Sicilian Defence
Sicilian Defence
Sicilian Defence
1 General concepts
By advancing the c-pawn two squares, Black asserts control over the d4-square and begins the ght for the centre
of the board. The move resembles 1e5, the next
most common response to 1.e4, in that respect. Unlike
1...e5, however, 1...c5 breaks the symmetry of the position, which strongly inuences both players future actions. White, having pushed a kingside pawn, tends to
hold the initiative on that side of the board. Moreover,
1...c5 does little for Blacks development, unlike moves
such as 1...e5, 1...g6, or 1...Nc6, which either develop a
minor piece or prepare to do so. In many variations of the
Sicilian, Black makes a number of further pawn moves
in the opening (for example, ...d6, ...e6, ...a6, and ...b5).
Consequently, White often obtains a substantial lead in
development and dangerous attacking chances.
1. e4 c5
The Sicilian is the most popular and best-scoring response
to Whites rst move 1.e4. 1.d4 is a statistically more successful opening for white due to the high success rate of
the Sicilian defence against 1.e4.[1] New In Chess stated
in its 2000 Yearbook that of the games in its database,
White scored 56.1% in 296,200 games beginning 1.d4,
but 54.1% in 349,855 games beginning 1.e4, mainly due
to the Sicilian, which held White to a 52.3% score in
145,996 games.[2]
17% of all games between grandmasters, and 25% of the
games in the Chess Informant database, begin with the
Sicilian.[3] Almost one quarter of all games use the Sicilian Defence.[4]
2 History
In 1813, the English master Jacob Henry Sarratt eectively standardised his English translation of the name
of this opening as the Sicilian Defence, referring to
an old Italian manuscript that used the phrase, il gioco
siciliano (The Sicilian Game).[12] The Sicilian was
The earliest recorded notes on the Sicilian Defence date fairly popular for much of the nineteenth century; Louisback to the late 16th century by the Italian chess players Charles Mah de La Bourdonnais, Adolf Anderssen,
Giulio Polerio and Gioachino Greco.[7][8]
Howard Staunton, Louis Paulsen, and Carl Jaenisch all
1
3.1
Whites d-pawn for Blacks c-pawn, and the open c-le, ing the b5-square, and helps Black create queenside play
which Black uses to generate queenside counterplay.
by preparing the ...b5 pawn push. This plan of 5...a6
followed by ...e5 represents Blacks traditional approach
in the Najdorf Variation. Later, Garry Kasparov also
adopted the 5...a6 move order, but with the idea of play3.1 2...d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3
ing ...e6 rather than ...e5. Kasparovs point is that the
Position after 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 immediate 5...e6 (the Scheveningen Variation, discussed
below) allows 6.g4, which is Whites most dangerous line
5.Nc3
against the Scheveningen. By playing 5...a6 rst, Black
temporarily prevents Whites g4 thrust and waits to see
Blacks most common move after 2.Nf3 is 2...d6. This
what White plays instead. Often, play will eventually
prepares ...Nf6 to attack the e-pawn without letting
transpose to the Scheveningen Variation.
White push it to e5. The game usually continues 3.d4
cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3. Sometimes played is 3...Nf6 Currently, Whites most popular weapon against the Naj4.Nc3 cxd4 5.Nxd4 giving the same result. Black can dorf is 6.Be3. This is called the English Attack, because it
then choose between four major variations: in order of was popularised by English grandmasters Murray Chandecreasing popularity, these are the Najdorf (5...a6), dler, John Nunn and Nigel Short in the 1980s. Whites
Dragon (5...g6), Classical (5...Nc6), and Scheveningen idea is to play f3, Qd2, g4 and 0-0-0 in some order.
(5...e6). The Venice Attack (5...e5 6.Bb5+) and Kupre- Black can respond with 6...e6, 6...e5 or 6...Ng4; to preichik Variation (5...Bd7) are rarely played. 5...e5 is of- vent ...Ng4, White sometimes starts with 6.f3 instead, but
ten considered something of an error on Blacks part and this allows 6...Qb6! A related attacking idea for White
5...Bd7 can transpose to one of the more common varia- is 6.Be3 e6 7.g4, known as the Hungarian Attack or
tions, such as the Classical or Dragon, but there are also Perenyi Attack.
a number of independent lines.
