Starting Out: The c3 Sicilian

209 Pages·2008·12.89 MB·English

by  John Emms

starting out:
the c3 Sicilian
JOHN EMMS
EVERYMAN CHESS
Gloucester Publishers pic www.everymanchess.com
First published in 2008 by Gloucester Publishers pIc (formerly Everyman
Publishers pIc), Northburgh House, 10 Northburgh Street, London EC1V OAT
Copyright © 2008 John Emms
The right of John Emms 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 re
trieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, electrostatic,
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the publisher.
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A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
ISBN: 978185744 5701
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EVERYMAN CHESS SERIES
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Commissioning editor: John Emms
Assistant editor: Richard Palliser
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Cover design by Horatio Monteverde.
Printed and bound in Great Britain by Clays, Bungay, Suffolk.
Contents
Bibliography 4
Introduction 5
1 2 ... dS: Black Plays Aggressively 11
2 2 ... dS: Positional Lines 56
3 2 ... Nf6: Traditional Lines with cxd4 104
4 2 ... Nf6: Modern Lines 140
5 Second Move Alternatives 175
Index of Variations 202
Index of Complete Games 206
Bibliography
Books
Anti-Sicilians: A Guide for Black, Dorian Rogozenko (Gambit 2003)
Beating the Anti-Sicilians, Joe Gallagher (Batsford 1994)
c3 Sicilian, Joe Gallagher (Everyman Chess 1999)
Discovering Chess Openings, John Emms (Everyman Chess 2006)
Fighting the Anti-Sicilians, Richard Palliser (Everyman Chess 2007)
Play the c3 Sicilian, Eduardas Rozentalis and Andrew Harley (Gambit 2002)
Simple Chess, John Emms (Everyman Chess 2001)
The Complete c3 Sicilian, Murray Chandler (Batsford 1996)
Periodicals and Websites
Chess Informant
Chess Today
Chess Base Magazine
ChessPublishing.com
Databases
Mega Corr4
Mega Database 2008
The Week in Chess
I ntrod uction
What is the c3 Sicilian?
The c3 Sicilian is a popular way of meeting the most famous opening in chess his
tory, and it arises after the moves 1 e4 c5 2 c3 (Diagram 1).
Diagram 1 (8)
The c3 Sicilian
The idea behind White's second move is easy understand because it follows gen
eral guidelines concerning central control. White simply wishes to play d2-d4 and
to be able to recapture with a pawn, thus creating two pawns abreast in the centre.
Why play the c3 Sicilian?
I began playing the c3 Sicilian nearly 30 years ago, and I'm just as happy playing it
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Starting Out: The c3 Sicilian
now as I was back then. I've always been attracted by its solid positional founda
tion, and yet it's also an active opening. Furthermore, the positions that are
reached are generally open rather than closed, and White's development is
straightforward and easy to understand. There's also a practical advantage which
may appeal to those who have only a finite amount of time to study chess: despite
some development in the theory over the years, there's still far less for a White
player to learn than in the Open Sicilian with 2 Nf3 and 3 d4.
A Brief History of the c3 Sicilian
The c3 Sicilian was initially championed in the late 19th century by the Lithuanian
player Semyon Alapin, and for this reason it is sometimes referred to as the
Alapin Variation of the Sicilian. It was used sporadically for a long time, but in the
early 1970s it began to receive much more attention, thanks in no small part to the
games and analysis of players such as Sveshnikov, Vasiukov and Dvoretsky. The
c3 Sicilian steadily became more popular, and by the mid 1990s it was being used
by some of the World's greatest players, for example Karpov, Kramnik, Adams
and Ivanchuk. In recent years there have been quite a few grandmasters who have
specialized in the c3 Sicilian, enriching the theory of the opening with their
creative ideas. A special mention goes to the efforts of players such as Tiviakov,
Rozentalis, Pavasovic, Nisipeanu, Sermek, Smagin and Rausis (and many
apologies to those I've forgotten).
Black's Main Responses
Black has two main replies to White's second move: 2 ... d5 and 2 ... Nf6. Their
popularity when compared to other replies is overwhelming and for this reason
they occupy a vast majority of the space in this book. Both moves aim to exploit
the fact that White's queen's knight can no longer reach c3.
Chapters 1-2 deal with 1 e4 c5 2 c3 d5 3 exd5 Qxd5 4 d4 (Diagram 2).
Black's early queen sortie into the centre is justified because White cannot attack it
with Nc3. Having said that, Black cannot always rely upon this generalization. For
a start he must always be wary of the possibility of c3-c4, while any pawn trade on
d4 suddenly re-opens the possibility of Nc3.
2 ... Nf6 attacks the e4-pawn and encourages it to move forward. The basic position
after 3 e5 Nd5 (Diagram 3) is covered in Chapters 3-4. The traditional main line is 4
d4 cxd4 5 cxd4, when White has successfully achieved his goal of placing two
pawns in the centre. On the other hand Black can argue that because the e-pawn
has advanced to the fifth rank it can be attacked more easily ( ... d6 is an obvious
way to do this). As well as the traditional main line, in this book we also study
