Starting Out: Closed Sicilian (Starting Out - Everyman Chess)

208 Pages·2006·1.35 MB·english

by  Richard Palliser

StartingOut:ClosedSicilian
ByRichardPalliser
Firstpublishedin2006byGloucesterPublishersplc(formerlyEveryman
Publishersplc),NorthburghHouse,10NorthburghStreet,LondonEC1V0AT
Copyright©2006RichardPalliser
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Contents
Bibliography and Acknowledgements 4
Introduction 5
1 Spassky’s 6 f4: The Main Line with 6...e6 20
2 Spassky’s 6 f4: Black’s Other Defences 66
3 The Fashionable 6 Be3: 6...e6 and 6...e5 97
4 The Fashionable 6 Be3: Black’s Alternative Set-ups 126
5 The Tricky 6 Nge2 and 6 Nh3 143
6 Early Black Deviations 165
7 Crafty Move-orders: 2 d3 & 2 g3 183
Index of Variations 202
Index of Complete Games 207
Bibliography
Books
Anti-Sicilians:AGuideforBlack,DorianRogozenko(Gambit2003)
Attackingwith1e4,JohnEmms(Everyman2001)
BeatingtheAnti-Sicilians,JoeGallagher(Batsford1994)
ClosedSystemoftheSicilianDefence,AttilaSchneider(CaissaChessBooks
1999)
GarryKasparovonMyGreatPredecessors:PartII,GarryKasparov(Every-
man2003)
GarryKasparovonMyGreatPredecessors:PartIII,GarryKasparov(Every-
man2004)
Meeting1e4,AlexRaetsky(Everyman2002)
Nunn’s Chess Openings,JohnNunn,GrahamBurgess,JohnEmms&JoeGal-
lagher(Everyman1999)
Starting Out: The King’s Indian Attack,JohnEmms(Everyman2005)
TheClosedSicilian,DanielKing(TheChessPress1997)
TheClosedSicilian,VaidyanathanRavikumar(TournamentChess1993)
TheUltimateClosedSicilian,GaryLane(Batsford2001)
Magazines and Databases
ChessInformant;www.chesspublishing.com;MegaCorr4;BigDatabase2005
andNewInChessYearbook
Acknowledgments
ThanksareduetoJohnEmms,PaulHopwoodandNormanStephensonfor
locatingandlendingsomeveryusefulmaterial,andtoAndrewLedgerfor
sharinghisthoughtsonsomeofhisClosedSiciliangames.
4
Introduction
1e4c52Nc3Nc63g3g64Bg2Bg75d3d6(Diagram1)
W________W W________W
[rDb1kDn4] [WDWDWDkD]
[0pDW0pgp] [0pDWDpDp]
[WDn0WDpD] [WDW0pDpD]
[DW0WDWDW] [DW0WDWDW]
[WDWDPDWD] [WDWDP)WD]
[DWHPDW)W] [DWDPDW)W]
[P)PDW)B)] [P)PDWDW)]
[$WGQIWHR] [DWDWDWIW]
W--------W W--------W
Diagram1(W) Diagram2
TheClosedSicilian TheusualClosedstructure
TheClosedSicilianisareliableandpromisingweaponforthosekeentoavoid
allthetheoryofthenumerousOpenSicilianvariations.Itcanbehandled
positionally, but nobody should be fooled by White’s apparently slow build-up;
hismainplanisagradualkingsideadvanceleadingtoamatingattack
againsttheblackmonarch.Aswewilldiscoveronourjourneythroughthe
ClosedSicilian,itremainsanopeningwhereagoodunderstandingoftheim-
portantattackingandpositionalmotifsismoreimportantthanknowledgeof
specificmovesandvariations.
Thekeyplanswhichbothsidescanemployarehighlightedthroughoutthis
work,whiletheillustrativegameshaveoftenbeenchosenmorefromaninspi-
rationalperspectivethantodisplaythelatesttheory.Bothsidescanplay
5
Starting Out: Closed Sicilian
fairlysharplyorrelativelytheoreticallyattimes,but,whileexploringsuch
linescanbegreatfunandleadtopracticalsuccess,thereisusuallyaquieter
andnolesseffectivealternativeforWhitewhichputstheemphasisbackonto
generalunderstandingoftheClosedSiciliananditstypicalstructure(Dia-
gram2).
Diagram2depictsthemostcommonofallpawnstructuresintheClosedSicil-
ian,andBlackwillusuallybefairlyharmoniouslydevelopedwithabishopon
g7andaknightone7asheaimstopreventastrongf5-break.Whiteshould
alwaysbeonthelook-outtoforcethatthrough,buthemustbeawarethatany
preparatoryadvanceoftheg-pawnneedstobewelltimed.Aprematureg4can
oftenbestronglymetby...f5;notonlyholdingWhiteuponthekingsidebut
alsooftenleavinghimalittleoverextended.