Formerly, 6.Bg5 e6 7.f4 was the main line of the NajThere are a few ways for either side to deviate from
the moves given above. After 3...cxd4, White occasionally plays 4.Qxd4, the Chekhover Variation, intending to
meet 4...Nc6 with 5.Bb5 Bd7 6.Bxc6, when White hopes
that their lead in development compensates for Blacks
bishop pair. Black can avoid this line by playing 3...Nf6,
when 4.Nc3 cxd4 5.Nxd4 returns to main lines. However, White has the option of 4.dxc5!?, when Black can
play either 4...Nxe4 or 4...Qa5+. Another unusual sideline is 3...cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.f3!?, the Prins Variation,
which tries to maintain the option of c4 with a Marczy
Bind formation.
White has other choices on the sixth move. 6.Be2 prepares to castle kingside and is a quieter alternative compared to 6.Be3 and 6.Bg5. Em Geller was an early
proponent of this move, after which Black can stay in
pure Najdorf territory with 6...e5 or transpose to the
Scheveningen with 6...e6. Other possibilities for White
3.1.1 Najdorf Variation: 5...a6
include 6.f4, 6.Bc4 (the FischerSozin Attack), 6.g3, and
6.h3, (the Adams Attack, named after Weaver Adams),
Najdorf Variation: 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4
which was used several times by Bobby Fischer.
Nf6 5.Nc3 a6
Main article: Sicilian Defence, Najdorf Variation
3.1.2 Dragon Variation: 5...g6
The Najdorf Variation is Blacks most popular system in the Sicilian Defence. Najdorfs intention with
5...a6 was to prepare ...e5 on the next move to gain
space in the centre; the immediate 5...e5?! however is
met by 6.Bb5+!, when Black must either play 6...Bd7
or 6...Nbd7. The former allows White to exchange o
Blacks light-squared bishop, after which the d5-square
becomes very weak; but the latter allows 7.Nf5, when
Black can only save the d-pawn by playing the awkward
7...a6 8.Bxd7+ Qxd7. In both cases, Whites game is
preferable.
4
is ferociously complicated, since the players castle on
opposite wings and the game becomes a race between
Whites kingside attack and Blacks queenside counterattack. Whites main alternatives to the Yugoslav Attack
are 6.Be2, the Classical Variation, and 6.f4, the Levensh
Attack.
3.2
5
return to life with 9.Nc4. The entire variation
up to 8...b5 is referred to as the Chelyabinsk
Variation. It can also be reached from the alternate move order 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4
4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 Nc6 6.Ndb5 d6 7.Bf4 e5
8.Bg5 a6 9.Na3 b5, which is one move longer.
(That alternative move order gives White other
alternatives, including 6.Nxc6 bxc6 7.e5 Nd5
8.Ne4, intending c4, and the gambit 6.Be2 Bb4
7.0-0!?, allowing ...Bxc3 8.bxc3 Nxe4.) The
move numbers in the following discussion are
based on the move order given in bold.
6
3.2.2
Blacks move 2...e6 gives priority to developing the darksquared bishop. After 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4, Black has
three main moves: 4...Nc6 (the Taimanov Variation),
4...a6 (the Kan Variation) and 4...Nf6. After 4...Nf6
5.Nc3 (not 5.e5? Qa5+), Black can transpose to the
Scheveningen Variation with 5...d6, play 5...Nc6, the
Four Knights Variation or 5...Bb4, the Pin Variation.
3.3.1 Taimanov Variation: 4...Nc6
Taimanov Variation: 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4
Nc6
7
Black knight a disadvantageous move. So Black normally
White need not take the exchange, and attacking
plays a move to control the e5-square and prevent the
with 11.h4 may in fact be stronger.
pawn from advancing. The main Kan move is 5...Qc7,
although 5...Nc6 transposing into a Taimanov or 5...d6 Also intriguing is 6. Nb5!, with 6...Nxe4?! met with 7.
transposing into a Scheveningen can occur. An alterna- Qg4, with strong compensation for the pawn.
tive idea is the immediate 5...b5 to create pressure from
the queenside with the idea of playing ...b4 attacking the
c3-knight, or Bb7 to build pressure along the long white- 4 2.Nf3 without 3.d4:
Whites
squared diagonal. White generally answers with 6. Bd3,
third move alternatives
supporting the e4 pawn.
