Openings From Weimar VI

MY round six game, in which I was Black against Wilfried Adam (1828). developed into a King's Indian Attack or, arguably, the Closed Variation of the Sicilian.

Here I want to look at an interesting point right at the start of the game - the interesting bit being not so much the moves themselves, as the engines' reactions to those moves.

When the initial position on the board, before a move has been made, is first set up on a computer, White has a slight edge, according to Stockfish17.1 and Dragon1.

White is better

The latter engine sticks to this verdict, but Stockfish17.1, if allowed enough time, comes to regard the opening position as equal, albeit giving White the better part of equality.

After the game's 1.e4, the verdicts naturally do not change, but 1...c5 sees Dragon1, but not Stockfish17.1, marginally increase White's edge.

My game continued 2.d3.

Clearly this is not a dynamic move, but it opens a diagonal for White's dark-square bishop and supports e4.

Ture, it also restricts White's light-square bishop, but that is not so important as the king's bishop is headed for g2.

However, the engines, while not calling 2.d3 a mistake, are far from happy with it - indeed, Stockfish17.1 regards Black as now being close to having a slight edge, and certainly reckons Black has the better part of equality.

I find it hard to believe 2.d3 is so bad as to amount to a swing in evaluation of almost half a pawn.

Certainly Dragon1, which, remember, was less keen on 1...c5, is not so critical of 2.d3, but nonetheless awards Black a minute edge.

Assuming the engines are right in their evaluations, and I realise that is quite an assumption when purely positional moves are under consideration, this goes to show how important it is to be active in the opening, and not to just make a vaguely useful move - what Garry Kasparov tends to call a half-move.

What Do The Engines Say? 3. Sicilian Defence

MODERN computer programs are revolutionising how we approach openings.

This first became noticeable when supposedly refuted moves started making a comeback as engines showed resources that had evaded the world's top players.

But more recently, as engines grow in strength, there has been a trend in the opposite direction, at least at the highest level.

Grandmaster Nigel Davies summed this up in a post at chesspublishing.com, where he recounted a conversation with Canadian GM Kevin Spraggett, who "opined to me that ancient openings are making a comeback because engines are finding flaws in the more risky ones."

Davies added: "I think there is a lot of truth in this, which is confirmed by the migration of top players to strictly classical openings."

Engines are still far from the stage of knowing all there is too known about openings.

Their play in that stage of the game is not on a par with their abilities in tactical middlegames.

We cannot expect engines to tell us move-by-move how to play our favourite opening variations,

But their opinions on what we should be looking at - the moves that show the most promise - are certainly well worth considering.

So in this series I will be looking at what the engines say about mainline opening positions.

WOULDN'T it be great if engines were to tell us that the best way to play against the ever-popular Sicilian is, after all, one of those anti-Sicilians that authors of books tend to scorn (unless, of course, the whole idea of a book is to promote one such anti-Sicilian)?

Well, the engines do - up to a point.

Stockfish17 and Dragon1 at first favour meeting 1.e4 c5 with the conventional 2.Nf3, but 2.Nc3 is not far behind, and, given time, it takes over the No1 spot.

However, given more time, 2.Nf3 makes a comeback, while Dragon1 briefly flirts with 2.d4!?, albeit recommending meeting 2...cxd4 with 3.Nf3!?, which is how Paul Morphy liked to meet the Sicilian.

Nevertheless, for the human looking for an alternative to entering mainlines, the continuation 2.Nc3 comes with at least partial engine-approval.

Lessons From Altea VII: The Great Equaliser

YOU may think the Giuoco Piano and the Sicilian have little in common, apart from both arising after 1.e4, and of course in many ways that is correct.

But my round-eight game at the Cap Negret 65+ seniors illustrates what I believe is a strong connection, at least from a conceptual view.

The game began 1...e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.c3 Nf6 5.d3 a6!? 6.Nbd2 0-0 7.0-0.

How should Black proceed?

*****

*****

*****

*****

*****

In the Sicilian it is often remarked that if Black can successfully play ...d5, Black's game will be at least equal, and may well be better.

But Black had better get it right - a premature ...d5 often leaves Black's game in great difficulties.

The same applies, I believe, in the Giuoco Piano, which is why in the diagrammed position I was keen to be able to play 7...d5!?

Although the move has been played by grandmasters, it is not liked by Stockfish17 or Dragon1, and after it White scores an excellent 66% in ChessBase's 2025 Mega database.

Black is by no means lost, but Black's game is tricky to play, as the continuation of 8.exd5 Nxd5 9.Re1 f6? 10.d4 Bb6 11.dxe5 showed, my position being in ruins, or at least badly compromised.

LESSON: in the Giuoco Piano, as in the Sicilian, ...d5 is a powerful weapon, but it must be timed correctly.

Beat The ... Sicilian 2...d6

IN this occasional series I am looking at the statistically best way to play against popular opening lines.

The numbers are drawn from the 2021 edition of ChessBase's Mega database, ignoring, where possible, those results that include very few games and so are statistically insignificant.

After 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3, Black's most-popular continuation is 2...d6.

White's commonest third moves are 3.d4, which scores 52%, and 3.Bb5+, which scores 51%.

Most other moves, including 3.g3, 3.Bc4, 3.Nc3, 3.b4 and 3.d3, score under 50% - in other words, in those lines, from a statistical view, Black already has an edge.

But there is one move that beats all these by scoring a respectable 54%, and that is 3.c3, which is a delayed form of the Sicilian Alapin: 1.e4 c5 2.c3.

One point about playing the Alapin in this delayed form is that Black's most-popular answer to 2.c3, namely 2...d5, is effectively ruled out as, after 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.c3 d5?! Black is a tempo down on normal lines.

Similarly, another popular response to the Alapin, 2...e6, which is usually a prelude to playing ...d5 in one move, also looks a little strange if played in the move-order 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.c3 e6.

Position after 3.c3

Black has eight replies that occur more than 100 times in Mega21 and, despite what I have written above, they include ...d5 and ...e6.

A) 3...Nf6 (22,511 games)

After 4.h3 (this and 4.g3 score equally well, but h3 is preferred by Stockfish13 and Komodo12.1.1), the line splits.

A1 4...Nc6 (there are 80 games in Mega21 that saw 4...Nxe4?? 5.Qa4+) 5.Bd3, after which the line splits again.

A1.1 5...g6 6.0-0 Bg7 7.Bc2 0-0 8.d4 cxd4 9.cxd4, when A1.1a 9...Nb4 10.Bb3 d5 (not 10...Nxe4?? 11.Qe1) 11.e5 Ne4 12.Re1 scores 68% for White, albeit from a small sample, A1.1b 9...e5 10.d5 Nb4 11.Bb3 a5 12.Nc3 Bd7 13.a3 Na6 14.Be3 scores 86% for White, albeit from a small sample, and A1.1c 9...d5 10.e5 Ne4 11.Re1 Bf5 12.Nc3 scores 75% for White, albeit from a very small sample.

