Originally posted by Diet Cokewhat?
Hahaha
Sorry, that was just begging to be posted.😳
oh, i thought you meant that white wins 47% of the time, leaving 53% to be split between black wins and draws...
anyway, Spassky liked the Closed Sicilian, so you can't really say it sucks without saying Spassky's judgement sucks, which is something no chess player wants to be caught saying...
I never said it sucks. Refer to my first post in which I said it was fine for white. Spassky could play what he wanted because he was World Champion strength. It's a fine opening to play coming up the ranks, and indeed I played it for a short period, but alas, when you run into Black players who know the Closed Sicilian, it's hard to gain any type of an edge.
There is nothing wrong with the Closed Sicilian, but it is a little slow for me. Adopting the closed Sicilian is a good way to get opponents in a game that you are (hopefully) comfortable in, and safely transposing into the endgame.
That being said, I would never play it as white. I like a lot of the main line Sicilian, though to play it over the board, it takes a lot of preparation, therefore I have adopted many forcing lines into my lines.
Depending on how much time you want to spend on opening study, you may want to grab a copy of Beating the Sicilian 3 by Nunn. Beware, a lot of these lines have probably been picked apart since this book has come out, so you probably wanna get ahold of a good Chessbase DB and look for novelties in a lot of the lines. Again, lot of time that is going to be spent in preparation, time that could be spent a lot more productive elsewhere, depending on your rating.
Levenfish, anybody play that against the Dragon? I used to love those lines, tons of traps, and nobody knew the lines.
BV
Originally posted by !~TONY~!true...
I never said it sucks. Refer to my first post in which I said it was fine for white. Spassky could play what he wanted because he was World Champion strength. It's a fine opening to play coming up the ranks, and indeed I played it for a short period, but alas, when you run into Black players who know the Closed Sicilian, it's hard to gain any type of an edge.
but im usually only paired with players 1300-1500 OTB in tourneys
i can surely play it for now...
until it becomes necessary for me to learn something more mainline-ish (which i will hate doing)
i'm thinking i'll eventually switch to the Alapin (2. c3), or the Smith-Morra 2. d4 cxd4 3. c3
off topic, but as black, i'm really liking Caro-Kann (and Slav, after 1. d4) games as black...
it usually leaves me with a great pawn structure for the endgame, and i just think it rocks...
until i let a white knight get on the bloody weak e5 square...
then all hell breaks loose...
also, should black be safe using a move playing pawn a6 in the opening?
i find it helps keeping Queen and Bishop from giving dirty checks...
is it bad?
thanks...
Originally posted by !~TONY~!I've been thinking about the Levenfish against mainline Dragon players, mainly to avoid the Soltis variation (where black plays h7-h5) in the Slav attack. Since you seem to win whenever we play maybe I should think again...
The Levenfish sucks. I am a dragon player, and I openly chuckle at Levenfish players. after f4, Nc6! or Nbd7 are both excellent.
The closed Sicilian is a fine opening, I was given a lesson in how to build up a position by a 195 (ECF) player once (by which I mean I lost a friendly game where he played the closed Sicilian), and it is a potent force. I prefer the open lines as white (and for that matter as black) but I think that a positional build up in a closed Sicilian positon is no less dangerous to face than the fireworks of an open Sicilian.
Originally posted by wormwoodUmmm, 9. 0-0-0 isn't to be chuckled at. If followed up right it's not too fun to play against. 🙂 I am pretty sick in the head though, so I probably over chuckle. I chuckled at the Austrian Attack when I played the Pirc. I love crazy and sharp positions so it's no biggie. 😀
is there anything against the dragon you don't chuckle at? 🙂
Hmm, weird. I just realized that I have not had a player play a Dragon against me since I have been here. Weird. Levenfish was fun way back when (talking late 80s/early 90s before Dragon was really in the spotlight). I guess I need to brush up on it, I can hardly remember the lines I have prepared to play it over the board.
I used to play it myself and actually pulled it out of the dust in a tourney I am involed in right now. Crazy, between it and the Kings Gambit tournament, I am gonna have a coronary with all the complications thrown around.
BV
Originally posted by BillyVoltairetry: 1. .. c6!
My heart couldn't take it, I play Najdorf now, hehe...
I play KID, thinking of adopting something else in my old age.
BV
i like Caro-Kann games, so 2. e4 is great for me...
especially since most 1. d4 players arent fond of Caro-Kann and oither 1. e4 openings...
if white does 1. c4, it's just a Slav, which isn't bad for black either...
Originally posted by !~TONY~!alright...
Give an example line of using ..a6. In some lines in the sicilian it's a very std. move to stop knights and bishop from arriving on the b5 square, but in alot of other positions, new players make because they see ghost threats that aren't actually threats. Give a line or two.
here's one...
1. e4 c6
2. d4 d5
3. Nf3 Bf4
4. Be3 e6
5. Bb5+ and knight goes to e5, and i die quickly...