Download PGN of March '05 Anti-Sicilian games
Anti-Sveshnikov [B30]
Anti-Sicilians played a small role in these recent events, as the following two anti-Shveshnikov games reveal.
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The first, Kasparov - Leko, Linares 2005, shows that Kasparov still prepares very deeply and dangerously, while the following, Topalov - Kasparov, Linares 2005, may be his last ever game of competitive chess (but between you and me, I doubt it).
Queenside Fianchetto 3 b3 [B50]
I played an important Anti-Sicilian game on the way to sharing first place at the Blackpool weekend congress. I used to enjoy playing the line 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.b3!?:
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however, in 1998 I lost a game to Delchev and lost my faith in the whole variation. This time, in Rendle - Rowson, Blackpool 2005, I was on the other side of the same idea, but the result was the same- a win for Black.
Rossolimo [B23]
Predojovic - Marcetic Sozina Open 2005 is noteworthy because it follows my suggestion: 1 e4 c5 2 Nc3 Nc6 3 Bb5 Nd4 4 Bc4 a6!? And now White tries 5 Bb3!?:
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And wins, but I am sure Black can improve on what he did in the game.
Suba move-order [B53]
The final four games amount to an extended answer to a recent letter from Chris from Germany. They are not all recent games, but together they give some background to the line 1 e4 c5 2 Nf3 d6 3 d4 Nf6!?:
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I have played this way ever since reading a fascinating article by Romanian GM Mihai Suba about opening move-orders in CHESS magazine.
Suba argued that this is the most accurate move order for Black if he wishes to play a Sicilian with 2...d6-most notably The Dragon or The Najdorf. The point is that you avoid two tricky sidelines:
- 3.d4 cd 4.Qxd4!? This is not considered theoretically dangerous, but it can be a nasty surprise weapon, and in most lines White can vary his approach depending on mood and context.
- 3.d4 cd 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.f3!? is also quite promising for White and again Black has to know what he is doing.
Suba's move order avoids both these lines and in the vast majority of cases white will play 3 d4 Nf6 4 Nc3 and after 4...cd 5 Nxd4 we have a mainline open Sicilian. If White insists on a Qxd4 Sicilian with 5 Qxd4 Black can play 5...a6! and now White can no longer play the Marocy structures based on c2-c4 which make the 4 Qxd4 line so tricky.
So, have a look at the games Zvaginsev - De Firmian, Julian Borowski 1999, Benjamin - Kudrin, Toronto Open 1998, Sulskis - Vera, Torre Memorial 2004, and Varga - Hauchard, Mitropa Cup 2000, plus the new ChessPub Guide.
I hope you all found something here of interest. I'll be back in a month. In the meantime, don't be shy about asking questions- the site works best for us and for you if you tell us what you think, or would like to think!
I welcome e-mails from subscribers, please write to jonathan@chesspublishing.com. You can also try the Anti-Sicilians Forum.