Jump to content

Chess Opening Theory/1. e4/1...c5/2. Nf3/2...d6/3. d4/3...cxd4/4. Nxd4

From Wikibooks, open books for an open world
Open Sicilian
a b c d e f g h
8a8 black rookb8 black knightc8 black bishopd8 black queene8 black kingf8 black bishopg8 black knighth8 black rook8
7a7 black pawnb7 black pawnc7 black kingd7 black kinge7 black pawnf7 black pawng7 black pawnh7 black pawn7
6a6 black kingb6 black kingc6 black kingd6 black pawne6 black kingf6 black kingg6 black kingh6 black king6
5a5 black kingb5 black kingc5 black kingd5 black kinge5 black kingf5 black kingg5 black kingh5 black king5
4a4 black kingb4 black kingc4 black kingd4 white knighte4 white pawnf4 black kingg4 black kingh4 black king4
3a3 black kingb3 black kingc3 black kingd3 black kinge3 black kingf3 black kingg3 black kingh3 black king3
2a2 white pawnb2 white pawnc2 white pawnd2 black kinge2 black kingf2 white pawng2 white pawnh2 white pawn2
1a1 white rookb1 white knightc1 white bishopd1 white queene1 white kingf1 white bishopg1 black kingh1 white rook1
a b c d e f g h
Position in Forsyth-Edwards Notation (FEN)
Moves: 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4

Open Sicilian

[edit | edit source]

White's knight removes Black's d-pawn, freeing their f-pawn to advance, and radiates power in all directions from its central post.

The resulting exchanges have left White with a semi-open d-file and Black with a semi-open c-file. White has also swapped a central pawn for a wing pawn. According to Fred Reinfeld, if a center (d- or e-) pawn is worth about $1.00, a bishop's (c- or f-) pawn is worth about $0.90. Therefore, Black has, in effect, swapped a dollar for a dollar, but kept the ten cents as change! Fortunately, to compensate for this, White has a marked spatial advantage in the center, plus a small lead in development. Using their open d-file, White will attempt to pressure Black's d6-point. In some lines, Black voluntarily makes this pawn on d6 backward with the advance ...e7-e5 in exchange for dynamic play in the center and queenside. While it is true that Black does not always achieve this play in the center, they almost always get queenside play rolling with ...a7-a6 and ...b7-b5. If White castles queenside, these pawns will be a dangerous attacking force. However, if White castles kingside, the danger posed by these pawns is significantly less, although they are still part of a positional plan to expand on the queenside.

White has a pawn on the fourth rank. Nominally, it gains space, and many battles have been fought over whether this space advantage is relevant. However, in many variations of the Sicilian (particularly the Najdorf Variation), the e-pawn becomes a target. This can also be seen in the natural development of Black's pieces: ...b7-b5, ...Ng8-f6, and sometimes ...Nb8-d7-c5. When the neighboring pawn on f2 advances to the fourth rank, White gains more space on the kingside, getting good chances for attack there. In all, this adds up to a very sharp game, which is why the Sicilian Defence is the most popular opening today.

Theory table

[edit | edit source]

For explanation of theory tables, see theory table and for notation, see algebraic notation..

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4

4 5 6
Main line ...
Nf6
Nc3
a6
Be3
e6
=
Accelerated Dragon ...
g6
c4
Bg7
+/=
...
Nc6
+/=
...
a6
+/=
...
e6
+/-
...
e5
+/=

When contributing to this Wikibook, please follow the Conventions for organization.

References

[edit | edit source]