THERE are two well-known gambits White can play on move two against the Sicilian.
Most popular is the Morra Gambit, which starts 1.e4 c5 2.d4 cxd4 3.c3.
This gambit has quite a literature, covering both its accepted form, 3...dxc3, and methods of declining it, chiefly 3...d5, 3...Nf6, 3...d3 and 3...e6.
A Morra gambiteer has to know a lot about the methods of declining the gambit as that is what happens roughly half the time, at least at club level
The other reasonably well-known anti-Sicilian gambit is the Wing Gambit, which starts 1.e4 c5 2.b4.
This has much less coverage in books, but you can still expect an opponent to have something prepared against it.
Indeed, two of the most-popular anti-Sicilian guides for Black, Joe Gallagher's Beating The Anti-Sicilians (Batsford 1994) and Dorian Rogozenko's Anti-Sicilians: A Guide For Black (Gambit 2003), recommend the same line against the Wing Gambit.
They both suggest playing 1.e4 c5 2.b4 cxb4 3.a3 d5. Gallagher even gives an exclamation mark to 3...d5, which is Black's commonest response to 3.a3 in ChessBase's 2020 Mega database.
What this means is that whites who play either the Morra or the Wing Gambit will quite often, in practice, not get to play a gambit-style game, ie a game in which the opponent has grabbed a pawn.
My recommendation is therefore to follow up 1.e4 c5 with 2.a3.
At first glance this looks like a non-move, or perhaps a sort of trick to get Black to effectively play an English with colours reversed and White having an extra tempo - a tempo that has been used to play a3, which would be ...a6 in a proper English.
But there is rather more to it than that, which is why 2.a3, which first appears in Mega20 in a game from 1943, has been played by the likes of world champion Magnus Carlsen, Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (2764) and Ian Nepomniachtchi (2751).
Strong players who have lost against 2.a3 include Victor Bologan (2640), Ernesto Inarkiev (2689) and Sergei Rublevsky (2649).
Since 2.a3 is not a forcing move, Black has a big choice of replies, but the most popular are 2...Nc6, 2...g6 and 2...e6.
All three have their points. 2...Nc6 and 2...e6 are meant to discourage White from following up 2.a3 with 3.b4, while 2...g6 anticipates 3.b4 by intending to fianchetto the black king's bishop on the a1-h8 diagonal.
I will look at each of Black's three main replies in turn.
Magnus Carlsen (2837) - Ernesto Inarkiev (2689)
World Blitz Championship (Riyadh, Saudi Arabia) 2017
1.e4 c5 2.a3 Nc6 3.b4!?
White insists on playing a gambit. In effect the game will become a sort of Wing Gambit, but one in which most blacks will already be out of book.
3...cxb4 4.axb4
This position was reached by the old-time greats Capablanca and Marshall, but from a Wing Gambit move-order: 1.e4 c5 2.b4 cxb4 3.a3 Nc6 4.axb4. Of course with that move-order the modern black player would probably play the book-recommended 3...d5 rather than 3...Nc6.
4...Nxb4 5.d4!?
Capablanca and Marshall preferred the natural-looking 5.c3. The text does not appear in Mega20 until 1992, but has rapidly overtaken 5.c3 in popularity. The main idea is that White immediately creates a classical centre, while leaving the b4 knight hanging in mid-air. In practice the two lines often transpose.
5...d5
It is normal in this type of position for Black to immediately challenge the establishment of a pawn-duo on d4 and e4. Second in popularity in Mega20 is 5...g6, and if 6.c3 then 6...Na6!?, when the analysis engines Stockfish12 and Komodo11.01 reckon White has more than enough compensation for the pawn-deficit after 7.Bxa6!? or 7.h4. Also interesting is Stockfish12's suggestion 6.Bd2!?, which is not in the database. After 6...Nc6 7.d5 Bg7 8.Bc3 Bxc3+ 9.Nxc3 White has a handy lead in development, and Black must avoid the piece-losing blunder 9...Ne5?? 10.f4.
6.c3 Nc6
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How should White proceed?
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7.exd5
Both Capablanca and Marshall preferred 7.e5!?, although then Black gets to develop his light-square bishop at ...Bf5 before playing ...e6, plausibly arguing he has a superior form of French Defence.
7...Qxd5 8.Na3
The knight eyes a possible fork at c7. A handful of games have seen 8.Nf3, half of which were met by 8...e5?!, which looks dubious in light of the engines' suggested novelty 9.Nbd2!?, eg 9...exd4 10.Bc4 Qh5 11.0-0 with dangerous attacking chances for White.
8...Bf5!?
Offering back the pawn while getting on with development.
9.Nb5 Rc8 10.Nxa7 Nxa7
After 10...Ra8 11.Nb5! Black seems to have nothing better than 11...Rc8 (not 11...Rxa1?? 12.Nc7+), which is inferior to the game continuation, according to the engines.