A1.2 5...d5 6.exd5!?, when A1.2a 6...Qxd5 7.Qe2 Bf5 8.Bc4 scores 60% for White, and A1.2b 6...Nxd5 7.0-0 g6 8.Bb5 scores 60% for White, albeit from a small sample.

A1.3 5...e6 6.0-0 Be7 7.Re1 0-0 8.Bc2 scores 77% for White, albeit from a small sample.

A2 4...g6 5.Bd3 Bg7 6.Bc2 (this and 6.0-0 score equally well, but the bishop move is narrowly preferred by the engines, although the lines often transpose anyway), after which the line splits again.

A2.1 6...0-0 7.0-0, when A2.1a 7...Nc6 is a transposition to A1.1, and A2.1b 7...e5 8.d3 Nc6 9.a3 scores 71% for White.

A2.2 6...Nc6 7.d4 cxd4 8.cxd4, when A2.2a 8...0-0 9.Nc3 e5 10.dxe5!? scores 67%, albeit from a small sample, and A2.2b 8...d5 9.e5 Ne4 10.0-0 0-0 is a transposition to A1.1c.

A2.3 6...e5 7.0-0 0-0 is a transposition to A2.1b.

A3 4...Nbd7 5.Bd3, after which the line splits again.

A3.1 5...b6 6.0-0 Bb7 7.Re1, when A3.1a 7...Qc7 8.Bc2 Rc8 9.Na3!? e6 10.d4 scores 56% for White, A3.1b 7...Rc8 8.Qe2!? scores 70% for White, albeit from a small sample, and A3.1c 7...e6 8.Bc2 Be7 9.d4 scores 64% for White.

A3.2 5...g6 6.Bc2 Bg7 7.d4 0-0 8.0-0, when A3.2a 8...Qc7 9.Qe2 scores 69% for White, albeit from a small sample, A3.2b 8...b6 9.e5 scores 75% for White, albeit from a small sample, and A3.2c 8...e5, following which White scores 63% with both 9.dxe5 and 9.Re1, albeit from small samples.

A4 4...e6 5.Bd3, after which the line splits again.

A4.1 5...Be7 6.0-0 0-0 7.Re1 scores 100% for White, albeit from a small sample.

A4.2 5...Nc6 is a transposition to A1.3.

A5 4...Bd7 5.Bd3, after which the line splits again.

A5.1 5...Bc6 6.Qe2 Nbd7 7.Bc2 scores 63% for White.

A5.2 5...Nc6 6.Bc2 Rc8 7.0-0 g6 8.d4 scores 75% for White, albeit from a small sample.

A5.3 5...g6 6.0-0 Bg7 7.Bc2 0-0 8.d4 scores 64% for White.

B) 3...Nc6 (1,359 games)

After 4.d4 the line splits.

B1 4...cxd4 5.cxd4, after which the line splits again.

B1.1 5...Nf6 6.Nc3, when B1.1a 6...g6 7.h3 Bg7 8.Bd3 0-0 9.0-0 e5 10.dxe5 dxe5 11.Be3 scores 67% for White, B1.1b 6...e6 7.Bd3 Be7 8.0-0 0-0 9.h3 scores 74% for White and B1.1c 6...Bg4 7.d5!? Ne5 8.Nxe5! dxe5 (Black loses a piece after 8...Bxd1? 9.Bb5+ Nd7 10.Bxd7+ Qxd7 11.Nxd7) 9.Qb3 scores 100% for White, albeit from a small sample.

B1.2 5...e6 6.Nc3, when B1.2a 6...Nf6 is a transposition to B1.1b, and B1.2b 6...a6 7.Bd3 Nf6 8.0-0 Be7 9.Re1 scores 90% for White.

B1.3 5...Bg4 6.d5!?, when B1.3a 6...Ne5? (Black's most-popular move, but it loses immediately) 7.Nxe5! Qa5+ (7...Bxd1 8.bb5+ etc) 8.Bd2 scores 100% for White, B1.3b 6...Bxf3 7.gxf3!? scores 95% for White, albeit from a small sample, and B1.3c 6...Nb8 7.Nc3 scores 100% for White, albeit from a very small sample.

B1.4 5...g6 6.d5!?, when B1.4a 6...Ne5 7.Nxe5 dxe5 8.Nc3 scores 88% for White, albeit from a small sample, and B1.4b 6...Nb8 7.Bb5+ scores 100% for White, albeit from a small sample.

B2 4...Nf6 5.d5 Nb8 6.Bg5 scores 69% for White, albeit from a small sample.

B3 4...Bg4 5.d5, after which the line splits again.

B3.1 5...Ne5? 6.Nxe5 Bxd1 7.Bb5+ Qxd7 8.Bxd7+ scores 100% for White, albeit from a small sample.

B3.2 5...Nb8 6.h3 Bxf3 7.Qxf3 scores 88% for White, albeit from a small sample.

B3.3 5...Bxf3 6.Qxf3 Ne5 reaches a position in which White scores 100% with 7.Qe3, 7.Qd1 and 7.Qg3, albeit from very small samples.

C) 3...g6 (638 games)

After 7.d4 cxd4 8.Qxd4!? Nf6 9.e5 the line splits.

C1 9...dxe5 10.Qxd8+ Kxd8 11.Nxe5 Be6 12.Na3 White scores 86%, albeit from a small sample.

C2 9...Nc6 10.Bb5, when the line splits again.

C2.1 10...Nh5 reaches a position that occurs only three times in Mega21. The engines agree White has the upper hand after 11.0-0.

C2.2 10...dxe5 11.Bxc6+ bxc6 12.Qxd8+ Kxd8 13.Nxe5 scores 83% for White, albeit from a very small sample.

D) 3...e6 (295 games)

After 4.d4 cxd4 5.cxd4 Nf6 6.Bd3!? the line splits.

D1 6...Be7 7.Nc3, after which the line splits again.

D1.1 7...0-0 8.0-0, when D1.1a 8...Nc6 is a transposition to B1.1b, and D1.1b 8...a6 9.Qe2 Nc6 10.e5 scores 89% for White.

D1.2 7...Nc6 is a transposition to B1.1b.

D2 6...Nc6 7.0-0 Be7 8.Nc3 is a transposition to B1.1b.

E) 3...a6 (159 games)

After 4.d4 the line splits.

E1 4...Nd7 5.Bd3 after which the line splits again.

E1.1 5...g6 6.0-0 Bg7 7.a4 scores 79% for White, albeit from a small sample.

E1.2 5...e6 6.0-0 when E1.2a 6...Ngf6 7.Qe2 scores 90% for White, albeit from a small sample, and E1.2b 6...Ne7 reaches a position in Mega21 in which White scores 75% with both 7.Nbd2 and 7.b4, albeit from very small samples.

E1.3 5...Qc7 6.0-0 Ngf6 7.Qe2 scores 69% for White, albeit from a small sample.

E1.4 5...e5 6.dxe5!? scores 75% for White, albeit from a small sample.

E1.5 5...b5 6.0-0 Bb7 7.a4 c4 8.Bc2 scores 75% for White, albeit from a small sample.

