How to beat the sicilian defence CHESS

Free ebooks ==> www.Ebook777.com an anti-Sicilian repertoire for White www.Ebook777.com Free ebooks ==> www.Ebook777.com Gawain Jones how to beat the • • • ICI Ian defence an anti-Sicilian repertoire for White EVERYMAN CHESS Gloucester Publishers pic www.everymanchess.com www.Ebook777.com First published in 2011 by Gloucester Publishers plc (formerly Everyman Publishers plc) , Northburgh House, 10 Northburgh Street, London EC1V OAT Copyright© 2011 Gawain Jones The right of Gawain Jones to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyrights, Designs and Patents Act 1988 All rights reserved No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, electrostatic, magnetic tape, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior permis­ sion of the publisher British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library ISBN: 978 85744 663 Distributed in North America by The Globe Pequot Press, P.O Box 480, 246 Goose Lane, Guilford, CT 06437-0480 All other sales enquiries should be directed to Everyman Chess, North burgh House, 10 Northburgh Street, London EC1V OAT tel: 020 7253 7887 fax: 020 7490 3708 email: info@everymanchess.com; website: www.everymanchess.com Everyman is the registered trade mark of Random House Inc and is used in this work under licence from Random House Inc Everyman Chess Series Chief advisor: Byron Jacobs Commissioning editor: John Emms Assistant editor: Richard Palliser Typeset and edited by First Rank Publishing, Brighton Cover design by Horatio Monteverde Printed and bound in Great Britain by Clays, Bungay, Suffolk Contents Bibliography Introduction Moscow Variation : �:Jd7 Moscow Variation: td7 i.xd7+ �xd7 41 Moscow Variation: i.d7 txd7+ ttlxd7 63 The Hybrid Variation 90 Rossolimo Variation: g6 txc6 bxc6 122 Rossolimo Variation: g txc6 dxc6 14 Rossolimo Variation: e6 79 Rossolimo Variation: Other Third M oves for Bl ack 203 King's Indian Attack with dS 23 10 King's Indian Attack without ds 286 11 Other Second Moves for Black 324 Index of Variations 346 Index of Complete Games 349 Bibliography Books Anti-Sicilians: A Guide for Black, Dorian Rogozenko (Gambit 2003) Beating the Anti-Sicilians, Joe Gallagher (Batsford 1994) Dangerous Weapons: Anti-Sicilians, John Emms, Peter Wells and Richard Palliser (Everyman Chess 2009} Dangerous Weapons: The Sicilian, John Emms and Richard Palliser (Everyman Chess 2006) Dismantling the Sicilian, Jesus De la Villa (New in Chess 2009} Grandmaster Repertoire - The Sicilian Defence, Lubomir Ftacnik (Quality Chess 2010) Starting Out: King's Indian Attack, John Emms (Everyman Chess 2005) Starting Out: The Accelerated Dragon, Andrew Greet (Everyman Chess 2008} The il.bs Sicilian, Richard Palliser (Everyman Chess 2005) The Chess Advantage in Black and White, Larry Kaufman (Random House 2004) Electronic Resources Chess Base 10, ChessPublishing.com, Mega Database 2010 (ChessBase), New in Chess Yearbook and The Week in Chess Introduction Welcome to this Anti-Sicilian repertoire The Sicilian is Black's most common response to e4 and a real headache for most players Of course we can try the Open Sicilian, but this requires a thorough knowledge of each different Sicilian variation, as well as keeping on top of all the theoretical developments If you are a Sicilian player yourself, you will also realize another practical problem: the lines of the Open Sicilian require so much knowl­ edge and experience that players on the black side spend their whole lives debating differ­ ent move order nuances on internet forums and studyin g new games so that they are very well prepared for their particular variation Thus a Dragon player will have played hun­ dreds of games in the Yugoslav Attack and understands the resulting positions, but a white player also has to contend with the Najdorf, the Sveshnikov, the Classical, the Kan, the Tai­ manov and many other lines However, often those who employ the Sicilian as Black have failed to look at the sidelines in any depth In this book I am suggesting lines that promise White good strategic chances I've also tried to keep Black's counterplay under wraps, which will really frustrate the average Sicil­ ian player Of course I have also made sure that we have attacking chances of our own With this repertoire you will be able to dictate the nature of play yourself and with greater understanding in and greater experience of the resulting structures, your results should be very promising The Structure of this Book I am recommending a repertoire with tbs against d6 and .'