The most popular fth move for White is 5.Bd3, when af- White can play 2.Nf3 without intending to follow up with
ter 5...Bc5 6.Nb3 Black can either retreat 6...Be7 where 3.d4. The systems given below are usually classied along
7.Qg4 makes Blacks kingside problematic, or 6...Ba7. with Whites second move alternatives as Anti-Sicilians.
Also possible is 5.c4 to create a Marczy bind setup.
3.3.3
The Rossolimo Variation, 3.Bb5, is a well-respected alternative to 3.d4. It is named after Nicolas Rossolimo
and is related to the Moscow Variation. Whites usual
intention is to play Bxc6, giving Black doubled pawns.
Blacks major responses are 3...g6 preparing ...Bg7,
3...d6 preparing ...Bd7 (a hybrid line that also arises from
the Moscow Variation after 2...d6 3.Bb5+ Nc6), and
3...e6 preparing 4...Nge7. Sergei Rublevsky and Tom
Oral both play this line as well as the Moscow Variation.
4.2.2
CLOSED SICILIAN
Others
tion
4.3
4.4
3.Bd3
6 Closed Sicilian
5.1
After 2...g6, White commonly plays 3.d4. Other moves 2.Nc3 is Whites second most common move responding
are 3.c3 and 3.c4. Most common here is 3...cxd4 but to 1.e4 c5. Blacks options are similar to those for 2.Nf3,
7.2
the most common being ...Nc6, along with ...e6 and ...d6, second move is 2...e6, with the aim of transposing to the
and less commonly ...a6 and ...g6. In all cases, White can Advance Variation of the French Defence after 3.d4 d5
then play 3.Nf3, as if White had played 2.Nf3 then 3.Nc3 4.e5.
(e.g. 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Nc3, B30).
For the most part, other moves are the Closed Sicilian.
Possible moves are 3.g3 and 3.f4 in general, also 3.Nge2,
and less commonly 3.d3 and 3.Bc4. Some lines may
transpose to the Open Sicilian, but there are many that
do not.
Also of some interest is 3.Bb5 to ...Nc6.
A typical line is 2...Nc6 3.g3 (ECO code B24). Also
2...Nc6 3.f4 is the Closed Sicilian, Grand Prix Attack
(part of B23).
White can also keep their options open with 3.Nge2.
Andrew Soltis has dubbed that the "Chameleon System,
since White maintains the option of playing a Closed Sicilian with 4.g3 or transposing to a standard Open Sicilian
with 4.d4 cxd4 5.Nxd4. Two drawbacks are that (a) the
Closed Sicilian lines with an early Nge2 are not very challenging for Black, and (b) if Black plays 2...Nc6 3.Nge2
g6, 4.d4 reaches an Accelerated Dragon where White has
lost the option of playing c4, the Marczy Bind, often
considered Whites best line.[45] In view of possible transpositions to the main Sicilian variations, Blacks reply to
2.Nc3 will depend on what they play in the Open Sicilian.
2...Nc6 is the most common choice, but 2...e6 and 2...d6
are often played. The Main line of the Closed Sicilian is
2.Nc3 Nc6 3.g3 g6 4.Bg2 Bg7 5.d3 d6 (diagram), when
Whites main options are 6.Be3 followed by Qd2 and possibly 0-0-0, and 6.f4 followed by Nf3 and 0-0.