F) 3...e5!? (150 games)

After 4.d4 the line splits.

F1 4...cxd4 5.cxd4, after which the line splits again.

F1.1 5...exd4 6.Nxd4 Nf6 7.Nc3 Be7 8.Bb5+ scores 75% for White, albeit from a small sample.

F1.2 5...Bg4 6.dxe5 Bxf3 7.Qxf3 scores 93% for White, albeit from a small sample.

F2 4...Qc7 5.dxe5 dxe5 6.Bc4 scores 65% for White.

F3 4...exd4 5.cxd4, after which the line splits again.

F3.1 5...Nf6 6.Nc3 scores 94% for White, albeit from a small sample.

F3.2 5...cxd4 is a transposition to F1.1.

G) 3...Bg4 (115 games)

After 4.d4 cxd4 5.cxd4 Nf6 6.Nc3 White scores 71%, albeit from a small sample.

H) 3...d5?! (108 games)

After 4.exd5 Qxd5 5.d4 the line splits.

H1 5...Nf6 6.Be2 scores 83% for White, albeit from a small sample.

H2 5...Bg4 6.Be2 scores 75% for White, albeit from a small sample.

H3 5...cxd4 6.cxd4 scores 92% for White, albeit from a small sample.

Bobby Fischer v The Sicilian (conclusion)

FISCHER for the most part attacked the Sicilian with open lines, ie those based on 2.Nf3, 3.d4 and (after 3...cxd4) 4.Nxd4.

He liked developing his king's bishop to c4, and usually did so even when he could set up a Maróczy Bind by pushing his c pawn to that square.

Fischer was often happy to castle queenside and aim for a vigorous kingside attack.

The one striking exception to the above is when he faced 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 - his percentage score with the King's Indian Attack (3.d3 followed by g3 and Bg2) was far higher than with 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4.

However his score with the latter lines was by no means poor, and they occurred far more frequently in his games. 

Bobby Fischer v The Sicilian (part 11)

Sicilian KIA
Fischer scored 74% in his career against the Sicilian, mostly using open lines, ie 2.Nf3, 3.d4 and (after 3...cxd4) 4.Nxd4.
After 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 he scored exactly 74%, according to ChessBase's 2020 Mega database.
After 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 his score slipped to 71%, and after 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 his score slipped further to 69%.
Scoring 69%, which roughly translates over 10 games to +5=4-1, is more than most of us can manage, but it was not good enough for Fischer.
That is why he started meeting 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 with 3.d3, inaugurating the King's Indian Attack.
Specifically it is a version of the KIA in which Black has committed to ...e6 and ...c5.
The move ...e6 is significant because it is sometimes said Black wants his e pawn on either e5 or e7 in the KIA, but not on e6.
And ...c5 is significant because it rules out black systems in which the c pawn is kept at home and the tempo saved is used for faster development.
Fischer played 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d3 six times, and won all six games.
All of his opponents replied 3...Nc6, which is overwhelmingly the main line in Mega20, and Fischer continued with 4.g3, at which point play diverged.

Position after 4.g3

Black prepares to fianchetto the king's bishop by playing 4...g6!?
This is the main line but it is probably fair to say Black is taking a slight risk in that his play is a little slow, and the moves ...e6 and ...g6 do not always work well together (Black's kingside dark squares will be weak if the black dark-square bishop gets exchanged).

5.Bg2 Bg7 6.0-0 Nge7
More than 6,000 games reach this position in Mega20.
7.c3
Fischer earlier played 7.Nbd2, which is a typical placement for the white queen's knight in the KIA. It usually goes to d2 after Black has played ...d5. Then if Black later plays ...dxe4 White can recapture by playing dxe4 without allowing an exchange of queens. But another reason for the knight going to d2 is that it can be redeployed to the kingside via f1 (after White plays Re1) and e3 or h2 (White often plays h4). Fischer - Edmar Mednis, US Championship (Cleveland) 1957, continued, after 7.Nbd2, with 7...0-0 8.Re1 b6 9.e5 d5 10.Nf1 Qc7 11.Bf4 d4 12.Qd2 Re8 13.Bh6 Bh8 14.h4 with advantage to White, according to Stockfish12 and Komodo11.01 (1-0, 50 moves).
The point of the text is to blunt the black fianchettoed bishop and to build a strong centre with d4.
7...0-0
This is the main move, but also popular is 7...d5. Fischer - Ruben Rodríguez, Simul (Manila, Philippines 1957), continued 8.Qe2 (another way of avoiding an exchange of queens in the event of ...dxe4) 0-0 9.e5 f5!? (trying to get his share of kingside space - more popular are 9...b5 and 9...b6, with a slight edge for White, according to Stockfish12, although Komodo11.01 reckons the latter move is close to giving Black equality) 10.exf6!? Bxf6 11.Bh6 Re8 12.g4!? e5 13.h3 with an unclear position (1-0, 28 moves). The engines reckon White has a major improvement in not playing exf6; Stockfish12 likes 10.d4 while Komodo11.01 prefers 10.Bf4.
7...d6 8.Re1 transposes (Fischer played his seventh and eight moves in reverse order) to Fischer - Oscar Panno, Buenos Aires 1970, which continued 8...0-0 9.d4 cxd4 10.cxd4 d5 11.e5 Bd7 12.Nc3 Rc8 13.Bf4 with a sizeable advantage for White, according to the engines (1-0, 36 moves).
8.d4!?
More popular in Mega20 are 8.Be3 and 8.Re1, but the text scores a higher percentage and is Stockfish12's choice (Komodo11.01 likes 8.Re1).
8...d6!?
Subsequent games saw the more Sicilian-like 8...cxd4 9.cxd4 d5 10.e5, which is similar to Fischer - Panno but with White not having played Re1. Stockfish12 likes White, while Komodo11.01 gives a slight nod to Black.
9.dxc5 dxc5 10.Qe2
White scores an excellent 63% with this move in Mega20. Fischer - Joaquim Durão, Olympiad (Havana) 1966, continued 10...b6 11.e5 (the engines much prefer 11.Na3!?) a5 12.Re1 Ba6 13.Qe4 Ra7 14.Nbd2 Bd3 15.Qh4 Nd5 16.Qxd8 Rxd8 17.a4 Rad7 18.Bf1 Bxf1 19.Kxf1 with the better game for White, according to the engines (1-0, 46 moves).

Black strikes in the centre with 4...d5

This move is second in popularity to 4...g6!?

5.Nbd2 Bd6!?
This aggressive posting of the dark-square bishop is very popular, but also commonly seen is the more-modest 5...Nf6 6.Bg2 Be7, which will be considered later as Fischer reached it via a 4...Nf6 move-order.

6.Bg2 Nge7

Much less-popular is 6...Nf6 as Black will probably have to lose time avoiding a pawn fork on the e5 square.

7.0-0 0-0 8.Nh4!?

