CHESS OPENINGS TUTORIAL : ULTIMATE Sicilian Defence GUIDE for BEGINNERS

Hi all

In case you were wondering about the many variations of the hugely popular Sicilian defence, here is one of my popular video guides to key variations of the Sicilian Defence:

https://youtu.be/Lj8tI4S2Ilk

My Sicilian defence Youtube playlist: https://kingscrusher.tv/sicilian

Variations beginning with

2...d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3

The Najdorf variation has a key a6 move:

Considered by many has being the most important variation of the Sicilian defence. Exponent's include Garry Kasparov and Bobby Fischer

The Dragon variation is usually with 5...g6

The Dragon is considered fairly sound nowadays if you are well prepared. In the Fischer era there was some contempt for this opening, expressed by Fischer's comment "Sac, Sac and mate" for the h-file attack that White can sometimes get.

The Classical variation is with 5...Nc6

As both knights are placed "classically" on c6 and f6 it is called the "Classical variation". White can choose between the scary-sounding "Richter-Rauzer attack" with 6.Bg5 or White can use the iconic Bobby Fischer bishop move 6.Bc4 which Fischer used against a variety of Sicilian defence flavours. Other 6th moves for White include 6.Be2 and after that choices like 6.f3 6.Be3 have generally fewer games.

The Scheveningen Variation is with 5....e6

Many consider the Najdorf to be an "upgrade" to this variation because the Scheveningen allows the dreaded "Keres" attack with an early g4 from White. e6 immediately has closed the c8 bishop from controlling g4.

Variations starting with

The Sveshnikov variation features 2...Nc6 3.d4 cxd3 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 then the forcing move e5

I loved to play this opening in my earlier years and sometimes scalped much higher rated players, for example this win in the Lloyds bank masters against a 2300+ opponent :

Magnus Carlsen has recently ignited renewed interest in this variation by making use of it in a recent World championship match.

The Accelerated Dragon features 4...g6

One key upside vs a normal Dragon variation is that Black has not yet committed the d pawn. it can potentially be played in one move with great results for the unprepared player of the White pieces. One key downside though is that White can play a Marozcy bind with c4 because black has not encouraged White to play Nc3 blocking the c pawn, which Nf6 usually has the effect of doing.

The Kalashnikov (reloaded!) variation features 4...e5 5.Nb5 d6

5...d6 has become the successor and "reloaded" version of 5...a6 which resulted in favorable variations for White generally if White knows what they are doing and plays Nd6+ as shown below:

Playing the Queen back to d1 is part of the essential recipe against the older 5...a6 as this shows:

and it is good to know some key games about this position

"Reloaded" version with 5...d6 instead of 5...a6

A key point here (compared to Sicilian Sveshnikov) is that black has not yet committed the g8 knight, so can potentially deploy it to the e7 square later. I personally prefer the Sicilian Sveshnikov to the Kalashnikov. They both sound super-cool though.

The Taimanov variation features 4...Nc6

Named after Mark Taimanov who famously lost 6-0 to Bobby Fischer. This variation develops a knight to the natural c6 square and has not yet locked in the f8 bishop. Sometimes the f8 bishop can come usefully to b4 or c5 and then maybe d6 later if needed. One of my favourite ever Kasparov games was the "Kasparov gambit" and came from this variation:

The Kan (Paulsen) variation features 4...a6

Named after both the 19th-century master Louis Paulsen and to others named after the Soviet theoretician Ilya Kan.

One upside here is that sometimes black gets to play d5 in one move, getting a kind of French defence transposition. So this may be one Sicilian variation that French defence players might want to use as a disguise for their French defence structural intentions.

The Pin variation which is not entirely sound features 4...Nf6 5.Nc3 Bb4

The Engines hate this variation but if you don't know the technical bust, Black has a good surprise weapon here causing uncomfort to White with the outrageous early pin. Stockfish recommends the scary looking 6.e5 Nd5 and then 7.Qg4 - maybe not everyone intuitively thinks of 7.Qg4 though:

Nxc3

Qxg7!

If Rf8 then a3

Ba5 Bh6!

