Book excerpt: The Dragon variation of the Sicilian defence is a devastating weapon in the hands of a well-prepared player. Previous books on the Dragon have emphasized the need to memorize reams of theoretical variations, but instead, in this book, the author suggests a commonsense approach which will cut out much of the need for rote learning. He pinpoints the most critical lines and shows that the Black, contrary to popular belief, actually has quite a wide choice against most systems.