Fischer - Attilio Di Camillo, New Jersey Championship (East Orange) 1957, saw the more-popular 8.Re1, continuing 8...Qc7 9.c3 Bd7 10.Qe2 f6 11.a3!? (Fischer decides to chip away at Black's fourth rank with b4) Rae8 (11...a5!? may be better) 12.b4 b6 13.d4 cxd4 14.cxd4 dxe4 15.Nxe4 with much the better game for White, according to the engines (1-0, 49 moves).

8...b6 9.f4 dxe4 10.exd4 Ba6 11.Re1 c4

Later the move 11...Bc7!? became popular. It is generally met by 12.c3, giving up the d3 square (at least temporarily) but keeping black's pieces out of d4. Sergey Dolmatov (2605) - Joël Lautier (2560), Rubinstein Memorial (Polanica-Zdrój, Poland) 1991, continued 12...Bd3 13.e5 Qd7 (13...c4!?) 14.Ne4 Rad8 15.Qg4 with a promising kingside attack for White (1-0, 46 moves).

12.c3 Na5?!
Black's pieces are bunching on the queenside, leaving his king exposed. The engines reckon 12...Bc5+ 13.Kh1 b5, as seen in two later games, may be better, but they also want to annoy White with 13...Bf2!? 14.Rf1 Bc5, although it is not clear the rook is worse placed on f1.

13.e5 Bc5+ 14.Kh1 Nd5?!

Black should have played 14...Rc8 or offered the exchange by 14...Qd3!?, according to the engines, although they still prefer White.

15.Ne4 Bb7 16.Qh5

Fischer goes for the jugular. Also strong is 16.f5!?

16...Ne7
The engines come to agree this is Black's best defence.

17.g4 Bxe4

Komodo11.01 suggests 17...Ng6!?, but after Stockfish12's 18.Nf3 the engines agree best play runs 18...Bxe4 19.Rxe4 Nc6 20.Re1 Be7 21.Qh3 with strong play for White.

18.Bxe4 g6 19.Qh6 Nd5 20.f5

White had a winning attack in Fischer - Borislav Ivkov, Piatigorsky Cup (Santa Monica, California) 1966 (1-0, 29 moves).

Black develops his king's knight with 4...Nf6

5.Bg2 Be7 6.0-0 0-0 7.Nbd2 d5

This is an important position because it is often reached via a French Defence move-order, ie with 1...e6.

8.Re1

Fischer - Lhamsuren Myagmarsuren, Interzonal (Sousse, Tunisia) 1967, went 8.e5 Nd7 9.Re1 b5 10.Nf1 b4 11.h4 a5 12.Bf4 a4 13.a3 bxa3 14.bxa3 with a roughly level game, but Fischer pursued his kingside play more successfully than Myagamarsuren was able to counter on the queenside (1-0, 31 moves).

8...Qc7

The more-popular 8...b5 can easily transpose to the previous note. But an interesting independent try, preferred by the engines, is 9.exd5 exd5 10.d4!?, which scores very well in Mega20. The main line continues 11...c4 12.a4, when Black's queenside is looking a little loose. Best play, according to the engines, goes 12...Bf5 (12..b4 13.Ne5! Nxd4 14.Ndxc4 is awkward for Black) 13.c3 b4 14.Ne5 with pressure against the black queenside.

9.e5

Fischer - Arthur Feuerstein, US Championship (New York) 1957, saw 9.Qe2!? Rd8 10.e5 Ne8!? 11.c3 b5 12.Nf1 b4 13.Bf4 Qa5 14.c4!? Nc7 15.h4, when White has an edge, according to Stockfish12, although Komodo11.01 rates the position as equal (1-0, 44 moves).

9...Nd7 10.Qe2 b5 11.h4 a5 12.Nf1 Nd4!?

The main line runs 12...Ba6 13.Bf4 b4 14.Ne3 Nb6 15.Ng4 with a position the engines have trouble evaluating. Their verdicts fluctuate but eventually they give White an edge.

13.Nxd4 cxd4

The d4 pawn may prove long-term weak but, at least for a while, gives Black greater central control and allows pressure down the c file.

14.Bf4 Ra6!? 15.Nh2 Rc6 16.Rac1 Ba6?!

Missing White's reply. The engines suggest 16...Bb4 with an unclear position (Stockfish12 narrowly prefers White; Komodo11.01 reckons the chances are even).

17.Bxd5!

This was one of the games that persuaded blacks - at least those in the know - to avoid a line-up of having the black queen on c7 pressurising a white pawn on e5 but with a white bishop on f4 supporting the e5 pawn.

17...exd5!?

Arguably less calamitous but still bad is 17...Rc5 18.Be4, when Black has no compensation for a pawn and still faces a kingside attack.

18.e6 Qd8 19.exd7 Re6 20.Qg4 f5 21.Qh5 Qxd7 22.Nf3

White was much better in Fischer - Uzi Geller, Natanya (Israel) 1968 (1-0, 32 moves).

Black develops the king's knight with 4...Nge7

5.Bg2 g6!? 6.0-0 Bg7

This is a simple transposition to lines considered under Black prepares to fianchetto the king's bishop by playing 4...g6!?

Bobby Fischer v The Sicilian (part three)

Sicilian Dragon

Fischer always met 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 g6 with the main move 6.Be3, to which Black nearly always replies 6...Bg7 (the tempting, to the uninitiated, 6...Ng4? loses substantial material to 7.Bb5+, eg 7...Nc6 8.Nxc6 bxc6 9.Bxc6+ etc or 7...Bd7 8.Qxg4).

Games usually continue 7.f3 Nc6 8.Qd2 0-0 (the precise order of Black's moves can vary) and Fischer always played 9.Bc4, reaching a main Sicilian tabiya.

There are more than 22,000 games with this position in ChessBase's 2020 Mega database

Black plays 9...Bd7

This is easily the most-popular move in Mega20.White usually replies 10.0-0-0, but Fischer had other ideas and played 10.h4!?

A) 10...Rc8 11.Bb3 Qa5!? (the main line today runs 11...h5 12.0-0-0 Ne5 13.Bg5 Rc5 14.Kb1 b5 15.g4 with a position from which White has scored heavily, although my main analysis engines Stockfish12 and Komodo11.01 reckon the position is unclear) 12.0-0-0 Nh5?! (the main line goes 12...Ne5 13.Kb1 Nc4 14.Bxc4 Rxc4 15.Nb3 with what the engines reckon is a very good position for White) 13.g4 Nxd4 14.Bxd4 Bxd4 15.Qxd4. White had a large advantage in Fischer - Heinz Matthai, Canadian Open (Montreal) 1956 (but ½–½, 108 moves).

B) 10...a6!? (a little-played move that is quite liked by the engines) 11.Bb3 Na5 12.Bh6 e5 13.Nde2 Nxb3 14.axb3 Bxh6 15.Qxh6 with a large advantage for White in Fischer - Tibor Weinberger, North Central Open (Milwaukee) 1957 (1-0, 35 moves) and subsequent games.