7.4 Others
Other moves include:
7.1
2.c3 is the Alapin Variation or c3 Sicilian. Originally championed by Semyon Alapin at the end of the
19th century, it was revived in the late 1960s by Evgeny
Sveshnikov and Evgeny Vasiukov. Nowadays its strongest
practitioners include grandmasters Sergei Tiviakov and
Eduardas Rozentalis. White aims to set up a classical
pawn centre with 3.d4, so Black should counter immediately in the centre by 2...Nf6 or 2...d5. The line 2...Nf6
3.e5 Nd5 resembles Alekhines Defence, but the inclusion of the moves c3 and ...c5 is denitely in Blacks
favour. Now White can play 4.d4 cxd4 5.Nf3, when
Black has a choice between 5...e6 and 5...Nc6. Another
idea for White is 5.Bc4, which is met by 5...Qc7. 2...d5
3.exd5 Qxd5 4.d4 Nf6 5.Nf3 is the other main line, when
Blacks main options are 5...e6 and 5...Bg4. In this line,
White usually ends up with an isolated queens pawn after pawns are exchanged on d4. A rarer option on Blacks
10
10
2...d5 3.exd5 Qxd5, with Blacks Queen threatening
to capture Whites exposed Rook, and an incipient
central buildup with c3 and d4 for White.
REFERENCES
Andrei Volokitin in 2005, and Neil McDonald criticised the opening experiment as rather foolish.[60]
9 See also
List of chess openings
List of chess openings named after places
11
Citations
[1] Rowson, Jonathan (2005). Chess for Zebras: Thinking
Dierently About Black and White. Gambit Publications.
p. 243. ISBN 1-901983-85-4.
[19] Freeborough, E.; Rev. C. E. Ranken (1889). Chess Openings: Ancient and Modern (1st ed.). Trbner and Co., Ltd.
p. 239. ISBN 0-88254-179-X.
[3] Watson, John (October 2006). Mastering the Chess Openings: Unlocking the Mysteries of the Modern Chess Openings, Volume 1. Gambit Publications. p. 175. ISBN 1904600-60-3.
[20] Freeborough, E.; Rev. C. E. Ranken (1896). Chess Openings: Ancient and Modern (3rd ed.). Kegan Paul, Trench,
Trbner and Co., Ltd. p. 248. ISBN 0-88254-179-X.
12
11 FURTHER READING
[57] http://chesstempo.com/gamedb/game/3597417/
r1bqkbnr/pp1ppppp/2n5/2p5/P3P3/8/1PPP1PPP/
RNBQKBNR%20w%20KQkq%20-%201%203
[58] http://chesstempo.com/game-database.html
[39] Kasparov vs. rest of world: Barnet Chess Club perspective. Retrieved March 23, 2014.
[59] Andy Soltis, The Great Chess Tournaments and Their Stories, Chilton Book Company, 1975, pp. 1718. ISBN
0-8019-6138-6.
11 Further reading
Levy, David; O'Connell, Kevin (1987). How to Play
the Sicilian Defense. Macmillan Publishers. ISBN
0-02-029191-4.
Bangiev, Alexander (1988). Developments in the Sicilian 2.f4 198088. Quadrant Marketing.
13
Plaskett, James (1997). The Sicilian Taimanov. Everyman Chess. ISBN 978-1-901259-01-8.
Plaskett, James (2000). Sicilian Grand Prix Attack.
Everyman Chess. ISBN 978-1-85744-291-5.
Golubev, Mikhail (2000). The Sicilian Sozin.
Gambit Publications. ISBN 978-1-901983-38-8.
Rogozenko, Dorian (2003). Anti-Sicilians A Guide
for Black. Gambit Publications. ISBN 1-90198384-6.
Rogozenko, Dorian (2005). Sveshnikov Reloaded.
Quality Chess. ISBN 91-97524-35-2.
Raetsky, Alexander; Chetverik, Maxim (2007).
Classical Sicilian. Everyman Chess. ISBN 1-85744537-6.
Hellsten, Johan (2008). Play the Sicilian Kan. Everyman Chess. ISBN 978-1-85744-581-7.
de la Villa, Jesus (2009). Dismantling the Sicilian.
New in Chess. ISBN 978-90-5691-294-9.
Yakovich, Yuri (2010). Sicilian Attacks. New In
Chess. ISBN 978-90-5691-332-8.
Taylor, Timothy (2012). Slay the Sicilian!. Everyman Chess. ISBN 978-1857446845.
Understanding The Sicilian Defense B21-B99
14
12
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