�Jc6 The Moscow Varia­ tion (1 e4 cS tbf3 d6 tbs+) has a reputation as a route to drawish positions, but as I prove in thi s book, White can play these positions for a win and its reputation is ill de­ served A lot of Sicilian players really dislike playing the arising positions as they are de­ prived of their typical counterplay The Rossolimo Variation (1 e4 cs tbf3 tt:Jc6 tbs) is the most theoretical part of the repertoire and has been discussed in countless super-grandmaster games I advocate tak­ ing on c6 and playing against Black's structural weaknesses on the queenside In both the Rosso limo and the Moscow Variation we will be utilizing many ideas of the Russian Grand­ master Sergei Rublevsky Against e4 cs tbf3 e6 it is harder to find a good Anti-Sicilian, but I like my suggestion of the King's Indian Attack The lines examined in the two chapters on it are more ideas­ based than theoretical, but have served me well for the past ten years Finally, I wrap up my coverage of the Sicilian from White's perspective with a look at Black's minor lines H o w t o B e a t t h e Sicilian Defe n c e Acknowledgements This book would not have seen the light of day had it not been for the help of many people First of all, thanks to J ohn Emms and Richard Palliser for help with the technical side of the book and providing reference material I wish to thank all the members of the Wellington Chess Scene, particularly Lin, Ross, Alan, Maria and Bill Without them my sojourn in New Zealand would have been a lot less enjoyable An extra thanks to Bill for his book sug g es­ tions, his software and most enjoyable coaching sessions Finally, I wish to thank my fian­ cee Sue who put up with my long hours writing this book, while I was fighting against the deadl ine(s) and wasn't much help doing anything else She also helped out with the initial editing of the book, allowing you, the reader, to see this book before 2012 ! I hope you will find this repertoire useful I have certainly had fun finding some new ideas in order to cause Black problems Indeed, I hope you manage to employ my new ideas before Sicilian players check the book too! Gawain Jones London, March 2011 Chapter One , Moscow Variation: l2Jd7 •• e4 cs tbf3 d6 ibS+ tbd7 squared bishop This is due to the fact that the bishop will no longer be hemmed in by its own pawns on c4 and e4 Game sees Magnus Carlsen all ow the exchange on cs when we can take control of the useful es­ square for the white knight Although Black eventually triumphs, he had rather an awkward position out of the opening In Game Black takes a rather poisonous pawn leaving White with a huge initiative, while Game sees Black lose further time in the opening trying to keep a solid posi­ tion The structure in this game is different to those seen in the rest of the chapter, but is one in which White h as good chances for an advantage Finally, in Game we see what happens when Black opts for a Dragon set-up This is Black's most aggressive response to the Moscow Variation Black wishes to keep his light-squared bishop for dynamic counterchances However, this approach slows down Black's development and thus Repertoire Outline is a risky strategy Normally we will capture on d7 when forced to by a6, leaving Black with the two bishops, but we'll use our lead tbd7 d4 tt::Jgf6 This has been Black's most common re­ in development to create an early initiative In Games 1-4, and 10, we reach a Ma­ sponse and was played by the strongest roczy bind structure in which we hope to chess player of all time, Garry Kasparov profit from having exchanged the light- amongst many others It will be featured in H o w to B e a t t h e Sicilian Defe n ce Games to 10 Black also has: a) a6 has to be taken seriously as it was the choice of the very strong, young Norwegian, Magnus Carlsen After i.xd7+ i.xd7 dxc5 Black has a choice: either to cede control over e5 or else l ose time with his queen This is seen in Game b) cxd4 is a very logical move and of­ ten transposes to the mainline after �xd4 tt:Jf6 o-o Instead of tt:Jf6, Black might try one of the following : b1) With a6 Black immediately puts the question to White's bishop, but this leaves him falling further behind in devel­ opment Azeri GM Teimour Radjabov is the highest-rated to