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Sicilian failure

Sicilian failure

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Sorry if this sort of thing has been discussed to death before, I'm returning to the site and forum after a number of years away. I've had some mixed success in games around my previous rating, but I always tend to play the same moves. So open with e4 and respond to e4 with d4. Feel out of comfort zone with pretty much anything else including 1. d4 playing as black. To try and go some way to countering that I played 1 ...c6 as black.
Game 12398741
Total disaster, I think clearly I needed to play a6 instead of that final Ne7 move, but was that the only place I went horribly wrong? I've been playing around with opening explorers this morning, but not sure whether the line I was going down was totally unsound anyway. Any advice?

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5. ...e6?! is definitely too slow: you don't have time for this.
5. ...d6 and you have no problem. Look at several Fischer's games in this variation.
3. c3 doesn't create any problem for Black in Sicilian, it's so/called Alapin variation, too tame, for club players who wish to avoid dangerous Najdorf- or Dragon-players.

Black should just develop, castle, and then begin advancing on Queen flank with no fear of White's attack on his King.

Note the trick: see that your Queen Knight on c6 is defended when you move ...Pb5, since White has Pe5! as a hidden threat.

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Originally posted by @vandervelde
5. ...e6?! is definitely too slow: you don't have time for this.
5. ...d6 and you have no problem. Look at several Fischer's games in this variation.
3. c3 doesn't create any problem for Black in Sicilian, it's so/called Alapin variation, too tame, for club players who wish to avoid dangerous Najdorf- or Dragon-players.

Black should just develop, ...[text shortened]... ur Queen Knight on c6 is defended when you move ...Pb5, since White has Pe5! as a hidden threat.
d6 would have been a definite improvement, e6 blocks the light color bishop besides letting white attack queen with bishop and if Q-e8, N-d6 bye bye queen.

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Thanks a lot for the help, will take on board!

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In addition to the good advice posted, notice the theme of black weakening his own dark squares. Something to avoid!

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Originally posted by @sonhouse
d6 would have been a definite improvement, e6 blocks the light color bishop besides letting white attack queen with bishop and if Q-e8, N-d6 bye bye queen.
I totally agree, d6 instead of e6 for all the reasons you (and V) stated.

d6 is standard in the Dragon while many consider e6 a blunder.

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