C) 10...h5. This was not faced by Fischer but has been played by Carlsen and Kasparov. The main line continues 11.0-0-0 Rc8 when 12.Bb3 transposes to the first note in A), but the engines like the little-seen 12.Nxc6!? Bxc6 13.Bb3 with an edge for White.

Black plays 9...Nd7!?

This anticipation of long castling by White is Black's second-most popular move in Mega20.

Fischer accepted the challenge with 10.0-0-0 Nb6 11.Bb3 Na5 12.Qd3 Bd7 13.h4 Rc8 14.h5 Nbc4 15.hxg6 in Fischer - Sharav Purevzhav, Olympiad (Varna, Bulgaria) 1962. This is still the main line today.

A) 15...hxg6?! (this has been played by strong grandmasters, but is probably a mistake) 16.Bg5!? (the engines reckon this is even stronger than the more-popular 16.Bh6) Nxb3+ 17.cxb3! Qa5 18.Bxe7 (if 18.bxc4?! then 18...Qxg5+) Ne5 19.Qc2 with a winning advantage, according to the engines, as in Tom Wedberg - Gennadi Sosonko, Haninge (Sweden) 1988, and other games. They suggest Black can slightly improve with 17...Ne5 18.Qd2 f6 but reckon White has a winning attack anyway after 19.Bh6 Nf7 20.Be3.

B) 15...fxg6 16.Bg5 Nxb3 17.cxb3! Ne5 18.Qd2 Nf7 19.Be3. This line is not so very different from the last line in A). Stockfish12 reckons White is again close to winning, but Komodo11.01 rates White's edge as quite a bit smaller.

Black plays 9...a6

This was popular in Fischer's day but has fallen from favour. The main reply is 10.0-0-0.

A) 10...Qc7 (this is still Black's commonest move) 11.Bb3 b5? (this popular move already loses: the engines prefer the mainline 11...Na5 12.h4 Nxb3+ 13.axb3 but reckon White is much better) 12.Nxc6 Qxc6 13.Nd5! with a winning advantage in Fischer - Edward Stepans*, US Open (Cleveland) 1957 (1-0, 25 moves) and other games.

B) 10...Ne5 11.Bb3 b5 12.h4 gave White the better game - much better, according to Stockfish12 - in Fischer - TC Hartwell, Simul (Ogden, Utah) 1964 (1-0, 42 moves).

C) 10...Bd7. This quiet developing move, second in popularity to 10...Qc7, was not faced by Fischer. The main line runs 11.h4 b5 12.Bb3 Na5 13.h5 Nxb3+ 14.axb3, which the engines reckon is good for White (positionally winning, according to Stockfish12).

Black plays 9...Nxd4

An exchange of knights on d4 is a common motif in the Sicilian, where Black has less space in which to find good places for his pieces.

After 10.Bxd4 the main idea is to develop the queen's bishop, viz 10...Be6, and so immediately challenge what can be thought of as White's Fischer bishop.

Fischer only faced this line once, but it was in an important game.

Fischer - Bent Larsen

Interzonal (Portorož, Yugoslavia) 1958

11.Bb3

Dropping the bishop back, rather than exchanging on e6, is still the main line today.

11...Qa5 12.0-0-0 b5!?

The engines prefer this to the more-popular 12...Rfc8.

13.Kb1 b4 14.Nd5!

An improvement over 14.Ne2 Bxb3 15.cxb3 Rfd8 with approximate equality in Vasily Panov - Alexey Suetin, USSR U21 Semi-Finals (Vilnius) 1953 (½–½, 24 moves).

14...Bxd5

White has the upper hand after 14...Nxd5?! 15.Bxg7 Nc3+ 16.bxc3 Kxg7 17.cxb4.

15.Bxd5!?

This might not be best. Fischer may have feared his light-square bishop would become something of a dead piece after 15.exd5, but later games, including Tal - Larsen, Zürich 1959, suggest this is not the case.

15...Rac8!?

Most later games continued 15...Nxd5 16.Bxg7 Nc3+ 17.Bxc3 bxc3 18.Qxc3 Qxc3 19.bxc3, when White's extra pawn is largely meaningless.

16.Bb3 Rc7 17.h4 Qb5

As often happens in Sicilians with opposite-side castling, the game becomes a race to get at the opponent's king.

18.h5! Rfc8

Not 18...Nxh5?? 19.Bxg7 Kxg7 20.g4 etc.

19.hxg6 hxg6 20.g4 a5 21.g5 Nh5

Not 21...Ne8?? 22.Bxg7 Nxg7 23.Rh6 etc.

22.Rxh5!

Sacing the exchange in this way has become routine in the Sicilian, but it still needs to be precisely calculated.

22...gxh5?

Black is busted after this.

The engines give best-play as 22...Bxd4 23.Rh6 Bg7 24.Qf4! Bxh6 25.Qxf7+ Kh8 26.gxh6 Qe5 27.Qxg6, when White's two pawns and safer king seem to give more than enough compensation for the exchange.

In this line Black can offer a counter exchange-sac with 24...Rc4!? but it seems to fail to 25.Bxc4 Rxc4 26.Rh7!! Qc5 (best, according to the engines, as 26...Kxh7?? loses to 27.Qxf7 and 28.Rh1+ ) 27.Qh2 (not 27.Rh2?? Be5) Qxg5 28.b3, when Black does not have enough compensation.

23.g6 e5 24.gxf7+ Kf8 25.Bde3 d5

This is best, but hopeless, according to the engines. The point is that defending the d pawn by 25...Rc6 runs into 26.Bh6 with a huge attack against the black king.

The game finished:

26.exd5 Rxf7 27.d6 Rf6 28.Bg5 Qb7 29.Bxf6 Bxf6 30.d7 Rd8 31.Qd6+ 1-0

Black plays 9...a5!?

This speciality of Donald Byrne is still occasionally seen at elite levels. The main idea is to accelerate Black's queenside counterplay, but there is also a trap White can easily fall into.

10.h4 Ne5 11.Be2

Not 11.Bb3? a4! 12.Bxa4 (or 12.Nxa4?! Rxa4! 13.Bxa4 Nc4 14.Qc3 Nxe3 15.Qxe3 Qa5+ 16.c3 Qa4, when Black has won two bishops for rook and pawn) Nc4 13.Qc1 d5, when Black has great play for a pawn.

11...d5

This position was reached in several games, including Fischer - Donald Byrne, Western Open (Bay City, Michigan) 1963. That game continued 12.Bf4?! Nc4? 13.Bxc4 dxc4 14.0-0-0, when White was much better, according to the engines, and went on to win. However 12...Nc6 seems a big improvement.

The engines much prefer 12.exd5 Nxd5 13.0-0-0 with advantage to White, but Black is still in the game.

*Sometimes given, for example in Mega20, as Stephans.

Bobby Fischer v The Sicilian (part two)

Sicilian Najdorf

Fischer almost always met the Sicilian with open lines, ie lines based on 2.Nf3, 3.d4 and (after 3...cxd4) 4.Nxd4.

One of the most-popular variations in his day and, if anything, even more popular today, was the Najdorf: 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6.

Fischer usually met this with the aggressive 6.Bc4.