have played this way - see Games and b2) e5 sees Black taking steps to fight in the centre with a typical Najdorf set-up, but he has to be very careful that the hole on d5 can be acceptably defended This is examined in Game b3) e6 is quite rare before developing the king's knight This is covered in Game together with Black's rare replies of .'iVa5+, h6, as played by the l eading Russian Grandmaster Peter Svidler, and �c7, as attempted by the top American Grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura o-o! cxd4 Black's most common response, ignor­ ing the pawn on offer Alternatively: a) Taking the pawn with the S tt:Jxe4?! of Game is very risky, but has been played by a few grandmasters, the highest-rated being the American Alex Yermolinsky b) a6 is quite fashionable and has even been tried by Garry Kasparov Black gains the bishop-pair, but allows White a lead in development and enough time to gain space in the centre, as we'll see in Game �xd4 Now: a) a6 is another move which has tested by the former World Champion, but Game shows the highly-creative Ukrain­ ian, Vassily lvanchuk, blow Kasparov off the board b) g6 was attempted by Vassily lvan­ chuk himself If we allow Black enough time to develop sensibly then he will have a good position, so we need to seize the initiative immediately - see Game c) es is the most common path Black immediately takes steps to fight back in the centre The position is similar to Game and it is important to familiarize yourself with this set-up This is featured in Game 10, the final game of the chapter M o s c o w Varia tio n : Game1 A.Muzychuk-A.Giri Wijk aan Zee 2010 e4 cs tt'Jf3 d6 tbs+ tt'Jd7 d4 cxd4 �xd4 a6 ixd7+ ixd7 c4!? A somewhat unusual move, but it has Sergey Tiviakov's stamp of approval The idea is simple to comprehend: we want to play a Maroczy bind structure The light­ squared bishop is blocked in by the c4- and e4-pawns in the normal Maroczy bind, so it makes sense first to exchange it 0-0 l:tc8 c4 is looked at in the next game i g4 Considering that the Dutch prodigy sub­ sequently decides not to take on f3 this move must be deemed a mistake Other­ wise: a) es �d3 bs is similar to the fol­ lowing game Now tt'Ja3 (9 tt'Jc3 also looks sensible here, as dS is already a big hole} �6 10 0-0 and then: •• a1) The immediate 10 tt'Jf6 would be a mistake as 11 tgs is rather awkward to deal with: for example, 11 ie7 12 ixf6! (the a3-knight is a long way from ds, but d6 is still a problem) 12 ixf6 (or 12 gxf6 13 tD d cxbs axbs 14 tt'Jc2 and the knight has some juicy squares in sight} 13 l:tfd1 when Black has problems defending d6, as 13 ie7? fails to 14 tt'Jxe s ! a2) ie7 is Vigorito's suggestion, but I think 11 ig s ! is still strong with the plan of focusing on the weak d6-pawn a3) 10 h6 was seen in S.Tiviakov­ V.Babula, Dresden 2007, when 11 tt'Jh4! ? looks interesting: for instance, 11 g6 (or 11 tiJf6 12 tt'Jfs �c6 13 f3 g 14 tt'Je3 which gives White good chances for an edge) 12 ie3 �c6 13 tt'Jf3 (now that g6 has been forced out of Black, the knight can retreat; 13 f4! ? also looks interesting, when my main line of analysis runs 13 tt'Jf6 14 fxes dxes 15 cxbs axbs 16 tt'Jxbs tt'Jg4 17 a4 tcs - 17 tt'Jxe3 18 J:tac1 tcs 19 b4 is good for White - 18 txcs �xcs+ 19 \t>h1 txbs 20 �xbS+ �xbs 21 axbs l:txa1 22 J:txa1 o-o and the endgame is a fraction better for White but probably drawn) 13 tt'Jf6 14 tt'Jd2 and Black still has a few positional prob­ lems b) e6 o-o tt'Jf6 tt'Jc3 tc6 10 tg s transposes to variation 'c' c) tt'Jf6 tg s tc6 tt'Jc3 e6 10 o-o iLe7 11 J:tfe1 0-0 12l:tad1 and now: c1) 12 h6!? 13 txf6 txf6 14 �xd6 �xd6 (Palliser suggests 14 �as with rea- O t h e r S e c o n d M o ves fo r Black ltg2 ttJc6 exd6 e6 Planning to recapture with the bishop exd6 has also been tried, but 0-0 lte7 d4 o-o tLla3 tfs 10 c3 Mc8 11 Mel tf6 12 tLlh4 txh4 13 txds i f6 14 dxcs dxcs 15 ltf4 'iid7 16 tLlc4 i.g4 17 ltf3 'iix d1 18 i x dl ltxdl 19 Maxdl left White with a clear advantage in the endgame, F.Nijboer­ J.Van der Wiel, Wijk aan Zee 2003 Instead Ji'xd6 has typically been the main line, but again White retains his ad­ vantage thanks to his strong light-squared bishop after 0-0: a) Against es tLla3 ! is very strong when it's not so easy for Black to keep hold of the centre P.Popovic-B.Ivanovic, Belgrade 1987, continued ttJb6 tLlbS 't!Vd7 10 Mel lte7 11 a4 f6 when I like John Emms' suggestion of 12 tLlh4!? with the