Whiteoftenaimstotransferasmanypiecesaspossibletothekingsidebefore
advancingwithf5,butanearlyadvanceofthepawntof4isactuallynolonger
especiallypopular.Whitestillaimsforf4-f5,buthewilloftenprefacethat
nowadayswithBe3andQd2.Inonefellswoopheisthenabletoexchangeoff
thedark-squaredbishopswithBh6:eliminatinganypressuredownthelong
a1-h8diagonalandcruciallyweakeningtheblackmonarch’s defences.
AlookatthestructurequicklyrevealsthatBlackisvulnerabletof4-f5,but
whichadvancesshouldhebeconcentratingon?Hecansometimesevenplay
...f5withoutwaitingforg4,but...d5isoftennotespeciallyeffective.White
tendstohavee4welldefendedand,notmindingafurtherclosingoftheposi-
tion, isn’t too unhappytoseetheblackd-pawnadvanceontod4.A...d5break
canalsobemetbye5;anadvancewhichifwelltimedwillblunttheg7-bishop
andleavetheblackstructurealittlestatic,althoughifmistimeditcanbewell
metbyanimmediateandliberating...f6.ThusBlackoftenpreferstoremain
quiteflexibleinthecentredeepintothemiddlegame,insteadfocussinghis
effortsuponarapidadvanceofhisqueensidepawns.
Piece Placement
Onedrawbacktofocussingtoointentlyuponthepawnstructureisthatwecan
failtofullytakeintoaccounthowthepositionofthepiecesmayaffecttherole
ofthepawns.Aknightonf6,forinstance,maywellencourageWhitetothrow
hisf-andg-pawnsuptheboard.Whiteforhispartwillusuallykeephis
queen’s knight on c3 into the early middlegame and there it can, just like the
blacke6-andg6-pawnsaretothef5-break,actasatargetfortheblackqueen-
sidepawnstolatchonto.
Black’s main way of obtainingcounterplayistoadvanceonthequeenside,
supportedbytheg7-bishop,aswellastomakeuseofthed4-square;asquare
whichitcanbehardforWhitetocontestsolongashisknightremainsonc3.
ThusthewiseClosedSicilianplayerwilloftenquicklyreroutehisknightfrom
c3toe2oreventod1,afterwhichc3willevicttheblackknightfromd4when
Whitecanpressaheadonthekingsideandsometimesalsotakeoverthecen-
6
Introduction
tralinitiative.Foramodeldemonstrationofthateffectiveplan,let’s see one of
the world’s strongest Closed Sicilian exponentsinaction.
Game1
M.AdamsG.Sax
Bundesliga1997
1e4c52Nc3Nc63g3g64Bg2Bg75d3d66Be3
Beforelaunchinghisf-pawn,Adamsintendstoquicklycompletehisdevelop-
mentandalreadyWhiteisanglingforanexchangeofthedark-squaredbish-
ops.
6...Rb87Qd2b58Nge2Nd490-0b410Nd1Qc7?!
Blackhascounteredaggressivelyiflogicallyearlyon,butcannotaffordtolose
timelikethis.Saxmayhaveenjoyedalongandsuccessfulcareerasagrand-
master, but even he isn’t familiar with all of the Closed Sicilian’ssubtleties.
Thequeenonlystandswellonc7shouldWhitehalf-openthec-filewithanex-
changeond4,butthatisacapturehemostcertainlydoesnotwanttomake.
11Nc1!(Diagram3)
W________W W________W
[W4bDkDn4] [W4bDW4WD]
[0W1W0pgp] [0W1WDpip]
[WDW0WDpD] [WDn0WhpD]
[DW0WDWDW] [DW0W0WDW]
[W0WhPDWD] [WDWDP)WD]
[DWDPGW)W] [DW)PHW)W]
[P)P!W)B)] [PDW!WDB)]
[$WHNDRIW] [$WHWDRIW]
W--------W W--------W
Diagram3(B) Diagram4(B)
PreparingtodriveBlackbackwards ‘f for forward!’

NOTE:Thewhiteknightsarefarfromunhappyonc1andd1
and,asBlackcannolongerexchangeone2,thed4-knightwill
shortlyhavetoretreat.Onceithasdonesothewhitepiecesare
quicktocontrolthecentreandtolookforakingsideattack.
11...Nf612c3bxc313bxc3Nc614Bh6!0-015Bxg7Kxg716Ne3
Adamshascompletedtheinitialstagesofhisoverallplanbyevictingthe
blackknightfromd4andbyweakeningthedarksquaresaroundtheblack
king.Sax,ontheotherhand,isalittlelowoncounterplay,althoughhisnext
most certainly doesn’t help matters as White wants to advance on the kingside
7
Starting Out: Closed Sicilian
inanycase.
16...e5?!
AnothergoodexampleofhowWhitecangetthebetterofSiciliantheoryo-
phileswiththeClosedSicilianwasA.Ledger-K.Sakaev,CappellelaGrande
1997.KonstantinSakaevisarespectedtheoreticianwhohasworkedforKas-
parov, but that didn’t prevent him from reaching this unpleasant position.