Wild stuff - but in White's favour

Variations without 3.d4

The Moscow variation features an early 3.Bb5+

This avoids a lot of technical opening theory and puts the game more on White's prepared territory quite often as it is a fairly unexpected move. It can be used as a prelude to setting up the dreaded "Maroczy bind" with c4 because it is logical to get rid of a potentially bad bishop before committing pawns on light squares. British GM Michael Adams has a 38.2% win rate with this variation with 58.8% leading to draws. A good surprise weapon for most of us, if GM Adams is playing it :)

The Rossolimo variation has a similar Bb5 but without being check because Black has a knight on c6:

When Nc6 is played, funny enough GM Adams has 3.Bb5 as his main weapon of choice with a 39% win rate and 45.8% draw rate. A great tool of choice for avoiding the sharp theory that could result if the game goes into Sveshnikov territory. White often has logical plans of c3 and d4 later a bit like the White side plans of a Ruy Lopez. Okay it is not "Check!" like in the Moscow variation because black has played Nc6 instead of d6 but even so - White is directing to potentially well prepared territory that might annoy the Sicilian defence player who wanted a more tactical game. From this perspective, it can be a good choice psychologically. I know my good friend Paul Georghiou loves playing this way to annoy tactical players.

The Hyper-Accelerated Dragon features 2...g6

A good surprise weapon that has the same upside as the Accelerated dragon - black has not yet committed the 'd' pawn and d5 might happen in one go as a major option opportunity if appropriate.

The O'Kelly Variation features 2...a6

a6 is often a really useful move in the Sicilian defence, so being played early here can get White to "reveal their cards". Also it sets a small trap up which might be amazing for bullet and blitz chess, in that if White plays the normal looking d4 (which is not considered the main move - like 3.c3 is!) :

You really want to play d4 here like apparently most Lichess online players?

According to some online databases, the Black win rate gets to nearly 50% ! According to the Lichess online player's database, it seems most Lichess players play d4 anyway and not care. Cross check to the Master's database and White's preferred move is actually c3 as shown below (TOP SECRET!):

Outrageously, if you do play d4 like most Lichess online players apparently do, then the Sicilian "Pin" variation is under more favourable circumstances, and here is an example correspondence game:

Really a6 - really? You really are setting up the most frequent little trap for Lichess players? BLIMEY!

The Nimzowitsch-Rubinstein Variation features 2...Nf6

Nimzovich was often playing quite provocative moves to tempt the opponent's pawns to commit and then later attack them in Hypermodern style.

The Closed Sicilian features 2.Nc3

For a more "strategic" game where ideas and plans become a little more important than having to calculate variations all the time.

The Alapin variation features 2.c3

A great way of annoying many Sicilian defence players, making the game significantly more strategic than tactical, and putting preparation more on White's side for the well prepared to try and get an informational advantage. It is also very handy to know if one plays the Smith-Morra gambit because the declined variations of the Smith-Morra often lead to Alapin positions. So very useful to know some key stem games here if you want to sometimes use the Smith-Morra gambit.

The Grand Prix Attack

The Grand Prix Attack features 2.f4 in classical fashion but players often play 2.Nc3 first and later f4 to prevent the d5 lines

The Smith-Morra Gambit (a personal favorite!)

A favorite of IM Marc Esserman who is considered the leading modern high-level exponent in this gambit. One of his amazing iconic wins vs a Dutch Grandmaster:

Key takeaway points

• There is a need for a basic guide to Sicilian defence variations!
• It is vast territory but a lot of amazingly fun games are played all the time in the Sicilian defence because it is a really fighting tactical opening against 1.e4
• Many World champions have used the Sicilian defence regularly including Bobby Fischer and Garry Kasparov
• The Sicilian Najdorf is generally considered the best variation and in many ways is an "upgrade" to the Sicilian Scheveningen because it prevents the dreaded "Keres attack" which is an early g4 and some other key reasons
• You can see there are certain nuances if certain pawns or Knights are not moved yet in many of the variations - new options which normally would not be possible such as d5 in one go in the accelerated dragon variation - but at the cost of giving White options they would not normally have such as c4. The costs and benefits need to be carefully weighed especially when accelerating or hyper-accelerating the Dragon variation.
• Funny enough, the O'Kelly variation seems to be the biggest trap setter of them all - because Lichess online players tend to routinely play d4 instead of the Master's choice c3 :)
• The Pin variation although unsound from an engine perspective might not see many of your opponents playing the crazy-looking Qg4 to nearly refute it. It may have surprise value.

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Want to go further? Explore all my online chess courses at https://www.chessworld.net/online-chess-courses.asp – learn openings, tactics, strategy, and more.

Cheers, K