Position after 6.Bc4

Black almost always replies 6...e6 - more than 90% of the time in Mega20 - but it is as well to know why other plausible ideas are not to be feared.

Black alternatives to 6...e6

A) 6...b5 is usually a harmless transposition after 7.Bb3 e6, but Black should avoid 7...b4? as White has 8.Nd5, when 8...Nxe4, the most-popular move in Mega20, runs into 9.Qf3 Nc5 (best, but insufficient) 10.Nxb4 Nxb3 11.axb3 Ra7 12.Ndc6.

B) 6...Nxe4? looks silly after 7.Qh5 (other moves also give a winning advantage), eg 7...e6 8.Nxe4 d5 9.Ng5 g6 10.Qf3, after which Black is a piece-for-a-pawn down.

Early in his career, Fischer usually met 6...e6 with 7.0-0, but he came to prefer 7.Bb3, and that is what I am recommending.

The move ensures neither ...b5 nor ...d5 can come with tempo against the light-square bishop, and similarly rules out ...Qc7 or ...R(either)c8 coming with tempo against the same bishop. It also prevents the knight-fork trick ,,,Nxe4 followed by ...d5.

Black plays 7...b5

This is recommended by Tony Kosten in Easy Guide To The Najdorf (Everyman 1999). Fischer usually played the mainline 8.0-0.

A) 8...Be7 (easily the most-popular move in Mega20) 9.Qf3 Qc7 (Kosten gives this an exclamation mark - Black should avoid 9...0-0? 10.e5 dxe5 11.Nxe6 and 12.Qxa8).

This position first appears in Mega20 in the following game.

Fischer - Friðrik Ólafsson

Buenos Aires 1960

10.Qg3

This is still overwhelmingly the choice today.

10...b4

The main line runs 10...0-0 11.Bh6 Ne8 12.Rad1 Bd7, when there is a divergence of opinion. Stockfish12 reckons White is better after 13.f4!?, which is marginally less popular than 13.Nf3; Komodo11.01 reckons Black has equal chances.

Kosten recommends 10...Nc6 11.Nxc6 Qxc6 12.Re1 Bb7. He gives this gambit move an exclamation mark, but the engines reckon 13.Qxg7 Rg8 14.Qh6 0-0-0 15.Qh3 Kb8 16.f3 Rg6 17.Be3 Rdg8 18.Re2 is better for White, despite Kosten's suggestion of 18...h5 or 18...Bd8 in place of 18...Nd7, which was played by Polugaevsky in a blindfold loss to Ivanchuk. However the position is far from clear.

11.Nce2 g6

The commonest move in Mega20 is 11...Nxe4?, but after 12.Qxg7 Bf6 13.Qh6 White is well on top (winning, according to Stockfish12).

After the text Fischer played 12.c3?! and only drew. The engines reckon White is comfortably better after 12.Bh6.

B) 8...Bb7 (this logical move is second in popularity in Mega20) 9.Re1 (Fischer played 9.Bg5 and 9.f4 earlier in his career, but in 1970 switched to what is the main line and is the engines' choice).

Fischer - Jorge Rubinetti

Interzonal (Palma de Mallorca) 1970

9...Nbd7

The normal move, and a typical placement for the queen's knight in the Najdorf. From d7 it supports the king's knight, eyes the e5 square and may go to c5 to swop off White's aggressively placed light-square bishop (although Black has to be careful to get the timing right).

10.Bg5

The engines prefer the little-played 10.a4!?, one line running 10...b4 11.Nd5! (a typical idea when White's king's rook is lined up against Black's uncastled king) exd5 12.exd5+ Be7 13.Nf5 Ne5 14.Nxg7+ Kd7 15.Nf5 with a big attack for White in Tomasz Warakomski (2375) - Jacek Szwed (2162), Polish U19 Team Championship 2005 (1-0, 30 moves).

Another interesting try is 10.Bxe6!? (another typical idea for White when Bc4 is played against the Najdorf) fxe6 11.Nxe6 Qc8 12.Nxf8!? (the engines prefer this to the more-common 12.Nd5) Rxf8 13.Qxd6 with an unclear position in which White has three pawns and an attack for a knight.

10...h6 11.Bh4 Nc5!?

Attacking the white light-square bishop is always tempting for Black, but the engines prefer 11...g5 12.Bg3 Ne5 with a tense position that may slightly favour White, according to the engines.

12.Bd5!

Perhaps Rubinetti missed that this was possible.

12...exd5?!

Russian grandmaster Valerij Popov played the same way in a 2006 loss, but grabbing the knight is almost certainly too greedy. However the engines reckon White is much better even after their preferred line: 12...Be7 13.Bxb7 (13.Nc6 is also strong) Nxb7 14.Nc6.

13.exd5+ Kd7

Or 13...Be7 14.Bxf6 gxf6 15.Nf5 etc.

14.b4 Na4 15.Nxa4 bxa4 16.c4 Kc8

Artur Kogan (2564) - Valerij Popov (2591), EU Team Cup (Fügen, Austria) 2006 saw 16...Kc7 17.Qxa4 g5 18.Bg3 Nh5 19.c5! Bxd5 (or 19...Nxg3 20.c6 Bc8 21.Qa5+ Kb8 22.Qxd8) 20.Rac1 Nxg3 21.cxd6+ Kb7 22.Rc7+ 1-0.

17.Qxa4 Qd7 18.Qb3!?

The engines strongly prefer 18.Qc2 for a reason I will explain later.

18...g5 19.Bg3 Nh5

Here the engines give 19...h5 20.Qf3 Rh6 21.Nf5 Rg6 22.h4 gxh4 23.Nxh4 Rxg3 24.fxg3, agreeing White is much better but possibly not winning (at least according to Komodo11.01). If the white queen were on c2 instead of b3 this line would be hopeless for Black because of 20.c5, eg 20...Bxd5 21.c6 Qg4 22.Qb2, when the engines reckon Black is busted.

20.c5! dxc5 21.bxc5 Qxd5

Or 21...Bxd5 22.Qb6 Qb7 23.Qa5 Nxg3 24.c6!? (the straightforward 24.hxg3 is also very good) Bxc6 (24...Qc7 25.Re8+) 25.Nxc6 Qxc6 26.hxg3 (not 26.Rac1?? Ne2+) Bc5 27.Rac1 etc.

22.Re8+ Kd7 23.Qa4+ Bc6 24.Nxc6 1-0

Black is helpless, eg 24...Kxe8 25.Re1+ Kd7 26.Na7+ Kd8 27.Re8#.

Black plays 7...Be7

The main reply is 8.0-0 but Fischer preferred 8.Be3 and especially 8.f4, which is only fourth-most popular in Mega20 but still packs a punch and is liked by the engines.

