Chess Stack Exchange
Chess Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [sicilian-defense]

The Sicilian Defense is the opening given by the moves 1. e4 c5, and it is one of the most popular replies to white's 1. e4.

The Sicilian Defence runs as follows:

 1. e4  c5
180 questions
38
votes
4 answers

What are the consequences of an early a6 in the Sicilian?

Once I encountered an opponent who used a very early a6 in his Sicilian Opening. [FEN ""] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 a6 What could have been his objective with this move and how should I have have countered it?
ytg
  • 483
  • 5
  • 8
23
votes
10 answers

Why is the Sicilian Defense considered hard to play?

I have been told never to play the Sicilian. It is a very complicated opening that even grandmasters aren't ever able to analyze and play well enough. But why, I ask?
alcao758
  • 341
  • 1
  • 2
  • 6
21
votes
6 answers

What is a good, aggressive response against the Sicilian Defense?

I would like to learn a good response against the Sicilian defense (in your opinion), for both blitz and slower games. I am looking for a more aggressive response, since it fits best my style. Currently I am trying to learn the Grand Prix attack. I…
dreamcrash
  • 1,204
  • 1
  • 12
  • 24
14
votes
8 answers

Is the Grand Prix Attack a poor response to the Sicilian?

The Grand Prix Attack begins 1. e4 c5 2. Nc3 Nc6 3. f4. It is an anti-Sicilian for white that is popular among club players because playing it requires memorizing significantly less theory than the open Sicilian. However, I wonder if playing it is a…
Potato
  • 489
  • 4
  • 12
14
votes
1 answer

Why is capturing the bishop in this position a blunder?

[FEN "r2n1rk1/pp1bppbp/1n4p1/q1N5/3P3N/PB2B2P/1P3PP1/R2Q1RK1 w - - 3 18"] Why is Nxd7 a blunder in this position? I think that once the light squared bishop comes to c6 it will become very strong and hence removing it should be a good move, but…
Tabludif
  • 151
  • 1
  • 5
14
votes
3 answers

How to best respond to an early black Qa5 in the Smith-Morra gambit?

I often play the Smith-Morra gambit. Recently I've been seeing black play an early Qa5, such as [fen ""] 1. e4 c5 2. d4 cxd4 3. c3 Qa5 4. * or [fen ""] 1. e4 c5 2. d4 cxd4 3. Nf3 Qa5+ 4. * It seems to throw a spanner in the works as to how I'm…
Douglas S. Stones
  • 521
  • 4
  • 13
14
votes
2 answers

What is the idea behind playing 6.a3 in the Sicilian Najdorf?

What is the idea behind playing 6.a3 in the Sicilian Najdorf? [FEN ""] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. a3 This seems to be getting popular at the highest level (e.g. yesterday/today's games at the Tata Steel Masters, Carlsen…
user1583209
  • 20,665
  • 3
  • 40
  • 95
13
votes
4 answers

Is the Sicilian Defense a good opening for beginners?

Just discovered the chess section of this website. This is my first question here. I am a beginner chess player(rated about 1300 on the chess websites) and play mainly for recreation. For a long time, my opening repertoire was restricted to 1) e4…
guru
  • 1,233
  • 2
  • 11
  • 26
13
votes
4 answers

How bad is 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. a3?

Is this move clearly losing for white? Chessgames.com shows 1 win and 2 losses for white only, and I could not find any other reference for this move.
lanskey
  • 255
  • 2
  • 6
13
votes
5 answers

Why is 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 b6 so unpopular?

Why is the Sicilian line with 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 b6 almost never played at any level, nor considered in books and similar? It seems logical to me, and after the usual 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Bb7, the Bishop is already well placed on b7 to control key central…
A. N. Other
  • 6,816
  • 2
  • 28
  • 66
13
votes
4 answers

Are there good variations for White against the Sicilian that do not involve an early d4?

If White opens e4 and Black replies c5, that's the Sicilian defense. Typical next moves are 2. Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4, etc. Are there good variations for White where he DOESN'T play d4? I've heard of 3. b4 (Wing Gambit), but I don't like…
Tom Au
  • 12,464
  • 34
  • 62
13
votes
3 answers

Najdorf Variation: strategy after taking poisoned pawn?

After [FEN ""] 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6. Bg5 e6 7. f4 Qb6 8. Qd2 Qxb2 9. Rb1 Qa3 10. e5 dxe5 11. fxe5 what are black's main strategic goals? As this is supposed to be extremely sharp and complicated, what are the pitfalls…
Max
  • 233
  • 2
  • 8
12
votes
4 answers

Why does 6.Bg5 prevent 6...e5 in the Sicilian Najdorf?

In Gufeld's book, after 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Bg5!, [FEN ""] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Bg5! he writes: "In this way White solves three problems: he prevents ...e5, " but he shows…
Gerard
  • 121
  • 1
  • 3
11
votes
2 answers

Good books to learn Sveshnikov Sicilian

I'm a club player around 2100 FIDE rating trying to learn the Sicilian Sveshnikov, with the black pieces, for long time controls (2 hours/game). What books do I need to read in order to learn this opening properly? Themes I would like to see in the…
Eduardo Almeida dos Santos
  • 143
  • 1
  • 6
11
votes
1 answer

B50: Sicilian Defense 3. Bc4

First a bit of background: I really like playing the Sicilian Defense as Black and it is my preferred choice of action against 1. e4. I prefer the Open Sicilian with Dragon and Najdorf being my favourite variations. Now to the question itself: At my…
Tomislav Dyulgerov
  • 427
  • 4
  • 12
1
2 3
…
11 12