Download PGN of October '05 Anti-Sicilian games
C3 Sicilian [B22]
Subscriber 'BladezII' wrote to query my evaluation of a line in the c3 Sicilian:
«I am writing concerning an update you made on this site:
1.e4 c5 2.c3 Nf6 3.e5 Nd5 4.Nf3 Nc6 5.Bc4 Nb6 6.Bb3 d5 7.exd6 Qxd6 8.Na3!?:
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'My impression is that this move is quite dangerous for Black. The main c3 Sicilian experts-Sermek, Pavasovic and Tiviakov- all seem to like it. Note that it's important to play it before castling because this allows White to combine it with d4 before Black can put his queen on d3.'- GM Rowson
'What danger? After 8...a6 9.O-O Bf5, Black is doing fine.' - Lost Highway
Subscriber, BladezII»
It seems to me that 'Lost Highway' makes a reasonable suggestion, but there is always some 'danger' and even if Black is 'doing fine' it doesn't mean White can't cause problems. In general my impression of these c3 Sicilian lines with 8.Na3 and 8.0-0 is that White is playing for a risk-free edge, and this edge often grows because Black tries to solve his problems too quickly. In any case, I discuss some possible continuations in the notes to Tiviakov - Gormally.
Howell - Epishin features a new idea in one of the main lines, 14...Rd7!?:
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Howell - Tivakov features some ambitious play from Black, 9...g6!?:
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, but play that is rewarded when White seems to run out of steam a few moves later.
Zhilgalko - Moiseenko is a fairly critical line, but within a fairly harmless variation.
Whereas Tiviakov - Gormally shows Tiviakov at his c3 Sicilian best, contrast this with Tiviakov - Shabalov which sees an extremely rare loss for Tiviakov on the white side of the c3 Sicilian. Shabalov should be commended for his combative play in what is now one of the critical lines of the c3 Sicilian. However, although Black won in some style, my notes suggest that things were not always so clear.
Closed Sicilian [B20 & B25]
Visser - Van Wely is an unusual Closed Sicilian, as the white knight goes to a3, but Black's reaction is fairly typical, he heads for a Botvinnik structure:
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Howell - Wells was a strange game with some instructive moments. It is not the most theoretically critical line of the Closed Sicilian, but I thought it was worth including in order to make a couple of thematic points.
Grand Prix Attack [B21]
Kharlov - Tyomkin shows a 2600+ interpretation of the trendy line: 2...d5 3.ed Nf6:
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I don't think Kharlov refutes the line by any means, but he shows the type of approach White needs to adopt if he is to get anything out of this line.
Rossolimo [B20]
Two games with 3...e6 this time:
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Ulibin - Shabalov is another powerful display by Shabalov, but I suggest an early improvement for White.
Jakovenko - Krasenkov is a commanding display from Krasenkov in his favourite line of the Rossolimo. He has been playing 3...e6 for as long as I can remember, and never seems to have any major problems.
Till next time! Jonathan
I welcome e-mails from subscribers, please write to jonathan@chesspublishing.com. You can also try the Anti-Sicilians Forum.