However, at least he didn’t weaken himself down the f-file,preferring16...Ba6.
Evenso,after17f4Qb618Rf2e619Nb3!Nd720f5Nce521c4Blackwas
helduponthequeenside,whileWhitecouldsimplydoublerooks.Indeedone
suspects that it was chiefly Sakaev’s much higher rating which saved him
whenheofferedadrawjustfivemoveslater.
17f4!(Diagram4)17...Ne718Ne2Bb719g4!
< TIP:WhenBlackhasaknightonf6,Whiteshouldalwayslookto
strengthenhisattackwithag-pawnadvance.Herethethreatof
g5preventsBlackfromfreeinghispositionwith19...d5,while
thee2-knightwillfindausefulattackingroleong3.
19...h620h4!
Adamsmaybeasuper-grandmaster,butitisnoticeableastohowthewhite
attackalmostplaysitself.Thethreatis21f5followedbyg5whichSaxpre-
vents,butatthehighpriceofgrantingWhitestrongpressuredownthef-file.
20...exf421Rxf4Neg822Raf1Qe723Ng3Bc824Qf2
Improvinganotherpieceandensuringthatalmostallthewhitepiecesarein-
vitedtothekingsideparty.Onlytheg2-bishop doesn’t get to play an attacking
role,althoughthatpiecewaspivotalinearlierrestraining...d5andthereby
ensuringthatSaxlackedcounterplay.
24...Be625g5hxg526hxg5Nh727Nef5+!(Diagram5)
W________W W________W
[W4WDW4nD] [W4W1W4nD]
[0WDW1pin] [0WDWDWin]
[WDW0bDpD] [WDW0pDWD]
[DW0WDN)W] [DW0WDWDW]
[WDWDP$WD] [WDWDN$WD]
[DW)PDWHW] [DW)PDW!W]
[PDWDW!BD] [PDWDWDBD]
[DWDWDRIW] [DWDWDRIW]
W--------W W--------W
Diagram5(B) Diagram6(B)
Adecisivesacrifice Winningas31...Kh832Rf7decides
8
Introduction
Withsuchastronggatheringofkingsideforce,itshouldcomeasnosurprise
that there is a sacrificial breakthrough to rip open the black monarch’s de-
fences.
27...gxf5
Blackisalreadydefencelessasafter27...Bxf528exf5Qxg529Ne4Qd8White
has30f6+(Adams)whenthef6-pawn will stick in Black’s throat like a
fishbone,albeitnotforlongas30...Kh831Rh4leavesmateimminent.
28exf5Qxg529Ne4Qd830fxe6fxe631Qg3+1-0(Diagram6)
Does Black have to fianchetto?
TheClosedSicilianisbroughtaboutby1e4c52Nc3,followedbyawhite
kingsidefianchetto.InpracticeBlackalsousuallyoptstofianchetto,butdoing
so is far from obligatory. He can prefer 2...e6 3 g3 d5 as we’ll consider in Chap-
ter Six, where we also examine Black’s fairly rare alternative set-ups,includ-
ingrapidqueensideexpansionafter2...a6.Thesystemwith2...e6and3...d5
isn’t inferior to a kingside fianchetto, but does require Black to be ready for an
...e6OpenSicilianvariationasWhitecouldalwaysmeet2Nc3e6with3Nf3
and4d4.
Toreachourkeybranchingpointatmovesix(Diagram1),Blackcanplay
...Nc6,...g6and...d6inanyorder,andthisset-upremainsbyfarhismost
popular.EvenatclublevelBlackoftenknowsthatthisishowheisadvisedby
theory to meet the Closed Sicilian, although quite how much he’ll knowbeyond
movesixisprettyvariable.EvenifBlackknowssometheory,hemaywell
haverarelyexperiencedtheClosed,andthushisunderstandingoftheposition
will often be far inferior to White’s. In the Closed Sicilian that can easily prove
costly.
WehavealreadyseenexperiencedgrandmastersSaxandSakaevbetraya
lackofboththeoreticalknowledgeandgeneralunderstandingintheClosed.If
theycanbeunderafairamountofpressurebymove20,justthinkhowwell
theaverageclubplayermayfare.However,itwouldberathernaivetoassume
that one’s opponent won’t understand many of the Closed’s little nuances.
TheymayactuallyberatherexperiencedorregularlyemploytheEnglish
Opening,andofcourse1c4e52Nc3Nc63g3g64Bg2Bg7isareversed
Closed Sicilian. Thus throughout this work Black’s best plans and ideas will be
highlighted as well as White’s, while a key factor in our main line (with a dou-
blekingsidefianchetto)forbothsidestorealizeisthatg4mustusuallybemet
by...f5wherepossible.
Game2
B.SpasskyL.Portisch
TolucaInterzonal1982
1e4c52Nc3d63g3Nc64Bg2g65d3Bg76f4e67Nf3Nge780-00-0
9Be3Nd410Rb1Rb8
9