idea that 12 0-0 13 as tLlc4 14 tLlc7! (classic deflection) 14 'iix c7 15 i d s+ �h8 16 �5 wins material b) g6 is also mooted by Emms, but his suggestion of d4 i.g7 c4 tZ::lb 10 dS lLles (or 10 lLlas 11 tLla3 ! and the pawn cannot be taken due to 'iid 1-a4+ at the end} 11 ttJxes i.xes 12 't!Ve2 o-o 13 Mel gives White an obvious advantage c) i.g4 seems critical and after h : c l ) i.xf3 is the solid option, but White should have a safe edge thanks to his uncontested g2-bishop: 't!Vxf3 e6 10 tLlc3 Md8 was S.Rublevsky-A.Khalifman, Kazan 2001, when Emms suggests 11 Mel lte7 12 ttJxds 't!Vxds 13 't!Vg4 't!Vd4 14 i.xc6+ bxc6 15 Me4 'iif6 16 d3 0-0 17 i.f4 with a typical structural advantage we have seen in the tbs chapters c2) -ths tLlC3 with a further split: c21) e s ? is now too late and is a blun­ der: 10 ttJxds 'iix ds 11 g4 tg6 12 lLlxe s ! c22) .e was tried in M.Narciso Dub­ lan-J.Magem Badals, Lleida 2009, when again we should follow Emms suggestion of 10 Mel lte7 11 ttJxdS exds (11 'iix d5 12 g4 i.g6 13 lLles 't!Vd6 14 lLlxc6 bxc6 15 'iif3 337 H o w to B e a t t h e Sicilian Defe n c e leaves White with the better o f it) 12 d4! and Black won't be able to hold on to the extra pawn after 12 \txf3 (or 12 cxd4 13 g4 ltg6 14 tt:lxd4 when White should be a little better thanks to the isolated d-pawn) 13 'iVxf3 tt:lxd4 when I think 14 'iVd3 is easi­ est Black's only try to hold on to d5 is 14 l:td8, but now 15 ltg5 tt:le6 16 ltxe7 'iVxe7 17 lle5 wins either d5 or b7 C23) lt:Jxc3 10 bxc3 e5 11 J:lb1 0-0-0 12 'iVe2 'iVC7 13 'iVh5 f6 was V.Zaitsev­ I Dudukin, Serpukhov 2004, when instead of the crazy 14 d4! ?, 14 d3 would have left White with a comfortable edge Here White can also play very dynamically against 10 e6 with 11 llb1 'iVC7 (11 l:tb8?! 12 d4! is very awkward to deal with, especially as 12 cxd4 13 ltf4 e5 14 tt:lxe5! ltxd1 15 tt:Jxc6 forces Black to go into a lost endgame after 15 bxc6 16 l:txb8+ 'iVxb8 17 ltxb8 ltxc2 18 ltxc6+ Wd8 19 cxd4, as mentioned by Emms) 12 d4 lld8 13 'iVe2 cxd4 14 g4 d3 (14 \tg6 15 tt:lxd4 and White's attack is too strong) 15 cxd3 ltg 16 tt:ld4! tt:lxd4 17 cxd4 'iVd6, as in A.Shabalov-L.Christiansen, Par­ sippany 1996, and here Shabalov should have taken on b7 with the rook, with an extra pawn and strong attacking chances d) e6 would transpose back to the game d4 �xd6 An unusual move order Instead \txd6 might seem more logical, although this would force Black to suffer after c4 tt:lf6 dxc5 j_xc5 10 �xd8+ Wxd8 11 tt:lc3 We7 12 o-o l:td8 (Y.Shabanov-D.Losev, Mos­ cow 2007) when I like the idea of 13 a3, at­ tempting to expand on the queenside Again the g2-bishop tips the balance in White's favour o-o j_e7 dxcs tt:lc3 ! is a strong alternative Following tt:Jxc3 10 bxc3 o-o 11 j_f4 �d8 12 tt:le5 tt:Jxe5 13 j_xe5 Black will h ave to suffer for a long time In particular b7 isn't so easy to defend Typically we're happy to exchange most of the other pieces to increase the strength of our g2-bishop 'iVxcs 10 tt:lbd2 tt:lf6 11 tt:lb3 �b6 11 �c4 l ooks risky, but wouldn't give White so much free time to develop Per­ haps White should continue with 12 c3 0-0 13 tt:lbd4 tt:lxd4 14 'iVxd4 'iVxd4 15 tt:lxd4, swapping off into a very pl easant queen less middlegame 12 lte3 'iVc7 13 ltf4 13 tt:lfd4! ? would be a more positional path 13 es 338 O t h e r S e co n d M o ves fo r B l a ck 13 :�\Vb6 14 �e2 o-o 1S l:!.fd1 i.d7 16 c4 leaves White with a very straightforward advantage, but the game puts Black under a lot of pressure 14 lZ'lxes! Despite being a great positional player, Rozentalis doesn't miss this tactical oppor­ tunity The pins on the king and queen mean that Black won't be able to retain his extra piece 14 lZJxes 1S l:!.e1 lZ'lfd7 16 �hs tf6 16 td6 17 ixes lZ'lxes 18 f4 g 19 �g s 0-0 20 fxe s i.e? 21 �d2 would let White keep his extra pawn Black has some com­ pen sation here, but White should stand a little better 17 txes?! This wins back the piece but loses the advantage Instead White should have used both bishops with 17 ih ! 0-0 18 i.xd7 txd7 19 ixes ixes 20 �xes �xc2 21 l:!.ac1 �g6 22 �c7 ic6 23 lZ'ld4 when his activity gives him the edge 17 lZJxes 18 f4 o-o 19 fxes g6! 