A1) 8...Qc7 (Fischer did not face this although it is the most-common move in Mega20) 9.f5 (this seems to give White good play however Black replies) e5 10.Nde2!? (the knight is destined for g3 and possibly h5) Nbd7 11.Bg5 0-0 12.Ng3 b5 13.Nh5 Bb7 14.Bxf6 Nxf6 (14...Bxf6!? may be an improvement, although White has promising kingside play after 15.0-0 or 15.Qg4!?) 15.Nxf6+ Bxf6, as seen in Ivan Radulov - Fernand Goethals, World Student Team Championship (Sinaia, Romania) 1965 (1-0, 32 moves). The engines reckon White would be much better after 16.Qd3.

A2) 9...exf5?! (this is much less popular than 9...e5) 10.Nxf5 Bxf5 (the only reasonable try, according to the engines, as 10...0-0?! 11.Nxe7+ Qxe7 12.0-0! is very good for White as 12...Nxe4?? loses the knight to 13.Qe1) 11.exf5 0-0. White usually castles here, but the engines much prefer 12.Be3!? with the idea of castling long, when White has promising kingside play and pressure against d6.

B) 8...0-0 9.Qf3 Qc7 10.f5!? (Fischer played 10.0-0 against Tal but castling here may be a little slow) Nc6 (this seems to have been first played by Polugaevsky in 1958 - more popular today is 10...e5 but 11.Nde2 b5 12.g4 b4 13.g5 bxc3 14.Nxc3! has chalked up three wins in three outings in Mega20) 11.Be3 Nxd4 12.Bxd4 b5. This position has been reached 55 times in Mega20. The engines like the somewhat-obscure 13.fxe6!? Bxe6 (the more-common 13...fxe6?! gives White a strong attack after 14.0-0-0) 14.0-0 (14.0-0-0!?) Bxb3 15.cxb3!? b4 16.Nd5 Nxd5 17.exd5 Rae8. This position was reached in Eric Chery (2155) - Éloi Relange (2490), Paris 1998. Relange went on to win, but the engines reckon White would have been better after the natural 18.Rac1.

C1) 8...b5!? (White always has to anticipate this thrust in the Najdorf, but here Fischer had prepared a strong answer) 9.e5 dxe5 10.fxe5 Nd5?! 11.Nxd5 exd5 12.Qf3. White is already winning, according to Stockfish12, although Komodo11.01 gives White 'only' the upper hand.

C2) 10...Nfd7!? (this has become the main move, but Black is teetering on a precipice) 11.Bxe6!? (the engines also like 11.Qg4!? and 11.Qf3!?, but no line is completely clear) Nxe5 (not 11...fxe6? 12.Nxe6 Qa5 - 12...Qb6 13.Nd5! - 13.Nxg7+ with a mating attack, eg 13...Kf7 14.Qh5+ Kxg7 15.Bh6+ Kg8 16.e6 etc) 12.Bxc8 Qxc8 13.Nd5. White has scored very well from here, the most-popular continuation being 13...Bc5 (the engines reckon 13...Nbc6!? may be better) 14.b4 Qd7! 15.Nf3 Bd6 16.0-0 with a slight edge for White.

D1) 8...Nbd7 9.Bxe6!? (Fischer played 9.Qf3 is a simul, but the text racks up a huge score in Mega20 and is very tricky to face) fxe6 10.Nxe6 Qa5! (the very plausible 10...Qb6 is inferior for a reason I will explain later) 11.Nxg7+ Kf7 12.Nf5 Nc5! (the engines' suggested improvement over the known 12...Nxe4? 13.Qh5+ Kf8 14.Qh6+ Ke8 15.Qe6 winning and 12...h5 13.Nxe7 Kxe7 14.Qf3 with a strong attack) 13.Nh6+ (13.Nxe7?! Ncxe4!) Kg7 14.e5. White has three pawns and an attack for a bishop. He seems to be better but the position is unclear.

D2) The reason 10...Qb6 is inferior is that after 11.Nxg7+ Kf7 12.Nf5 Black does not have 12...Nc5? as White wins with 13.Nxe7 Kxe7 14.Qd4 when Qxf6+! followed by Nd5+ is a winning threat. In this line the position of the black queen on b6 means he no longer has the resource 13...Ncxe4, which is simply met by 14.Nxe4, eg 14...Nxe4 15.Qd5+ Kxe7 16.Qxe4+, when White emerges two pawns up.

E) 8...Nc6 (Fischer did not face this unNajdorf-like move but it is a popular choice) 9.Be3 0-0 10.Qf3 Qc7 11.0-0-0. White scores an excellent 64% from this Scheveningen-type position. Most popular now is 11...Nxd4, which has been played by Kasparov, although after 12.Bxd4 (Kasparov's opponent chose the probably inferior 12.Rxd4?!) White has a winning attack, according to Stockfish12 (Komodo11.01 is much less sure of White's advantage). The main line continues 12...b5 13.Bxf6 Bxf6 14.e5 Bb7 15.Bd5! with a huge advantage, eg 15...exd5 16.exf6 or 15...Bxd5 16.Nxd5 exd5 17.exf6 or 15...dxe5 16.Bxb7 Rab8 17.Be4.

Black plays 7...Nbd7

There is only one game in Mega20 in which Fischer faced this move, which is recommended in Mastering The Najdorf by Julen Arizmendi and Javier Moreno (Gambit 2004), and he replied with the mainline 8.f4.

Black nearly always continues 8...Nc5, which is the chief point of playing an early ....Nbd7. White needs to react energetically, and Fischer chose 9.f5!?, which is the most-popular move in Mega20.

A) 9...Nfxe4?! 10.fxe6! Qh4+ (or 10...Bxe6 11.Nxe6 fxe6 12.Nxe4 Nxe4 13.Qg4 Nc5 14.0-0 with a big attack and the bishop-pair on an open board for a pawn) 11.g3 Nxg3 12.Nf3 Qh5 13.exf7+ Kd8 14.Rg1. Black is not even a pawn up. Fischer - Jacek Bednarski, Olympiad (Havana) 1966, continued 14...Nf5 15.Nd5! Qxf7 16.Bg5+ Ke8 (if 16...Be7 then simply 17.Nxe7 is devastating) 17.Qe2+ Be6 18.Nf4 Kd7 19.0-0-0 Qe8 (19...Bxb3 20.Ne5+) 20.Bxe6+ Nxe6 21.Qe4 g6 22.Nxe6 1-0.

B) 9...Nxb3 (Fischer reached this position via a slight transposition) 10.axb3 Be7 11.Qf3 0-0 12.Be3 Bd7 (more popular in Mega20, albeit from a small sample size, is the time-consuming 12...Nd7?!, but the engines reckon White has a sizeable advantage after 13.0-0-0) 13.g4. The engines reckon 13...d5!?, which is not in Mega20, keeps White's edge reasonably small. Instead Fischer - Carlos Bielicki, Mar del Plata (Argentina) 1960, saw 13...e5 14.Nde2 d5 15.exd5 e4 16.Qg2 Bb4 17.0-0-0. after which White's attack crashed through first (1-0, 38 moves).

