3 edits
Originally posted by kfennessyYou seem to be slightly confused a bit about the variations of the Sicilian, so I'll try to give you a solid overview:
For all of you Sicilian players out there, what suits you best? I have been playing 2....d6 usually, but the advice I have been given is that Nf6 is more structurally sound. Others like the dragon. Any tips? Game examples would be nice as well.
After 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Black has a couple of moves:
2...d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 This is the main position of the open sicilian. Once again Black can decided which variation he wants to play:
5...g6 - My personal favorite - The Dragon. Probably the sharpest Sicilian, and therefore the most work. Black places his dark squared bishop on it's best square, but at the cost of a slightly weakened kingside. White normally castles long, and the game takes on a highly demanding character, since each player is racing to mate the other in an opposite sides castling situation. Expect a lot of work if you want this one to work for you!
5...a6 - The Najdorf - The most popular and respected Sicilian. Black spends a tempo on ...a6, keeping White pieces out of b5, and preparing ...e5. Also a great deal of work!
5...Nc6 - The Classical - An underrated and solid system. Black develops faster in this Sicilian than other Sicilians. This system also has a great deal of flexibility. It can transpose to the Dragon, Najdorf-like positions, and retain some individuality. Less work, has more surprise value, but not as fun (I define fun as sharp, although every Sicilian is sharp) as the above two choices, as the positions are a little bit more somber. Some people don't like playing this system (Tony Kosten for instance) if they're sure White will play 6. Bg5, the Richter Rauzer variation, which has a dangerous reputation.
5...e6 - The Scheveningen - An interesting choice, not very popular these days, mostly because of the Keres Attack, 6. g4! That said Kasparov used this opening for a while before trying to arrive at this line through a Najdorf move order to avoid the Keres Attack.
Black can also play 2...Nc6, and after 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 he can play:
4...Nf6 5. Nc3 e5 - The Sveshnikov - Very popular, right up there with the Najdorf as the most respected. This very often leads to some of the most interesting and individualistic positions in chess. No other opening features positions like Sveshnikov positions. The vast majority of the time play continues 6. Ndb5 d6 7. Bg5 a6 8. Na3 b5 and now either 9. Bxf6 gxf6! (What makes the Sveshnikov so interesting) 10. Nd5 f5 or 9. Nd5 right away.
4...e5 - The Kalashnikov - Similar to the Svesh, only Black is trying to argue that he retains extra options by not blocking the f-pawn or moving the g8 knight. A lot of games will transpose to the Sveshnikov, but some times White tries to exploit the fact that Black didn't force White to play Nc3 with the line 5. Ndb5 d6 6. c4!?
Finally, Black can play 2...e6, and after 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Black can basically play a lot of moves:
4...a6 - The Kan
4...Nc6 - The Paulsen
4...Nf6 - I have no idea.
It's hard to describe these systems, since Black can use an incredibly diverse set of move orders to reach any given position, suffice to say that normally Black plays some combination of ...a6, ...Nc6, and ...Qc7, although there are independent lines, with each line having it's own flavor. The ...e6 sicilians are still popular, and a lot of strong players live on these lines - Kamsky, Polgar, Ivanchuk. That said, they're a bit less work, and more solid as well.
The other move you mentioned, 2...Nf6, is called the Nimzowitch variation, which commonly continues 3. e5 Nd5, but frankly, no one plays this, because 2...e6, 2...d6, and 2...Nc6 are just better.
So ask more questions, pick one that fits what you want, stick with it, and keep playing. 😀
Originally posted by !~TONY~!"That said, they're a bit less work, and more solid as well."
You seem to be slightly confused a bit about the variations of the Sicilian, so I'll try to give you a solid overview:
After [b]1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Black has a couple of moves:
2...d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 This is the main position of the open sicilian. Once again Black can decided which variation he wants to play:
5...g6 - My person ...[text shortened]... sk more questions, pick one that fits what you want, stick with it, and keep playing. 😀[/b]
You make it sound like a con. 😛
BTW: The Classical is extremely underrated. It used to be the most popular Sicilian at the top levels a few decades ago and now I think it's growing in popularity again. The Dragon is also underrated. Some people claim that White gets advantage but based on my research it doesn't seem like the advantage is any more significant than in any other defense if played accurately.
Originally posted by exigentskyI agree with most everything you've said, but sometimes I feel like less work is a con. The sharper the position and the more work the players need to do give you an edge if you do the work and other people don't.
"That said, they're a bit less work, and more solid as well."