11.Rxa7 e5
Black cannot grab the c pawn, eg 11...Rxc3? 12.Qa4+ Qc6 13.Qxc6+ bxc6 14.Ra8+ Kd7 15.Bd2 and 16.Rxf8. The engines slightly prefer 12...Kd8, but the position is horrible for Black, eg 13.Bd2 Rc7 14.Nf3 with a huge attack for White.
12.Nf3 exd4 13.Nxd4
The engines prefer 13.Qxd4 Nf6 14.Qxd5 Nxd5 15.Bb5+.
13...Bd7 14.Nb5 Qxd1+ 15.Kxd1 Bc6 16.Bd3 Bc5 17.Re1+ Ne7 18.Ba3 Bxa3 19.Rxa3 Rd8 20.Nd4 Kd7!
Inarkiev has successfully negotiated the opening. The position is close to level, but very open and remains tactically sharp.
21.Ra7 Rhe8 22.Kc2 Kc7 23.Rb1 Rb8 24.f3 Nd5?
A tactical oversight. The engines reckon White's edge is small after 24...g6 or 24...Red8.
25.Nxc6 Kxc6 26.Bb5+ Kb6 27.Rxb7+ 1-0
Inarkiev presumably felt there was no need to test Carlsen's technique after 27...Rxb7 28.Bxe8+ Kc7 29.Rxb7+ Kxb7 30.g3.
WindPower (2465) - Ciron (2502)
PAL/CSS Rapid 2008
1.e4 c5 2.a3 e6
Black's alternative way of apparently preventing, or at least discouraging, 3.b4.
3.b4!? cxb4
The actual move-order in this computer game was 1.e4 c5 2.b4 cxb4 3.a3 e6, ie the Sicilian Wing Gambit, but that allows the modern riposte 3...d5. Note that one reason 3...d5 is considered strong is that, after 4.exd5 Qxd5, White does not have 5.Nc3 (and he certainly does not want to enable that move by 5.axb4?? Qe5+).
4.axb4 Bxb4
Once again Black has won a pawn, for which White can take over the centre with tempo and have pressure down the a and b files (somewhat like a reverse Benko Gambit).
5.c3
5.Bb2!? has attracted a fair bit of attention recently. After 5...Nf6 6.e5 Nd5 7.c4 Ne7 (this slightly counter-intuitive move is Black's commonest choice) the position is rather unclear, although Stockfish12 and Komodo11.01 slightly prefer Black. The text is White's traditional plan in the position.
5...Be7
The most solid and easily the most popular reply.
6.d4 d6
Black's Scheveningen-style small centre is common in the Sicilian. The French-style 6...d5 is not very popular, perhaps because the position is reached via a Sicilian, but seems perfectly playable. The normal continuation is 7.e5 Nc6 8.Bd3 when White seems to have a better-than-usual set-up against the French Defence (apart from being a pawn down!).
7.Bd3 Nf6 8.Ne2!?
This somewhat strange-looking continuation comes to be the choice, at least for a while, of my analysis engines. Slightly more popular, and a lot more successful, at least percentage-wise, in Mega20 is building a big centre with 8.f4.
8...Nc6 9.0-0 0-0 10.Nd2 Qc7
Alessandro Bonafede (2310) - Fabiano Caruana (2709), Italian Championship (Siena) 2010, saw 10...e5!? 11.f4 Bg4 12.d5 Nb8 13.f5 with an unclear position that my engines believe favours Black (but ½–½, 63 moves).
11.h3!?
This seems a little slow. Perhaps 11.f4 is an improvement.
11...b6
Part of a plan to swop off Black's light-square bishop.
12.f4 a5 13.Ba3 Ba6
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How should White proceed?
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14.Bxa6!
White does not have time to preserve the bishop, eg 14.Bc2? Bxe2 15.Qxe2 Nxd4 or 14.Bb1?! b5, when Black's a and b pawns are a strength rather than targets.
14...Rxa6 15.c4!?
Is White's centre impressive or vulnerable? The outcome of the game will hinge on this.
15...Rfa8 16.d5 Nb4!?
White is better after 16...Nd8 17.Nd4, according to my analysis engines.
17.Nd4 e5 18.Nb5 Qc8 19.fxe5 dxe5 20.Bb2!?
My analysis engines prefer to get the white king away from checks on the g1-a7 diagonal by playing 20.Kh2.
20...Nd7
Stockfish12 reckons 20...Nb3!? 21.Bc3 Nd7 slightly favours Black, but Komodo11.01 gives White full compensation for the pawn deficit.
21.Qe2 Bg5?!
Stockfish12 gives White a large advantage after this, while Komodo11.01 reckons any edge is small. As we shall see, Stockfish12 is probably right. Both engines agree 21...f6 is a better move, but with the black queenside blockaded, White's long-term central and kingside chances look promising.
22.Nf3 Bf4 23.Kh1 Qc5
Komodo11.01 reckons 23...f6!? 24.Nh4 g6 25.Rad1 is close to being equal, but Stockfish12 has White positionally winning.
24.g3! Bxg3 25.Ng5
Now Komodo11.01 agrees White is much better.
