Sicilian Bb5(+)
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 g6 4.c3!?
Much more popular are 4.0-0 and 4.Bxc6, but there are 2,217 examples of the text in ChessBase's 2023 Mega database.
4...Bg7 5.d4 cxd4
This is the main move in Mega23, but Stockfish15.1 and Komodo14.1 suggest 5...Qa5!? or 5...Qb6!? Following the latter they continue 6.a4!? cxd4 7.0-0!? a6 8.Bxc6, claiming a slight edge for White after both 8...bxc6 and 8...dxc3. After 5...Qa5!? they agree best is 6.Bxc6 dxc6 7.0-0, again claiming a slight edge for White.
6.cxd4 a6!?
The engines prefer this over the much more common 6...Qb6.
7.Ba4
The engines suggest 7.Bxc6!? or 7.Be2!?
7...b5 8.Bc2 d6
Matthias Wahls (2540) - Mladen Muše, Bundesliga 1992, continued 8...d5 9.exd5 Nb4!? 10.Bb3 Nxd5 with at least an equal position for Black, according to the engines (0-1, 37 moves).
9.0-0 Nf6
Critical would seem to be 9...Bg4 10.Be3 Bxf3, when the engines reckon White must play 11.gxf3, after which they believe White's centre and bishop-pair compensate for having a wrecked king's position. One problem with 11.Qxf3?! is that 11...Nxd4 not only wins a pawn but deprives White of the bishop-pair.
10.Nc3 Bg4 11.Be3
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| Try to guess Black's next move (it caused grandmaster Spyridon Skembris to exclaim "What?!" during the postmortem) |
*****
*****
*****
*****
11...h5?!
Thrusts with an h pawn are popular in modern chess, but it is hard to see how this one makes sense.
12.h3 Bxf3 13.Qxf3
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| White has the bishop-pair and a lead in development - Black already has to be very careful |
*****
*****
*****
*****
13...b4??
Aggressive, but bad. The engines suggest 13...Rac8, but give White the upper hand.
The game finished:
14.e5 Rc8 15.exf6 Bxf6 16.Ba4 1-0
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