What's Hot- November '00
2 b3 SicilianA fashionable line at the moment is to meet the Sicilian with 2 b3. Nigel Short who has employed it a few times with success set the trend. The game Souza Neves-Guimaraes saw an aggressive novelty after 1 e4 c5 2 b3 Nf6 3 e5 Nd5 4 Bb2 Nc6 5 Nf3 Nc7 6 Ng5 Ne6 and now 7 h4. |
            
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It certainly looks attacking but Black finds a good way to handle the position and emerges from the opening with bright prospects.
I have had a lot of interest from players who want to play gambit lines in the Grand Prix Attack. One of the most promising variations for White is 1 e4 c5 2 Nc3 Nc6 3 f4 d6 4 Nf3 g6 5 Bc4 Bg7 6 0-0 e6 7 d3 Nge7 8 Qe1 0-0 and now 9 f5.
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The game Biti - Sulc is an entertaining example and White wins a king hunt.
Horn - Payen is another demonstration of White's attacking chances where long-term pressure is applied to cause Black's downfall.
It is possible to decline the gambit but Hnydiuk - Kowalczyk is not encouraging for Black.