20 �e2 l:!.e8 21 �f2 i.xes 22 c3 So after a fairly forced line, we're back to material parity Black has the bishop-pair but our play against the queenside means White's position is easier to play Rozentalis outplays Landenbergue over the next few moves to build up an advantage once more 22 id7 22 -tfS ! looks to equalize as after 23 �cs �xes+ 24 lZJxcs l:!.ab8 S lZ'lxb7 f6! Black will likely regain his material while his bishops control a l ot of important squares 23 �cs! 23 i.c6 24 l:!.ad1 l:!.ac8 I'm going to take the liberty at guessing this was the move Black needs to sit tight 24 J:!.ad8? is the move inputted into Chess­ Base, but this simply loses a piece to 2S l:!.xd8 �xd8 26 l:!.xes �d1+ 27 ifl l:!.xes 28 �xes �f3 29 lZ'ld2 � + 30 �f2 �xh 2+ �e1 25 i.xc6 bxc6 26 �g2 l:!.e6 27 �c4 339 H o w to B e a t t h e Sicilia n Defe n ce Vacating the cS-square for the knight Black is under unpleasant pressure now and Rozentalis is one of the best in the world at converting this type of advantage 27 �ce8 28 ctJc5 �6e7 29 a4 i.g7 30 �xe7 �xe7 31 lt'la6 �es 32 �f1 �e6 32 �d5+ is the computer's suggestion, but this condemns Black to a dismal task of defending the endgame after 33 �xds cxds 34 CDb4 d4 35 C4 33 CDb4 hS 34 �f4 �xf4 35 �xf4 The queen exchange will make it easier to target the isolated queenside pawns Objectively this position probably should be a draw, but it's certainly not an easy task 3S i.f8 S cs 36 lt'ld3 i.h6, playing for activity, is a better bet 36 �t1 ts 37 �c4 cs 38 li'ld3 �b6 39 b4! The queenside pawns will prove deci­ sive Already I think it is too late to save the game for Black 39 cxb4 40 cxb4 i.d6 41 as �b7 42 �d4 i.e7 43 a6! �c7 44 bs Now a rook exchange will be hopeless for Black as bS-b6 and a6-a7 is too strong a threat 44 �f7 4S li'le5+ �e6 4S �f6 46 �c4! is already completely lost for Black: 46 i.d6 47 b6! �h7 48 lt'lc6 340 axb6 49 a7 �h8 s o �d4! i.C7 (or s o �e6 51 li'lb8 ! �xb8 52 �xd6+) 51 �d8! and the a­ pawn queens Thus Black is forced to give up a pawn 46 li'lxg6 i.d6 47 li'lf4+ �d7 48 �ds �cs Black must have known this was akin to resigning 49 �xes i.xcs so �e2 i.g1 51 �d3 �c7 52 h4 1-0 Game 78 V.Anand-E.Bacrot Bastia (rapid) 2004 e4 cs lt'lf3 b6 This is Black's most-played response out of all the 2nd moves we're yet to consider The French Grandmaster Christian Bauer has tried it quite often, but it is rather committal, particularly as a6, then bs is played in most Open Sicilian structures, while here the b-pawn prevents any �d8b6 or �d8-aS ideas In response, I've de­ cided we should follow Anand's example Other bizarre tries: a) �C7! ? sees Black play a waiting move which he hopes will come in handy once White shows his hand Here c3 makes sense when li'lf6 es lt'lds s d4 cxd4 li'la3! li'lc6 (6 li'lxc3 ? �xd4 lt'lxa2 li'lbs wins material) li'lbs �8 cxd4 is a little better for White b) �as is a strange queen move I think the idea is to prevent White playing d2-d4, but we can play our typical KIA type ideas while keeping open the idea of open­ ing up the position: g3 g6 i.g2 i.g7 o-o li'lc6 c3 d6 ctJa3 ! ? li'lf6 �e1 o-o h3 dS 10 es li'le8 11 li'lc2 li'lc7 12 d4 cxd4 13 li'lcxd4! li'lxd4 14 li'lxd4 left White with a comfortable KIA position in N.Short­ I.Nogueira, Sao Paulo (simul) 2001 O t h e r S e c o n d M o ves fo r Black c) d5 looks like a very poor version of the Centre-Counter as tt::lf3 is far more use­ ful than c5 The pawn normally moves to c6 in those structures anyway Kasparov continued exd5 WVxd5 tt::lc WVd8 d4 cxd4 tt::lxd4 {6 WVxd4 WVxd4 tt::lxd4 also leaves Black with problems defending his b5-, d5- and C7-squares) tt::lf6 il.f4 e6 tt::ldb5 ! tt::l a6 WVxd8+ �xd8 10 o-0-0+ id7 11 i.e2 il.b4 12 if3 and White's pressure was already decisive in G.Kasparov­ S.Ferreira, Lisbon (simul} 1999 d) e5? has also been tried a few times, but after the straightforward tt::lx e5 WVe7 d4 Black has issues recl aiming his pawn, as d6 ib5+ tt::l d7 (or �d8 tt::lf3 WVxe4+ i.e2 when the opening h as obviously been a disaster for Black) tt::lx d7 WVxe4+ ie3 ixd7 i.xd7+ �xd7 0-0 gives White a great attack e) �6 is another queen move hoping to transpose to an Open Sicilian where the queen belongs on b6 and White might be disorientated: el) I think we should simply go for g a s the queen never wants t o be o n b i n the King's Indian Attack One grandmaster game continued g6 ig2 ltg7 0-0 e6 tt::l a 3! {Karlsson finds a way to play against Black's queen) d5 {Black tries to prevent tt::la 3-c4, but soon loses a pawn) exd5 exd5 Mel+ lte6 tt::lg tt::lf6 10 tt::lx e6 fxe6 11 ih3 0-0 12 Mxe6 was excellent for White in L.Karlsson- P.Schiller, J onkoping 1988 e2) tt::lc ! ? is also possible