You make it sound like a con. 😛
BTW: The Classical is extremely underrated. It used to be the most popular Sicilian at the top levels a few decades ago and now I think it's growing in popularity again. The Dragon is also underrated. Some people claim that White gets advantage but based ...[text shortened]... like the advantage is any more significant than in any other defense if played accurately.
Originally posted by !~TONY~!I thought 2...e6 was the paulsen. 😕
You seem to be slightly confused a bit about the variations of the Sicilian, so I'll try to give you a solid overview:
After [b]1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Black has a couple of moves:
2...d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 This is the main position of the open sicilian. Once again Black can decided which variation he wants to play:
5...g6 - My person ...[text shortened]... sk more questions, pick one that fits what you want, stick with it, and keep playing. 😀[/b]
Anyways..is 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.g4 any good for white? I played it in a blitz game recently and ended up with a great position probably winning but lost anyways due to the fact that I was playing a GM.
3 edits
Originally posted by !~TONY~!"The other move you mentioned, 2...Nf6, is called the Nimzowitch variation, which commonly continues 3. e5 Nd5, but frankly, no one plays this, because 2...e6, 2...d6, and 2...Nc6 are just better."
You seem to be slightly confused a bit about the variations of the Sicilian, so I'll try to give you a solid overview:
After [b]1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Black has a couple of moves:
2...d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 This is the main position of the open sicilian. Once again Black can decided which variation he wants to play:
5...g6 - My person sk more questions, pick one that fits what you want, stick with it, and keep playing. 😀[/b]
Statement "no one plays this" is not correct - even some strong GMs sometimes uses this system (to say nothing about many amateurs - check out databases).
I agree that 2...Nf6 is not so popular, but as I have been repeated numerous times (and probably will repeat again) - the fact of being out of fashion does not means that move should be worse than other more popular lines.
Here are some GM level games which shows that 2..Nf6 is not so bad. I don`t believe that Top 100 GM like Naiditsch would afford to play crap against GMs.
[Event "Biel (Women)"]
[Site "Biel"]
[Date "2006.07.24"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Dembo,Yelena"]
[Black "Cramling,Pia"]
[Result "1/2"]
[Eco "B29"]
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nc3 d5 4.exd5 Nxd5 5.Bb5+ Bd7 6.Ne5 Bxb5 7.Qf3 f6 8.Nxb5 Na6
9.Qh5+ g6 10.Nxg6 hxg6 11.Qxh8 Qd7 12.Nc3 Qe6+ 13.Kf1 Nab4 14.Qh3 Qxh3 15.gxh3 Nc7 16.Rg1 Nxc2
17.Rb1 Kf7 18.a3 e5 19.d3 Rd8 20.Be3 Ne6 21.Rc1 Ncd4 22.Kg2 Nb3 23.Rcd1 f5 24.f3 Be7
25.Rgf1 Bd6 26.Ne2 g5 27.Bf2 Be7 28.Bg3 Bf6 29.Rfe1 Na5 30.Nc1 Nc6 31.Nb3 b6 32.Nc1
1/2
[Event "Alushta 02"]
[Site "Alushta"]
[Date "2007.09.??"]
[Round "8"]
[White "Ivanov,Alexander Al"]
[Black "Kovalev,Andrei"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Eco "A08"]
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.d3 Nc6 4.g3 d5 5.Nbd2 g6 6.Bg2 Bg7 7.0-0 0-0 8.Re1 d4
