Marcozy Defence otb classical at 1700?

What to do you guys think about the Marcozy Defence at 1700 otb? I am pretty confident in my endgame knowledge and have a classical tournament coming up, so i was thinking of playing it as black

Not another AI slop...

@schinn said ^

as Black in the Sicilian, not the rare 1...d6 Maróczy Defence. That’s the standard opening players refer to
Im talking about 1.e4 d6 2.d4 e5

The Maroczy Defence is not strong enough to prevent invasion by the Maroczy Bind.

I think the Maróczy could actually be pretty nice at 1700 OTB, especially if you’re confident in your endgames. Since it’s a classical tournament, you’ll have time to play those slower positional positions and outplay him later. Just make sure you’re comfortable with the typical plans and breaks like ...b5, ...f5 and ...d5, otherwise you can end up getting squeezed. If you already know the structures well and don’t mind defending a bit, I’d say it’s definitely worth trying

"Im talking about 1.e4 d6 2.d4 e5"

• You probably count on 3 dxe5 dxe5 4 Qxd8+, but if white plays 3 Nf3 you just get a cramped position.
  What defense do you usually play?
  It often is a bad idea to switch openings before a tournament.
  Each time you switch openings you lose more.
  It takes time and losses to accumulate experience.

@tpr said ^

"Im talking about 1.e4 d6 2.d4 e5"

• You probably count on 3 dxe5 dxe5 4 Qxd8+, but if white plays 3 Nf3 you just get a cramped position.

Isn't the position after Nf3 just a slightly inferior philidor?

What defense do you usually play?

French vs e4, Benoni vs d4

"Isn't the position after Nf3 just a slightly inferior philidor?"

• Yes, it is the Philidor Defense 1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 d6 4 d4

"French vs e4, Benoni vs d4"

• Those are more solid than the Philidor Defense.

1 e4 d6 2 d4 Nf6 3 Nc3 e5 is the more accurate move order, making white commit to Nc3 before playing e5. Now white can choose between a queenless middlegame 4 dxe5 dxe5 5 Qxd8+ Kxd8 or transpose to the Philidor by 4 Nf3.