25...Qe7 26.Qg4 h6
If 26...Bf4 then 27.Rxf4! exf4 28.Bxg7! wins, eg 28...f5 29.Qxf5 Qxg7 30.Qe6+ Kf8 31.Rg1 with a winning attack, one line being 31...Rd8 32.Qf5+ Ke7 33.d6+ Kd8 34.Ne6+ Kc8 35.Rxg7.
27.Nxf7 Qh4
This is best, but hopeless, according to my analysis engines.
28.Nxh6+ Qxh6 29.Qxg3
Material is level but Black is busted.
29...a4!?
29...Rf8 avoids the knight fork, but after 30.Rxf8+ Kxf8 31.Rg1 (31.Rf1+ is also strong) Qf6 32.Nc7 Ra7 33.Ne6+ White crashes through.
30.Nc7 Nc2 31.Ra2 Qh7 32.Kh2 1-0
Black is losing at least the exchange, has uncoordinated pieces and the more-vulnerable king.
Andrey Mustafin (2241) - Temur Kuybokarov (aka Igonin) (2498)
Moscow 2016
1.e4 c5 2.a3 g6!?
Instead of trying to deter b4, or at least being in a position to capture twice on the square b4, Black prepares to fianchetto his dark-square bishop to take advantage of the likely opening of the a1-h8 diagonal. This means White will not be playing a gambit - at least early on - and the game is likely to be more positional than tactical.
3.b4 Bg7 4.Nc3
Shakhriyar Mamedyarov, a former 2800+ player who plays 1.e4 c5 2.a3 a lot, has also tried the somewhat awkward-looking 4.c3!?
4...d6
This is Black's most-popular reply. Also common is 4...b6, while Victor Bologan has played 4...Nc6!?
5.Nf3
Slightly more popular is 5.g3, presumably on the ground that White is effectively playing a Closed Sicilian, while Mamedyarov has played 5.Rb1, a common idea in lines where White has met ...Bg7 with Nc3.
5...Nc6 6.Rb1 e6 7.bxc5 dxc5 8.Bc4 Nf6 9.0-0 0-0
White has a central pawn-majority and pressure down the b file, but Black has a powerful dark-square bishop and no exploitable weaknesses. Stockfish12 and Komodo11.01 reckon the position is equal.
10.d3 Ne8 11.Ne2
An obvious alternative is 11.Bb2, but Mustafin is happy to shuffle the knight to the kingside, where he has more space.
11...Nd6 12.Ba2 b6 13.Bg5 Qd7 14.Qc1 Ba6
Setting a little trap.
15.Ng3
Not 15.Bh6? Nxe4!
15...Rfc8 16.Bh6 Bh8 17.Rd1
The engines prefer 17.Qf4!?, which Stockfish12 reckons gives White a small edge but Komodo11.01 evaluates as equal.
17...Nd4 18.c3!?
This comes to be the choice of both engines.
18...Nxf3+ 19.gxf3
White's king's position has been weakened but it is not clear how Black can get at the white king. Meanwhile White maintains a central pawn-majority.
19...Nb7!?
This is Komodo11.01's choice, but Stockfish12 strongly dislikes it. Black's pieces are looking a little bunched on the queenside, while it is easier for White to focus on the kingside, although it is hard to say how significant these factors are.
20.f4 Na5 21.Qe3!?
A bold offer of a pawn.
21...Bxc3!?
Black accepts the challenge, which the engines for quite some time reckon is the right thing to do, but they come to prefer a less-committal move such as 21...Bb7.
22.e5!?
This is the point of Mustafin's idea. Black's dark-square bishop is cut off from its king, but White becomes weak along the h1-a8 diagonal.
22...Bb7 23.Nh5
Even stronger is the engines' 24.Ne4! The point is that if, as in the game, Black replies 23...Qc6, White has 24.Qg3, threatening catastrophe for Black on the kingside dark squares. Black is therefore obliged to go in for 23...Bxe4 24.dxe4 Bd4, but then 25.Qh3 is unclear - Stockfish12 has White almost winning; Komodo11.01 reckons the game is equal.
23...Qc6 24.Nf6+ Kh8 25.Ne4 f5! 26.exf6 Bxf6
Black's dark-square bishop returns to the kingside, greatly increasing his defensive resources.
27.Kf1?!
This defensive move - it gets rid of Black's mating threats at g2 and h1 - seems too slow. The engines reckon 27.h4! is much less clear, not least because 27...Bxh4? runs into 28.Qh3 Be7 29.Bxe6.
27...Bd4 28.Qh3 c4?!
Simpler is the engines' safety-first 28...Rc7.
29.Ng5?!
Setting a trap, but almost certainly objectively better is the engines' 29.Rb4.
29...cxd3??
The move ...Rc7 is still good for Black.
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White to play and win
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30.Bg7+! Kxg7
White mates immediately after 30...Bxg7 with 31.Qxh7#.
31.Qxh7+ 1-0