6
Introduction
gambit ideas (5 Nf3 instead of 5 cxd4) and lines involving delaying or omitting the
advance of White's d-pawn (4 Nf3 instead of 4 d4).
Diagram 2 (8) Diagram 3 (W)
Basic position for 2. .. dS Basic position for 2. .. Nf6
Pawn Structures
The c3 Sicilian offers you considerable experience in dealing with typical pawn
structures, ones that are not only seen in this opening but also in many others, and
this should certainly help you to improve your overall understanding of the game.
Given that whole middle game books have been devoted to just a few pawn struc
tures, it's impossible in an opening book like this to give them the full attention
they really deserve. I have tried, however, to highlight important positional fea
tures of the pawn structures as they arise in the theory sections and the illustrative
games. At this stage I just want to classify and very briefly describe some of the
main ones that are seen in the book.
1. The Isolated Queen's Pawn
The isolated queen's pawn (IQP) is the most common pawn structure in the c3
Sicilian. In fact, it's one of the most important pawn structures in chess, since it
also arises from various other openings, for example the Caro-Kann, the Queen's
Gambit, the Nimzo-Indian and the English Opening.
Purely from a static viewpoint the d-pawn is a weakness, since there is no adjacent
pawn that can protect it and it lies on a half-open file. This weakness becomes
more significant as pieces are exchanged and the game heads towards the ending.
The d-pawn, however, also has many strengths: it promises White a space advan
tage, which virtually always equates to active piece play; it controls two key
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Starting Out: The c3 Sicilian
squares in the centre - e5 is especially important and this square can often act as a
very useful outpost; and last but not least, it offers dynamic ideas based on the
possibility of d4-d5, a push that if achieved often leads to very favourable conse
quences for White (see Game 16 for a striking example of this).
2. The Isolated Pawn Couple
Diagram 4 Diagram 5
The Isolated Queen's Pawn The Isolated Pawn Couple
This pawn structure usually arises from an IQP where Black captures White's
knight on c3 and White recaptures with the b-pawn. The pawn on c3 offers extra
protection to the d4-pawn, which usually means that White's centre is under less
immediate pressure. White can often use this extra freedom to build up a quick
kings ide attack, a devastating example of which can be seen in Game 23. If given
time, Black may be able to target the backward c3-pawn, which stands on a half
open file. Black may also attempt to restrain White's pawns by controlling the d5-
and c4-squares.
Sometimes White plays c3-c4, creating what are commonly known as 'hanging
pawns' on c4 and d4. By doing so he gains extra space and also dynamic possibili
ties based on pawn advances: d4-d5 pushing Black further back and creating a
passed pawn is always a consideration. On the other hand, side by side the pawns
are now more vulnerable to attack: the d-pawn because it no longer has protection
from its partner; the c-pawn simply because it is one square further forward.
3. The Majority Structure
This structure, where both sides have pawn majorities, usually arises from 2 ... d5
lines in which White plays dxc5 or Black plays ... cxd4 and White recaptures with a
8
I ntrod uction
piece. The asymmetric structure provides a basic imbalance in the position and
offers both sides the opportunity to utilize their pawn superiorities. When I first
began studying the c3 Sicilian I remember reading a considerable amount about
the legendary power of White's queenside pawn majority. I soon realized from
experience that this advantage had been somewhat exaggerated, and that Black's
solid kingside structure and extra central pawn also demanded respect. But
there's no denying that in the right circumstances the queenside pawn majority
can become a potent weapon (see the notes to Game 17, for example).
Diagram 6 Diagram 7
The Majority Structure The Tension Centre
4. The Tension Centre
This structure arises from 2 ... Nf6 3 e5 Nd5 variations, for example 4 d4 cxd4 5
cxd4 e6 6 Nf3 e6 (see Chapter Three). The most important feature here is White's
pawn on e5, which acts as a powerful spearhead in any attack that White conducts
on the kingside. The value of denying Black's knight the use of its natural defen
sive square on f6 cannot be underestimated, and White's pieces can take up ag
gressive positions by flooding the space behind the pawn (for example, e4 is an
excellent post for a knight or even a queen).
Black needs to keep pressuring White's pawns on d4 and e5, and both sides need
to be aware that at any moment the structure could change to an IQP if White
plays exd6. It's usually in Black's interests to maintain the tension, and he will
normally only exchange pawns on e5 if he gains something tangible in return. Re
lieving the tension is tempting, but a premature ... dxe5, dxe5 often only reduces
Black's counterplay - there's no longer any concern about the defence of the d4-
pawn - and leaves White with a free hand to attack with abandon on the kingside.
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