Sicilian, Alapin suggestion?

The sicilian, Alapin is:
1 e4 c5 2 c3

Some suggested that a good move against c3 is d5 or Nf6.. I picked 2... d6 instead of d5 or Nf6.

What do you think?

Originally posted by walid97
The sicilian, Alapin is:
1 e4 c5 2 c3

Some suggested that a good move against c3 is d5 or Nf6.. I picked 2... d6 instead of d5 or Nf6.

What do you think?

Chessbase online database shows 103 games between players rated at least 2300 using this line. Results: W 29, B 21, D 53. That translates to 46% for Black, so I'd guess it's playable.

Shredderchess gives it 43.8%, as follows:

761 games, W 287, B 194, D 280, avg ELO 2507.

Still plenty playable against average players.

Originally posted by walid97
The sicilian, Alapin is:
1 e4 c5 2 c3

Some suggested that a good move against c3 is d5 or Nf6.. I picked 2... d6 instead of d5 or Nf6.

What do you think?

i will say 2...d5 is better as 2...Nf6 invites e5 and the pressure on the blacks king side mounts. White does everything to overprotect e5. e.g. Re1, Nbd2-c4. This gives a strong kingside attack.
Whereas d5 invites exd5 and the play is in the center. Kasparov did this against Deep Blue.

Originally posted by walid97
The sicilian, Alapin is:
1 e4 c5 2 c3

Some suggested that a good move against c3 is d5 or Nf6.. I picked 2... d6 instead of d5 or Nf6.

What do you think?

A playable line that has a good chance of taking White out of his "book" early is a Franco-Benoni setup: 1 e4 c5 2 c3 e6 3 d4 b6. Black refuses to capture cxd4, making it difficult for White to mobilize his queenside pieces. (See Soltis' book on the Franco-Benoni for more details.)