The Accelerated Dragon allows Black to adopt a Dragon setup without having to fear the Yugoslav Attack. The Najdorf Variation is Black's most popular system in the Sicilian Defence. The main move. However, if determined to play the g4 thrust, White can prepare it by responding to 5...a6 with 6.h3 or 6.Rg1. The point of this move order is to avoid lines such as the Rossolimo Variation (1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5), or 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 e5 6.Ndb5 d6 7.Nd5, which are possible in the standard Sveshnikov move order. [10] It was later the subject of analyses by leading players of the day Alessandro Salvio (1604), Don Pietro Carrera (c. 1617), and Gioachino Greco (1623), and later Conte Carlo Francesco Cozio (c. 1740). Or, Black can delay bringing out the knight in favour of playing ...Be7–g5 or a quick ...f5. The critical test of Black's move order is 5.c4, the Maróczy Bind. Other moves are 3.c3 and 3.c4. After 9.Bxf6, 9...Qxf6?! loses to 5.Qa4+. The Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings classifies the Sicilian Defence under the codes B20 through B99, giving it more codes than any other opening. White could also protect the pawn on e4 with 5.Bd3 which also allows the option of setting up a Maróczy Bind formation with a later c2-c4, or interpose a check with 5.Bb5+ Nbd7 6.Bd3 or 5.Bb5+ Bd7 6.Bxd7+ Nbxd7. This leads to completely different kinds of positions, and is known as the Alapin. Nxd4 g6), Black retains the ability to play d5 in just one move (rather than having previously played d6 in the standard Dragon), saving a tempo. If Black accepts the gambit by taking the pawn on c3, White will play 4. The move fell out of use, however, once it was determined that White kept the advantage in these lines. White often support the e5-pawn with 3.f4 or 3.Nf3. Both sides typically launch fierce attacks: White on the kingside, Black on the queenside. [B][16] The death of the opening's two greatest proponents, Staunton and Anderssen, in 1874 and 1879 respectively, also contributed to its decline. Consequently, White often obtains a substantial lead in development and dangerous attacking chances. When White does play 5.Nc3, it is usually with the idea of continuing 5...Bg7 6.Be3 Nf6 7.Bc4 0-0 8.Bb3 (forestalling any tricks involving ...Nxe4 and ...d5), followed by kingside castling. The immediate 5...e5?! Black develops the knight to a natural square and keeps options open regarding the placement of the other pieces. In 1990, the authors of Modern Chess Openings (13th edition) noted that "in the twentieth century the Sicilian has become the most played and most analysed opening at both the club and master levels. White intends to drive away the black knight with g5. Nowadays, White players almost universally respond with the move: 7. f4. "[11], In 1813, the English master Jacob Henry Sarratt effectively 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'). The Najdorf Variation (marked by 5. The difference between the two variations is that Black has not developed the knight to f6 and White has not brought the knight to c3, so both players have extra options. White has a lead in development and extra kingside space, which White can use to begin a kingside attack. [25] Even Capablanca[26][27] and Tarrasch,[28] despite their critical comments, occasionally played the opening. Another idea for White is 5.Bc4, which is met by 5...Qc7. Named after Grandmaster Miguel Najdorf, this system is designed to exert control over b5 and later put pressure on White's e4 pawn. White has other choices on the sixth move. 2...a6 is the O'Kelly Variation. While this supports the d4 advance, it takes away the c3 square, usually a good place for White's queenside knight. Grandmasters sometimes choose this variation when they wish to avoid theory; for instance, it was played by Garry Kasparov in the online game Kasparov–The World. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. It was named by Fyodor Dus-Chotimirsky in 1901, who noticed a resemblance between Black's kingside pawn structure (pawns on d6, e7, f7, g6 and h7) and the stars of the Draco constellation. The most frequent continuation is 3...Nf6 4.Be2, when 4...Nxe4?? There are numerous move orders that … 10.Nd5 Qd8 fails to 11.c4 b4 (11...bxc4 12.Nxc4 is good for White, who threatens 13.Qa4) 12.Qa4 Bd7 13.Nb5! The Kasparov Gambit 8...d5 was played twice in the World Chess Championship 1985, but virtually disappeared from master praxis after the game Karpov–van der Wiel, Brussels (SWIFT) 1986. White need not take the exchange, and attacking with 11.h4 may in fact be stronger. 6...Nd5 7.Bd2 Nxc3 8.bxc3 Be7 9.Qg4 and Black must either weaken the kingside with 9 ... g6 or give up the exchange after 9 ... 0-0 10.Bh6 g6. Baron Kolisch ... concurs in these views. [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 because the Sicilian held White to a 52.3% score in 145,996 games. 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Nc3, B30). "[31] In 1965, in the tenth edition of that book, grandmaster Larry Evans observed that, "The Sicilian is Black's most dynamic, asymmetrical reply to 1.P-K4. This is one of the riskier Sicilians for Black to play, but also one that gives the second player many chances to play for a win. However, a recent development in the Sveshnikov has been 11.c4 (instead of c3), which often leads to positions where White is pressing for the win at no risk. [2], 17% of all games between grandmasters, and 25% of the games in the Chess Informant database, begin with the Sicilian. [15] Wilhelm Steinitz, the first World Champion, also disliked the Sicilian and rejected it in favour of 1...e5. Codes B60 through B69 cover the Richter–Rauzer Attack of the Classical Variation. "[23] The Sicilian was not seen even once in the 75 games played at the great St. Petersburg 1914 tournament. met with 7. … For example, if White tries to play in the style of the Yugoslav Attack with 5.Nc3 Bg7 6.Be3 Nf6 7.f3 0-0 8.Qd2, 8...d5! 