Other Side: Pier Luigi Basso's Accelerated Dragon
The most uncomfortable recommendations tend to come from the other side of the board. GM Pier Luigi Basso has spent years building and playing White's sharpest tries against the Accelerated Dragon — and in Accelerated Dragon: Dynamic Sicilian Counterplay, he hands Black the exact setup he would least like to meet himself.
The appeal is easy to state. The Accelerated Dragon offers everything the ordinary Dragon does — the bishop on g7, pressure down the c-file, a real three-result game — but with one structural bonus. Because the d-pawn stays on d7, Black keeps ...d5 in reserve as a single move, and the Yugoslav Attack that gives the classical Dragon its reputation never gets the same grip.
The dividend is practical: less forcing theory to memorize, and an opponent who has to prove something from the opening moves.
What makes this repertoire different
This is not a repertoire built only to equalize. Basso builds an active system around one instruction — meet White's slow buildup by starting your own counterattack first.
Against the Yugoslav-style 7.Bc4, the course commits early to 9...Qa5 and the thematic ...b5-b4. Black strikes on the queenside while White is still assembling the attack, and the position after 13.Kb1 b4 is the heart of the repertoire, with each of White's three knight moves given its own chapter.
The Maroczy Bind — the reason many players give up the Accelerated Dragon — gets the same weight, from the ...Nxd4/...Bg7/...Be6 setup to the ...Nh5 fight for the f4-square in the Saemisch structures.
The author's reasoning
Basso knows these lines in both colors, and for Black he selects the systems that gave him the most trouble as White. The repertoire is chosen for how hard it is to play against, not merely for how well it holds. That two-sided experience also drives the move-order work — the ...Qb6 hit after a premature f3, for one — so White rarely reaches the comfortable Yugoslav he was hoping for.
Variation map
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 g6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nc6 5.Nc3 Bg7 6.Be3 Nf6 7.Bc4 (the critical test — stopping ...d5 first)
- 7...O-O 8.Bb3 d6 9.f3 Qa5 10.Qd2 Nxd4 11.Bxd4 Be6 12.O-O-O b5 13.Kb1 b4 (the critical position; White's three knight moves) → Chapters 3–5
- 10.Qd3!? Nd7! → Chapter 6
- 8.f3 Qb6! (overview of the 7.Bc4 complex and its move-order tricks) → Chapter 2
- 7.f3 and other move-7 sidelines → Chapter 1
- 7.Nxc6 bxc6 8.e5 (Sindarov's modern try) → Chapter 7
- 7.Be2 → Chapter 8
- 6.Nb3 / 6.Nxc6 / 6.Nde2 (move-6 sidelines) → Chapter 9
5.c4 (Maroczy Bind) 5...Nf6 6.Nc3 d6 — overview and move orders → Chapter 10
- 7.Be2 Nxd4 8.Qxd4 Bg7 9.Be3 O-O 10.Qd2 (main line, 7000+ games) → Chapter 15
- 10.Qd3 → Chapter 16
- 9.Bg5 → Chapter 14
- 9.O-O → Chapter 17
- 7.Nc2 → Chapter 11
- 7.f3 (Saemisch-style) Bg7 8.Be3 O-O 9.Be2 Nh5! (the f4-square fight) → Chapter 12
- 9.Qd2 Nxd4 10.Bxd4 Be6 (the long-castle version) → Chapter 13
A Platinum Course: Guaranteed Evolution
As a Platinum Course, Accelerated Dragon: Dynamic Sicilian Counterplay is not a static theoretical product. It is a living repertoire with guaranteed long-term development.
Updates (real value): Free updates are provided every 6 months for 2 years, always exactly 6 months apart and automatically included. Each one delivers substantial, practical improvements rather than cosmetic changes.
User involvement: Users can ask questions and upload their own games. The strongest and most instructive material is selected and integrated into future updates, which may add new theoretical developments, video explanations, chapters, model games, exercises, or learning tools.
Course structure and features
- 17 theory chapters with video instruction throughout
- GM Pier Luigi Basso's 15-minute video — the whole repertoire in condensed form
- 4 model games — the repertoire's plans in high-level play
- 5 Things to Know — the essential ideas of the repertoire
- 50 test positions — critical moments with tactical and strategic solutions
- 5 training positions for interactive practice against the engine
- A large Memory File — all 17 chapters condensed into one, with the key lines
- Memory Booster — for long-term recall of the main ideas
- To-Go version of every chapter — condensed files for fast pre-game review
- Multilingual PGN files — English, German, French and Spanish
- Full download access — all materials are yours to keep
Rounding out the Sicilian
This repertoire answers the Open Sicilian and the Maroczy Bind. For readers who also want to cover the sidelines White uses to avoid the main Sicilian, GM Baadur Jobava and IM Dragos Ceres cover that ground in Jobava vs the Anti-Sicilians.
Take it up
The Accelerated Dragon gives you a clear plan against 1.e4, a genuine fight for the full point, and far less theory than its rivals. With Basso showing you the setup he was least happy to face as White, Accelerated Dragon: Dynamic Sicilian Counterplay is the practical way to put it into your games.