C) 9...Be7. This, the chief response today, was not faced by Fischer. The main line goes 10.Qf3 0-0 11.Be3 e5 12.Nde2 Nxb3 13.axb3 b5!?  The position is unclear. White has dangerous threats on the kingside, and indeed 14.g4!? is the most-popular continuation, although the engines reckon 14...b4!? is a good answer and makes queenside castling unpalatable. Note that Black gets strong play after 14.Nxb5?! d5. Instead Stockfish12 gives 14.Nd5 Bb7 15.Nxf6+ Bxf6 16.Rd1 Qa5+ 17.c3 Be7 18.h4!? with unclear but dangerous play. Komodo11.01 reckons best-play involves Black sacrificing the exchange: 14.0-0 Bb7 15.Ng3 Re8 16.Rad1 b4 17.Na4!? d5 18.Nb6 d4!? 19.Nxa8 Qxa8 20.Bg5 Nxe4 21.Bxe7 Nf6 22.Qe2 Rxe7, which is also unclear despite Black only having a pawn for the exchange.

D) 9...Bd7 (given an exclamation mark by Arizmendi & Moreno) 10.Qf3 b5 (another move given an ! by A&M) 11.a3 Nxb3 (necessary, according to A&M, as otherwise White preserves the light-square bishop with Ba2) 12.cxb3!? (12.Nxb3 is also reasonable) Be7 13.Be3 Qc8. A&M also give this move an exclamation mark, claiming Black has equalised. However the engines reckon White has a slight pull after 14.0-0 0-0, eg Stockfish12 gives 15.Rad1 b4!? 16.axb4 Rb8 17.g4 h6 18.g5 hxg5 19.Bxg5, claiming White has a slight edge, a verdict with which Komodo11.01 agrees.

Bobby Fischer v The Sicilian

THERE is no doubt that for many 1.e4 players the biggest challenge is also Black's most-popular reply: the Sicilian Defence.

One solution is to pick an anti-Sicilian - not so much in the expectation of obtaining a theoretical advantage from the opening, but rather in the hope of outplaying blacks through better understanding.

Another approach is to copy the repertoire of a chess great who had particular success against the Sicilian.

Aping a repertoire is not a new idea, although it is normally put forward with the aim of basing one's whole play with white and black in this way.

But I think it can be at least as effective if you 'steal' a repertoire for just one opening.

There are 179 games in ChessBase's 2020 Mega database in which Bobby Fischer played 1.e4 and faced the reply 1...c5. Fischer scored a magnificent 74%.

So in this series I want to put forward a repertoire against the Sicilian Defence based on Fischer's play, while noting where theory has significantly changed.

Ulrich Kohls' photo of Fischer playing Tal at the 1960 Olympiad in Leipzig (German Federal Archives)

'Secret' Gambit Repertoire For White (part two)

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

How should White proceed?

*****

*****

*****

*****

*****

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

How should White proceed?

*****

*****

*****

*****

*****
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.

White to play and win

*****

*****

*****

*****

*****

30.Bg7+! Kxg7

White mates immediately after 30...Bxg7 with 31.Qxh7#.

31.Qxh7+ 1-0

Best By Test (part four)

CONCENTRATING for the moment on 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 it is interesting to see the popularity of Black's second-move choices in modern chess.

As usual I am statistically analysing from the 238,275 games played in 2019 that appear in ChessBase's 2020 Mega database, while ignoring those moves that appear less than 0.1% of the time.

There are 34,594 games that began 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3, so the cut-off point is 35 games.

Table 10: Popularity Of Black Moves After 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3

Move.....Number Of Times Played

2...d6....................13,952

2...Nc6...................9,649

2...e6......................8,246

2...g6......................1,806

2...a6.........................693

2...Nf6......................268

2...b6..........................42

The big three should surprise no one, and I expect most people will have expected them to appear in the order shown.

Table 11: Black Second Moves By Percentage Score (ties broken by frequency of appearance)

Move...................Score

2...b6....................58%

2...a6....................54%

2...e6....................50%

2...d6....................49%

2...Nc6.................49%

2...Nf6..................48%

2...g6....................46%

The success of the relatively unpopular moves, 2...a6 and especially 2...b6, is a major surprise, but as usual this may change when moves are ranked by rating performance.

Table 12: Black Second Moves By Rating Performance

Move..........Rating Performance

2...g6......................-9

2...b6......................-15

2...d6......................-16

2...e6......................-23

2...Nc6...................-25

2...Nf6....................-26

2...a6......................-43

So 2...b6 confirms its success, but 2...a6 collapses. The other big mover is 2...g6 - bottom percentage-wise but top in rating performance.

There is a big caveat with 2...b6,  however - the statistics are based on just 42 games.

Best By Test (part three)

BLACK'S overwhelmingly most-popular reply to 1.e4 is 1...c5 which, as we saw in part two, scores 50% with a rating performance of -19.

No fewer than 24 moves were tried by White on move two in the 238,275 games from 2019 that appear in ChessBase's 2020 Mega database.

As usual I will ignore those moves played less than 0.1% of the time. That leaves 14 moves to consider.

Table Seven: Popularity Of White Moves After 1.e4 c5

Move.....Number Of Times Played

2.Nf3...................34,594

2.Nc3....................5,408

2.c3.......................2,662

2.d4..........................972

2.d3..........................355

2.c4..........................335

2.b3..........................333

2.Bc4.......................309

2.Ne2.......................280
2.f4...........................226
2.g3..........................169
2.Be2........................135
2.b4..........................119
2.a3............................99

The most-popular move was always going to be 2.Nf3, but I am a little surprised it is so far ahead of all other moves combined.

Surprises for me are that 2.f4 and 2.g3 are so low on the list, and that 2.Na3 is not played enough to cross the 0.1% threshold.

Table Eight: White Second Moves By Percentage Score (ties broken by frequency of appearance)
Move.............Score
2.Ne2.............55%
2.Be2.............53%
2.Nf3..............51%
2.Nc3.............49%
2.c3................49%
2.b3................49%
2.g3................49%
2.a3................48%
2.b4................45%
2.d4................44%
2.d3................44%
2.f4.................44%
2.c4................39%
2.Bc4..............27%

The success of 2.Ne2 and 2.Be2 is the big story here, although as I write this I have yet to compile the rating performances which, as usual may tell a very different tale.
The miserable score of 2.Bc4 also surprises me.

Table Nine: White Second Moves By Rating Performance (ties broken by frequency of appearance)
Move.............Rating Performance
2.c3..........................+40
2.f4...........................+31
2.Be2........................+25
2.Nf3........................+21
2.d4..........................+17
2.Nc3.......................+13
2.Ne2.......................+13
2.b3..........................+12
2.d3..........................+8
2.g3...........................+7
2.c4...........................-5
2.b4...........................-12
2.Bc4........................-28
2.a3...........................-63

Well, 2.Ne2 does not repeat its percentage success, but 2.Be2 has again done very well.
Perhaps the latter wrong-foots blacks, while 2.Ne2 is more likely to transpose to familiar Open or Closed Sicilian lines.
But the stand-out performances, at least to me, are the high plus-scores of 2.f4 and especially 2.c3.
(To be continued)