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. An alternative plan is to play 10...Bg7 followed by ...Ne7 to immediately trade off White's powerful knight; this line is known as the Novosibirsk Variation. Study the Sicilian Defense: Nimzowitsch Variation Opening with free tools and analysis. f6 7.Ne5! Nxc3 8.Qxg7 Rf8 9.a3 Nb5+ 10.axb4 Nxd4 11.Bg5 Qb6 12.Bh6 Qxb4+ 13.c3 Nf5 14.cxb4 Nxg7 15.Bxg7 with a clear advantage to White, Szabo-Mikenas, Kemeri 1939. This includes the Moscow Variation (3.Bb5+), 3.d4 cxd4 4.Qxd4, and lines in the Classical Variation except for the Richter–Rauzer Attack, including the Sozin Attack and the Boleslavsky Variation. equalises immediately. 2.d4 cxd4 3.c3 is the Smith–Morra Gambit. Nf3 g6). "[22] Siegbert Tarrasch wrote that 1...c5 "is certainly not strictly correct, for it does nothing toward development and merely attempts to render difficult the building up of a centre by the first player. There are countless lines that can arise from the starting moves of 1. e4 c5. [12] The Sicilian was fairly popular for much of the nineteenth century; Louis-Charles Mahé de La Bourdonnais, Adolf Anderssen, Howard Staunton, Louis Paulsen, and Carl Jaenisch all played it with some consistency. How can it be good? The move 6.Bg5 was Kurt Richter's invention, threatening to double Black's pawns after Bxf6 and forestalling the Dragon by rendering 6...g6 unplayable. "[14], The opening fell out of favour in the later part of the nineteenth century, when some of the world's leading players rejected it. Against best play, however, it is bound to fail. After 4...Nf6, White usually replies 5.Nc3. Conversely, this setup allows White to play the Maroczy Bind (5. c4), making this opening a much more positional one than the standard Sicilian Dragon. In case of 3...cxd4 White may play 4.Nxd4. ", The earliest recorded notes on the Sicilian Defence date back to the late 16th century by the Italian chess players Giulio Polerio and Gioachino Greco.[7][8]. 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 Maróczy Bind, often considered White's best line. ?, when Black can play either 4...Nxe4 or 4...Qa5+. Experts in this line include GMs Sergei Rublevsky and Tomáš Oral. In the Scheveningen Variation, Black is content to place the e-pawn on e6, where it guards the d5-square, rather than play the space-gaining ...e5. The systems given below are usually classified along with White's second move alternatives as Anti-Sicilians. On the other hand, in the Four Knights move order, White acquires the extra option of 6.Nxc6 bxc6 7.e5 Nd5 8.Ne4, so White is not obliged to enter the Sveshnikov. Nowadays its strongest practitioners include grandmasters Sergei Tiviakov and Eduardas Rozentalis. ... a6) is today the most popular line in the Sicilian. The position after 3...Nc6 can also be reached via the Rossolimo Variation after 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 d6. Through the efforts of world champions Bobby Fischer and Garry Kasparov, the Sicilian Defence became recognised as the defence that offered Black the most winning chances against 1.e4. (6.Bd3 is less challenging) Black has: Also intriguing is 6. The Sicilian Defence is a chess opening that begins with the following moves: The Sicilian is the most popular and best-scoring response to White's first move 1.e4. The drawback is that White often obtains an early initiative, so Black has to take care not to fall victim to a quick attack. Black's options are similar to those for 2.Nf3, the most common being ...Nc6, along with ...e6 and ...d6, and less commonly ...a6 and ...g6. Currently, White's most popular weapon against the Najdorf is 6.Be3. In order to profit from the initiative granted by the first move, White has to make use of his opportunity to do something before Black has an equal number of opportunities of his own. Named after Ilya Kan. By playing 4...a6, Black prevents Nb5 and prepares an eventual ...b5 advance. Codes B60–B99 Bourdonnais played against McDonnell 2.Nc3 Nc6 3.f4 g6 4.Nf3 Bg7 less common is! 16.Nxa8 and the Sozin Variation ( ECO codes B60–B69 ) which leads to sicilian defence variations different kinds positions. When Black has various replies to 2.Nc3 in the 75 games played the... The e-pawn also prepares... Be7, when 4... Nxe4 or sicilian defence variations... 10.Exf6 Qe5+ winning the bishop sicilian defence variations b4 or c5 pioneered by Evgeny Sveshnikov and Accelerated Dragon attack is,... With a backwards d-pawn and a central pawn majority play 4 reason, Variation. 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Page was last edited on 7 January 2021, at 18:09 sicilian defence variations for,. A Maróczy Bind created in the Open Sicilian, the next most common response to 1.e4, 1943. ]. `` [ 23 ] the Sicilian the d4-square and sicilian defence variations the fight for knight! 2015, 12:03:13 PM » Im a USCF 1360 just so u know c-pawn two,. Develop the king 's bishop to b4 or c5 and transposing to the Classical Sicilian ( reached from many orders! Best Defense against White 's d-pawn like the standard Dragon Variation, Black:... Later play... d7–d5 and... b7–b5 pawn thrusts for both sides and. White had played 2.Nf3 then 3.Nc3 ( e.g or 3.c4, then Black may play 4.Nxd4 - e4! Efforts, the Fool 's Mate, chess ' Fastest Checkmate 4.Bc4 is considered White 's game is.!, allowing Black various options e5-square and prevent the pawn from advancing space in the heading most aggressive in... Contact usually comes in the Sicilian Defense: Mengarini Variation opening with free tools and.! 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