Black has normally responded tt::lc6 when i.b5 transposes to e4 c5 tt::lf3 tt::lc ltb5 �6 tt::lC 3, as covered in Berkes-Hera in Chapter Eight Here e6 has also been tried, but d4 cxd4 WVxd4! WVa5 (if 1i.c5? WVxg7 or WVxd4 tt::lxd4 a6 tt::l a4! which leaves Black with some holes) WVe5 WVd8 WVg ! leaves White with a great Open Sicilian po­ sition as he has gained a lot of tempi The queen is very useful on g preventing Black from developing his f8 bishop, T.Nabaty­ B.Kantsler, Petah Tiqwa 2007 f) .f5 ? has surprisingly been played by the Greek Grandmaster Banikas, but exf5 tt::lf6 d4 d5 ib5+ tt::l c6 o-o ltxf5 dxc5 e6 {V.Kotrotsos-V.Parginos, Athens 2005) tt::l d4 is just terrible for Black A sample line might continue WVd7 Mel ie7 10 c4 dxc4 11 tt::lc il.g4 12 tt::lx c6! bxc6 (12 ixd1 13 tt::lx e7 wins a piece) 13 WVxd7+ �xd7 14 ixc4 ixc5 15 h3 if5 16 g4 which leaves Black a pawn down and White with the ini­ tiative g) tt::l a 6?! is good for White so long as we don't get provoked into taking the knight: tt::lc d6 d4 cxd4 WVxd4 sees White exploit the fact that the queen can't be driven away when the knight on a6 looks decidedly out of place h) h ! ? looks completely ridiculous, but I saw an article trying to advocate it written by Stefan Bucker I think the easiest response is tt::lc d6 (3 g ? ! was Bucker's original idea, but he admits that d4 g4 tt::l e cxd4 i.c4 e6 WVxd4 is practically winning) ib5+!? when h6 looks rather out of place Finally, we return to b6: 341 H o w to B e a t t h e Sicilian Defe n c e CDC3 Again it would be possible to play in King's Indian Attack spirit with g i.b7 d3 when in all probability the position will transpose to one already covered in Chap­ ters Nine and Ten i.b7 d4 cxd4 e6 s ds!, blocking in the b7-bishop looks very comfortable: s 'Df6 Jtc4 exds exds d6 o-o i.e7 was P.Blatny-B.Carlier, Budapest 1991, when 'Dh4! o-o 10 'Dfs l eaves White with a clear advantage 'Dxd4 a6 g3 e6 Black is going for a Hedgehog structure so the move order isn't so relevant Mean­ while our plan is i.f1-g2, 0-0 and f2-f4 to start putting pressure on Black H ere prac­ tice has also seen: a) d6 i.g2 'Dd7 0-0 e6 Mel i.e7 10 i.e3 l:!.c8 11 f4 is very similar to the game, but here Black has a few problems as he cannot develop his king's knight: ll 'Dcs (11 'Dgf6?! 12 e s ! is very awk­ ward) 12 'Db3 "Wie7 'Dxcs bxcs (or 13 dxcs, as in D.Breder-S.Conquest, Reyk­ javik 2009, and here the simple fxe6 fxe6 16 i.h 'ifd7 17 i.f4 leaves Black under a lot of pressure) 14 fS ! 'Df6 (14 es is really not a move Black wants to play and 15 'Dds txds 16 exds 'bf6 17 c4 leaves White with 342 a risk-free edge) 14 "Wie2 leaves White with the upper hand as 14 'bf6 15 Madl o-o 16 es 'Dd7 17 'De4 is somewhat unpleasant b) g6 is an alternative development plan, transposing into a kind of Dragon, but here Black usually strives for b7-b5 not the more passive b6 Following i.g2 i g 0-0 d6 i.e3 'Dd7 10 f4 l:!.c8, rather than 11 a4 allowing Black his typical ex­ change sacrifice with 11 t!.xc3 ! ? in J.Koch­ L.Guidarelli, French League 2010, I'd go for 11 "Wie2 when 11 t!.xc3 12 bxc3 "Wia8 isn't so convincing as White can defend with 13 i.d2 i.g2 "Wic1 Instead d6 0-0 'Dd7 f4 is likely to transpose i.b4 is an independent option, but it appears that the fight for the dark squares is much more important than the doubled c-pawns: o-o i.xc3 bxc3 'De7 10 i.a3 0-0 11 t!.b1 l:!.e8 12 c4 "Wio 13 'ifd3 d6 14 t!.fdl 'Dc8 15 'Df3 'ifc6 was J.Toledano Llinares­ J.Bellon Lopez, Cala Galdana 1999, when White could have simply won a pawn with 16 i.xd6 as 16 1\Vxe4 17 "Wic3 ! (threatening 18 'Del) 17 'bc6 18 cs bS 19 'Des ! wins material o-o d6 f4 'Dd7 10 i.e3 'Dgf6 11 Mel ••• O t h e r S e co n d M o ves fo r Black Preparing to defend e4 and with ideas of pushing e4-e5, as we'll see in the game 11 ie7 Black could try 11 h5, with the idea of .'