9.a4 e5 10.Nc4 Ne8 11.Bd2 Nd6 12.b3 f6 13.Nh4 Nf7 14.Bf3 Ng5 15.Bg2 Nf7 16.Bf3 Bh6
17.Bg4 Bxd2 18.Nxd2 Nb4 19.Bxc8 Qxc8 20.Nc4 b6 21.Re2 Qc7 22.Qf1 a6 23.f4 b5 24.Nb2 Nd6
25.Rf2 Rae8 26.Nf3 exf4 27.gxf4 f5 28.e5 Nf7 29.Qg2 Qd7 30.Ng5 Nd8 31.axb5 axb5 32.Ra5 h6
33.Nh3 Kh7 34.Rf1 Ne6 35.Rfa1 Rf7 36.Nd1 Rg8 37.Kf1 g5 38.fxg5 Nxg5 39.Ra8 Rgg7 40.Rb8 Nc6
41.Rb6 Nxe5 42.Raa6 Ne6 43.Qf2 Ng4 44.Qh4 Nxh2+ 45.Kf2 Ng4+ 46.Ke2 Re7 47.Kd2 Qd5 48.Kc1 Qe5
49.Rxb5 Nc7 50.Rbb6 Nxa6 51.Rxa6 Qe1 52.Qh5 Qe5 53.Kb2 c4 54.bxc4 Rb7+ 55.Kc1 Rb8 56.Kd2 Rb1
57.c3 dxc3+ 58.Nxc3 Qe3+ 0-1
[Event "Moscow op-A 04th"]
[Site "Moscow"]
[Date "2008.02.02"]
[Round "7"]
[White "Yemelin,Vasily"]
[Black "Naiditsch,Arkadij"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Eco "B29"]
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.e5 Nd5 4.Nc3 e6 5.Nxd5 exd5 6.d4 Nc6 7.Be2 d6 8.exd6 Bxd6
9.c3 0-0 10.0-0 Bf5 11.Bg5 Qd7 12.Qd2 c4 13.Bh4 f6 14.Bg3 b5 15.Ne1 b4 16.Nc2 bxc3
17.bxc3 Rab8 18.Rfb1 Ne7 19.Qc1 Bxg3 20.hxg3 Qa4 21.Bd1 Qa5 22.Rxb8 Rxb8 23.Nb4 Qb6 24.Bf3 Be6
25.Qf4 Rd8 26.Re1 a5 27.Nc2 Kf7 28.Bg4 Rd6 29.Kh2 Bxg4 30.Qxg4 g6 31.Qf4 Re6 32.Rxe6 Kxe6
33.Qg4+ Nf5 34.Qe2+ Kd7 35.g4 Nd6 36.Ne3 Ne4 37.Qc2 Qb5 38.f3 Ng5 39.Kg1 Ke6 40.Kf2 Kf7
41.Qc1 Ne6 42.g3 Ke8 43.f4 Kd7 44.Qa3 Nc7 45.f5 g5 46.Kf3 Qb6 47.Qa4+ Kd6 48.Qa3+ Kc6
49.Qe7 Kb5 50.Qd7+ Qc6 51.a4+ Kb6 52.Qc8 Qd6 53.Qb8+ Kc6 54.Qa7 Qe7 55.Qxa5 Qe4+ 56.Kf2 h5
57.gxh5 g4 58.Nf1 Qxf5+ 59.Kg1 Qxh5 60.Qc5+ Kd7 61.a5 Qf5 62.a6 Qb1 63.Qa3 Kc6 64.Qf8 Nxa6
65.Qxf6+ Kb7 66.Qf2 Nc7 67.Kh2 Qd3 68.Qb2+ Kc6 69.Qa1 Kb6 70.Qb2+ Nb5 71.Qf2 Nxc3 72.Ne3 Ka5
73.Nxg4 Ne4 74.Qe1+ c3 75.Ne3 Qxd4 76.Kg2 Qd3 77.g4 d4 78.Qa1+ Kb5 79.Nf5 Qe2+ 80.Kh3 Nf2+
81.Kh2 Ne4+ 82.Kh3 Qf3+ 83.Kh4 Qf2+ 84.Kh5 Ng3+ 85.Nxg3 Qh2+ 86.Kg5 Qxg3 87.Qb1+ Kc4 88.Qa2+ Kd3
89.Qb1+ Kd2 0-1
Originally posted by KorchI knew someone was going to say something like this! 😀 Yes, it's not actually a bad line, but I would say 95% of Black Sicilian players play a line other than the Nimzo variation. Maybe even a higher percentage.
[b]"The other move you mentioned, 2...Nf6, is called the Nimzowitch variation, which commonly continues 3. e5 Nd5, but frankly, no one plays this, because 2...e6, 2...d6, and 2...Nc6 are just better."
Statement "no one plays this" is not correct - even some strong GMs sometimes uses this system (to say nothing about many amateurs - check out databases). ...[text shortened]... g3 87.Qb1+ Kc4 88.Qa2+ Kd3
89.Qb1+ Kd2 0-1[/b]
Originally posted by !~TONY~!If playable system is out of fashion in my eyes its more plus than minus - its easier to overplay your opponent in systems which you know better him 🙂
I knew someone was going to say something like this! 😀 Yes, it's not actually a bad line, but I would say 95% of Black Sicilian players play a line other than the Nimzo variation. Maybe even a higher percentage.
Originally posted by najdorfslayerYeah I was under the notion that 4...a6 only called the Kan, and 4...Nc6 was the Paulsen/Taimanov. To be honest I have no idea, I'm not interesting in the ...e6 Sicilians anyway.
Pauslen is usualy reserved for the following system
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nc6 5.Nc3 Qc7
[fen]r1b1kbnr/ppqp1ppp/2n1p3/8/3NP3/2N5/PPP2PPP/R1BQKB1R w KQkq - 0 1[/fen]