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Chess Opening Theory/1. e4/1...c5

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Sicilian Defence
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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 pawne7 black pawnf7 black pawng7 black pawnh7 black pawn7
6a6 black kingb6 black kingc6 black kingd6 black kinge6 black kingf6 black kingg6 black kingh6 black king6
5a5 black kingb5 black kingc5 black pawnd5 black kinge5 black kingf5 black kingg5 black kingh5 black king5
4a4 black kingb4 black kingc4 black kingd4 black kinge4 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 white pawne2 black kingf2 white pawng2 white pawnh2 white pawn2
1a1 white rookb1 white knightc1 white bishopd1 white queene1 white kingf1 white bishopg1 white knighth1 white rook1
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Position in Forsyth-Edwards Notation (FEN)

rnbqkbnr/pp1ppppp/8/2p5/4P3/8/PPPP1PPP/RNBQKBNR w

Moves: 1. e4 c5
ECO code: B20-B99
Parent: King's Pawn Opening

Sicilian Defence

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The moves 1. e4 c5 constitute the Sicilian Defence, a counter-attacking opening in which players typically attack on opposite sides of the board. The Sicilian was introduced to the chess world in 1594 by Giulio Cesare Polerio and emerged into the mainstream in the early 20th century as a somewhat tame variation. With the discovery of new attacking ideas, it became Black's most feared weapon by the 1950s and is, pound for pound, the most exhaustively analysed of all openings.

Black's move 1...c5 seeks to create a half-open c-file, controls the important d4 square, and allows the black queen to venture out if desired, while the c-pawn itself is safe from attack, unlike the e-pawn after 1. e4 e5.

White's responses

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8        8
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5        5
4        4
3        3
2        2
1        1
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2. c4   (Staunton–Cochrane variation)

1...c5 introduces an element of asymmetry into the position; if White were to respond with 2. c4 (the English-like Staunton–Cochrane variation) imitating Black's move, that would weaken the d4 square and make it more difficult to play d4 later on.

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4        4
3        3
2        2
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2. d4   (Smith–Morra Gambit)

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8        8
7        7
6        6
5        5
4        4
3        3
2        2
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2. d4 cxd4 3. c3   (Smith–Morra Gambit)

Faced with a pawn on c5, White may choose to play 2. d4 (Smith–Morra Gambit) anyway which typically leads to a pawn sacrifice for quick development. After 2...cxd4, White can play 3. c3, sacrificing another pawn in order to play 4. Nxc3 to gain an advance in development in the Morra Gambit.

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2        2
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2. Nf3   (Open Sicilian)

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8        8
7        7
6        6
5        5
4        4
3        3
2        2
1        1
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2. c3   (Alapin variation)

A more common idea is for White to postpone d4 for a move while they increase their own control of the square. This can be achieved by either 2. Nf3 typically leading to the main lines of the Sicilian (Open Sicilian) or by 2. c3 attempting to establish a strong pawn centre.

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2. b4   (Sicilian Wing Gambit)

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8        8
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4        4
3        3
2        2
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2. a3   (Mengarini/Van Duijn variation)

Much less common is the attempt to undermine the c-pawn's control of d4 by playing 2. b4 (Wing Gambit) to tempt it off-centre. Since it is considered safe for Black to take the offered pawn and hold on to it, a more recent idea has been to prepare b4 with 2. a3 (Mengarini variation).

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2. Nc3   (Closed Sicilian)

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8        8
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5        5
4        4
3        3
2        2
1        1
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2. f4   (Grand Prix/McDonnell Attack)

White may postpone the fight for d4, typically with 2. Nc3 (Closed Sicilian) though 2. f4 (Grand Prix Attack) is also played. 2. f4 is a violent attacking move, 2. Nc3 typically leads to a more closed and slow-burning position, although f4 frequently appears later.

Statistics

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Databases give White approximately 36% winning chances, drawing is at 30%, and Black wins 33%.

Estimated next move popularity: Nf3 74%, Nc3 10%, c3 7%, d4 3%, Bc4 2%, f4 2%, d3 1%, b3 1%, c4 1%, Ne2 1%, g3 0.4%, b4 0.4%, other moves less than 0.3%.

Note that these move frequencies are biased toward databases of stronger players. The next move frequency may be very different for club players. For instance, see the data from the Lichess database below where 2. Nf3 occurs less commonly at only 56% of the time while 2. Bc4 occurs as often as 7% of the time.

move average 365Chess.com (big) Chess Tempo (all) chessgames.com Lichess (masters) Lichess (database)
2. Nf3 74.2% 75.4 76.4 80.8 82.2 56.0
2. Nc3 9.5 10.5 10.4 8.4 7.6 10.8
2. c3 6.6 7.6 7.2 6.1 6.6 5.4
2. d4 2.6 1.6 1.5 1.0 0.5 8.1
2. Bc4 1.6 0.4 0.3 0.1 0.0 7.3
2. f4 1.5 1.0 0.8 0.7 0.5 4.5
2. d3 1.0 0.8 0.7 0.6 0.6 2.2
2. b3 0.6 0.6 0.7 0.6 0.5 0.5
2. c4 0.6 0.6 0.5 0.3 0.2 1.2
2. Ne2 0.5 0.5 0.6 0.6 0.5 0.3
2. g3 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.3 0.3 0.6
2. b4 0.4 0.3 0.3 0.2 0.1 1.0
everything else 0.6 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.3

Theory table

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1. e4 c5

  2 3 4 5 Evaluation Notes
Open Sicilian Nf3
Nc6 		d4
cxd4 		Nxd4
  		2. Nf3 Nc6 is the old form of the Sicilian. It leads to Open Sicilians such as the Kalashnikov, Sveshnikov, or Accelerated Dragon. If White does not wish to enter an Open Sicilian, they may play a Rossolimo
Open Sicilian Nf3
d6 		d4
cxd4 		Nxd4
Nf6 		Nc3
  		= 2. Nf3 d6 goes into the modern Open Sicilian variations. These include the Najdorf, Dragon, Classical, and Scheveningen, among others. The Moscow is an alternative for those who do not want an Open Sicilian.
Closed Sicilian Nc3
Nc6 		g3
g6 		Bg2
Bg7 		d3
d6 		=
Alapin Variation c3
Nf6 		e5
Nd5 		d4
cxd4 		Nf3
Nc6 		=
Smith–Morra Gambit d4
cxd4 		c3
dxc3 		Nxc3
Nc6 		Nf3
d6 		=
Bowdler Attack Bc4
 
Grand Prix Attack f4
d5 		Nc3
d4 		Nce2
Nc6 		d3
c4 		=
d3 d3
  		Often a Closed Sicilian, but a King's Indian Attack is also possible.
Snyder Variation b3
Nc6 		Bb2
 
Staunton–Cochrane Variation c4
Nc6 		Nc3
g6 		=
Keres Variation Ne2
Nc6 		Nbc3
 
Steinitz Variation g3
d5 		exd5
Qxd5
Wing Gambit b4
  		Less common
Mengarini Variation a3
  		Less common. Also known as Van Duijn’s variation.
Pawn Push Variation e5
  		Less common
Kronberg Variation Na3
  		Less common.
Qh5
  		Less common. See also: Parham Attack
King David's Opening Ke2
  		Less common. See also: The Bongcloud
Sicilian Amazon Attack Qg4
  		Less common.

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

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Wikipedia has related information at Sicilian Defence

References

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  • Nunn's Chess Openings. 1999. John Nunn (Editor), Graham Burgess, John Emms, Joe Gallagher. ISBN 1-8574-4221-0.


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