�Jf6-g4, but we should respond with 12 h Black now has the issue that he has no safe haven for his king He can try for the initiative with 12 b5 13 a3 'Llb6, but fol­ lowing 14 'iie l:!.c8 15 l:!.ad1 'Llc4 16 ic1 he has no way further to make progress and White can slowly push him back with b2-b3 foll owed by i.c1-b2, with pleasant control of the position Black would also have to watch out for 'Llc3-d5 ideas opening up his king 12 if2 This is a typical set-up and easy to re­ member The bishops adequately protect White's king, while the f4- and e4-pawns are very useful controlling the central squares Black's position is actually more perilous than it appears 12 'Llcs 12 0-0 should be preferred, although White has a couple of interesting options here: a) 13 g4 is possible, with the aim of tak­ ing squares away from Black's minor pieces b) 13 a4, preventing b6-b5, also l ooks sensible c) 13 e ! ? is the most dynamic try, but 13 dxe5 14 fxe5 'Lld5 15 'Llxd5 ixd5 16 ixd5 exd5 17 'Llf5 i.c5 18 ixc5 'iix c5+ 19 'l.t>h1 looks fairly level d) 13 'iie 2! and it's not so easy to see how Black makes any progress, since 13 b5 14 e5 dxe5 15 fxe5 'Lld5 16 'Llxd5 ixd5 17 ixd5 exd5 18 'Llf5 ic5 19 txc5 'iix c5+ 20 'l.t>h1 now looks fairly promising as 20 g6 (20 l:!.ae8 can be dealt with by 21 'Llxg7!) 21 e6! is strong 13 es! dxes 14 ixb7 'Llxb7 This m ove looks rather strange, but Bacrot wants to keep pressure on the e5square 14 'iix b7 15 fxe5 'Lld5 16 'Llxd5 �xd5 would l eave White a choice between attack­ ing on the kingside with 17 'iig or 17 'iif3 ! ? 'iixf3 'Llxf3, leaving h i m with a safe ad­ vantage in the endgame as he can use his queenside majority, while the e5-pawn continues to tie Black down 15 fxes 'Lld7 16 'iig4 o-o? This loses the game to White's knights 16 g6 was necessary, although White re­ tains good attacking chances after 17 l:!.ad1 b5 18 ie3! 'Llxe5?! 19 'iie4 l:!.d8 20 if4 11 'Llds! 17 'iid 343 H o w to B e a t t h e Sicilia n Defe n c e Neither 17 exds li:Jfs g6 li:Jxe7+ �h8 20 li:Jxds �c6 21 �d4 nor 17 li:Jxes 18 li:Jxe6! li:Jxg4 19 li:Jexc7 would save Black 18 li:Jc6! Black is forced to give up his queen and I'm pretty sure if this hadn't been a rapid game he would have resigned at this point 18 exds 19 li:Jxd8 l:1axd8 20 b4! l:1fe8 e6! li:Jf6 2 exf7+ �xf7 23 �e6+ �f8 24 �xb6 li:Jd6 25 tcs li:Jfe4 26 l:1xe4!? Simplifying with a huge material advan­ tage 26 li:Jxe4 27 txe7+ 27 l:1f1+! li:Jf6 (27 �g8 28 txe7) 28 l:1xf6+ gxf6 29 �xf6+ �g8 30 txe7 was a slightly more accurate finish 27 �xe7 28 l1e1 l:1d6 29 �d4 �f7 30 c4 1-0 Conclusion A pretty move All of Black's minor pieces were hoping to use the cs-square and now they, the b7-knight in particular, are completely out of the game 344 This chapter has tied up all the loose ends in our repertoire The most critical and common continuations in this chapter are a6 and g6, as seen in Games S and 76 I have played both lines myself and con­ sider them reasonably sound However, I like the look of the interesting pawn sacri­ fice b4! ? in Game 7S, while tc4 causes Black immediate difficulties in Game 76 I hope you are now ready to play against the Sicilian with confidence and I wish you all the best in your games with e4 cs li:Jf3 In dex of Va riation s e4 cs lZ'lf3 and now: A: d6 B: lt'Jc6 C: 0thers A) d6 tbs+ td7 lZ'ld7 d4 a6 - 23 lt'Jf6 0-0 lt'Jxe4 - 25 a6 - cxd4 �xd4 e5 - e6 - 19 a6 i.xd7+ i.xd7 C4 - 0-0 - 13 lZ'lf6 o-o a6 - 31 g - 35 e5 - lt'Jc6 i.xc6+ bxc6 0-0 tg4 - 112 g6 - 116 lZ'lf6 - 118 e5 c3 g - 108 �jf6 l:i.el i.g4 - 91 te7 - 97 f5 exf5 txf5 d4 e4 - 100 345 H o w t o B e a t t h e Sicilia n D efe n c e cxd4 - 103 i.xd7+ 'ii'x d7 'bxd7 o-o 'bgf6 Wie2 g6 - 83 Jk8 - 86 b3 g - 80 i.e7 ib2 o-o c4 e5 - 73 U.e8 - 77 a6 10 d4 cxd4 11 'bxd4 U.c8 12 'bc3 Wia5 13 U.ad1 U.fe8 14 Wid2 - 65 14 h1 - 70 0-0 'bf6 'bc6 Wke2 g6 - 60 Wie2 'bc6 U.d1 g6 e6 - 43 g - 51 'ii'g - 55 e5 - c i.g7 d cxd4 cxd4 1o d5 - 10 0-0 - 49 B) 'bc6 ibs g6 d6 - d6 i.b5+ lbc6 �6 - 213 :�1Hc7 - 213 'ba5 - 219 'bd4 - 224 e - 228 a6 - 233 'bf6 i x c6 dxc6 d3 g6 h3 Ji.g7 - g6 i.xc6 dxc6 d3 i.g7 h3 'bf6 i g - 2o4 'bd7 - 209 e6 i.xc6 dxc6 - 198 bxc6 b3 'be7 - 180 .f6 - 185 d5 - 189 d6 - 192 346 I n dex of Va riatio n s s :�f6 - 194 txc6 dxc6 bxc6 o-o �g7 M.e1 e s - 123 ctJf6 - 12 d6 - 141 ct:Jh6 c3 o-o d4 cxd4 cxd4 f6 10 b3 - 130 10 ct:Jc3 134 d3 ig7 s �g4 - 75 h3 ctJf6 b6 - 167 es - 12 ctJc3 0-0 ctJd7 te3 es 'i¥'d2 h6 - 158 'i¥'e7 162 Ji.e3 b6 'i¥'d2 es - 14 l:i.e8 - 151 ctJe8 - 154 - - C) e6 a6 - 325 g6 - 330 ct:Jf6 - 335 b6 - 340 d3 d s ct:Jc6 g d6 - 315 id6 - 319 ct:Jge7 g3 g 6 Ji.g2 tg7 c3 0-0 - 303 es - 311 g s Ji g s s 'i¥'c7 - 297 s .f6 - 3o1 S .'ifb6 ctJbd2 'i\Vxb2 ctJC4 'i¥'g7 l:i.b1 d6 - 287 ds - 292 iVe2 ct:Jf6 ct:Jc6 g 347 H o w to B e a t t h e S icilia n Defe n c e s b6 - 264 s lt:Jge7 i.g2 g6 o-o i.g7 eS - 73 C3 - 280 g3 i.e s b6 - 269 i.g2 'Llc6 0-0 0-0 :iic - 257 es 'Lld7 'Lle8 - 251 C4 'Llb6 - 239 d4 - 247 348 In dex of Complete G a mes Adams.M-Arslan.E, Tu rkish Tea m Championship 2010 233 Adams.M-Dovramadjiev.T, E u ropea n I nternet Championship 2003 134 Adams.M-Meins.G, E u ropea n C l u b C u p, Oh rid 2009 75 Akopian.V-Eijanov.P, Moscow 2006 85 Anand.V-Bacrot.E, Bastia (rapid) 2004 .340 Anand.V-Carlsen.M, Mainz (ra pid) 2008 70 Baklan.V-Degraeve.J.M, Belgian League 1997 25 Berkes.F-Hera.l, E u ropean Cham pionsh i p, Rijeka 2010 .213 Bhat.V-Bu Xiangzhi, Seattle 2001 83 Bologan.V-Kharlov.A, USSR Tea m Cham pionship 1991 154 Breder.D-Bates.R, Hastings 2009/10 51 Bruzon Bautista.L-Andersson U, Hava na 2003 .311 Bruzon Bautista.L-Carlsen.M, S kanderborg 2005 .303 Bu Xiangzhi-Guseinov.G, Internet (blitz) 2005 17 Carlsen.M-Djukic.N, E u ropean Tea m Champ'shi p, Hera klion 2007 62 Chuiko.A-Arbakov.V, Tula 2000 19 Davies.N-Morrison.G, Britis h League (4NCL) 2006 251 Delgado Ramirez.N-Carreto Nieto G, Aguasca l ientes 2008 219 Ehlvest.J-Vaisser.A, Novosibirsk 1993 194 Fressinet.L-Bricard.H, Bastia (rapid) 2005 57 Glek.I-Short.N, C a p d'Agde (ra pid) 1996 297 Glek.I-Svidler.P, Mainz (rapid) 2002 .301 Glek.I-Wyss.T, Saint Vincent 2002 239 Godena.M-Gromovs.S, Bratto 2005 .330 Hammer.J-Carlhammar.M, Gibra lta r 2009 13 Hammer.J-Wirig.A, Cappelle Ia G nde 2010 123 Harikrishna.P-Navara,D.D, Reggio E m i l ia 2008 319 Hillarp Persson.T-Van Eijk.S, Porto Ma n n u 2009 325 lordachescu.V-Timofeev.A, Moscow 2007 86 lvanchuk.V-Kasparov.G, Li nares 1991 31 Jakovenko.D-Naumann.A, I nternet (blitz) 2006 60 Janev.E-Matsenko.S, Olomouc 2010 180 Jones.G-Mah.K, Street 2003 315 Jones.G-Snape.l, British C h a m pionsh i p, Scarborough 2001 287 349 H o w to B e a t t h e Sicilia n Defe n c e Jones.G-Yudin.S, World U 18 Cham pionship, Hera klion 2004 257 Kasparov.G-Polgar.J, Prague (ra pid) 2002 108 Kasparov.G-Van Beurden.M, London (si m u l) 2003 247 Kramnik.V-Gelfand.B, 1st matchga me, Sakthi 1994 80 Kristjansson.S-Nguyen Van Huy, D resden Olym piad 2008 147 Lastin.A-Popov.V, St Petersb u rg 2009 27 Leko.P-Timman.J, Wij k a a n Zee 2000 73 Malakhov.V-Areshchenko.A, Moscow 2005 55 Malakhov.V-Kozui.Z, C roatian Tea m Cha mpionship 2008 65 McShane.L-Volokitin.A, German League 2008 292 Morozevich.A-Carlsen.M, Biel 2006 209 Morozevich.A-Gieizerov.E, Tomsk 1998 280 Morozevich.A-Kasimdzhanov R, Wij k aan Zee 2002 130 Muzychuk.A-Giri.A, Wijk aan Zee 2010 Naiditsch.A-Sveshnikov.E, Liepaja (rapid) 2007 189 Ni Hua-Carlsen.M, London 2009 23 Ovetchkin.R-Kuzubov.Y, Alushta 2004 151 Pridorozhni.A-Shorokhov.A, Russian Tea m Championship 2009 141 Psakhis.L-Stanec.N, Pula Zonal 2000 198 Roiz.M-Stella.A, Biel 2009 264 Rozentalis.E-Landenbergue.C, French League 2009 .335 Rublevsky.S-Bu Xiangzhi, Ningbo (rapid) 2010 112 Rublevsky.S-Efimenko.Z, Moscow 2003 Rublevsky.S-Ni Hua, Ni ngbo (ra pid) 2010 204 Rublevsky.S-Sveshnikov.E, Herceg Novi 1999 100 Rublevsky.S-Tiviakov.S, E u ropean C l u b C u p, Kemer 2007 91 Rublevsky.S-Ye Jiangchuan, Moscow 2004 35 Rublevsky.S-Zvjaginsev.V, Russian Tea m Cha m pionsh i p 2006 228 Sax.G-Ljubicic.F, Split 2010 224 Sergienko.S-Pasiev.R, Voronezh 2009 269 Skripchenko.A-Bojkovic.N, Rethymnon 2003 43 Somborski.N-Kolbert.E, Vrnjacka Banja 2008 118 Steingrimsson.H-Siingerland.F, H i lvers u m 2010 127 Sutovsky.E-Baron.T, E u ropea n Cham pions h i p, Rijeka 2010 158 Sutovsky.E-Mamedov.R, Baku (rapid) 2010 167 Timman.J-Giardelli.S, Mar del Plata 1982 77 Tiviakov.S-Murariu.A, E u ropean Cham pionship, D resden 2007 03 Tiviakov.S-Noritsyn.N, Ottawa 2007 97 Tkachiev.V-Fressinet.L, Bordea ux (ra pid) 2000 Yandemirov.V-Gerasimov.l, Kaza n 2009 49 Yudasin.L-Shirov.A, E u ropea n C l u b C u p, Lju blja n a 1995 73 Zhao Jun-Zhang Pengxiang, Moscow 2004 192 Zhigalko.S-Deszczynski.A, Wa rsaw 2010 72 Zvjaginsev.V-Asensio Lisan.T, Ba rbera 1996 116 350 how to beat the S ici l ia n defence I SBN 8- -8 44-663-0 I I I II I II 52995 8 446630 ... has to contend with the Najdorf, the Sveshnikov, the Classical, the Kan, the Tai­ manov and many other lines However, often those who employ the Sicilian as Black have failed to look at the sidelines... This cedes the dS-square for the rest of the game, but at least allows the bishop to return to the fold After the alternative, ll iths, the bishop is out of play for the rest of the game White... Mega Database 2010 (ChessBase), New in Chess Yearbook and The Week in Chess Introduction Welcome to this Anti -Sicilian repertoire The Sicilian is Black's most common response to e4 and a real headache