Trouble with the Bb5+ sicilian
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Got myself into alot of time trouble in the end too because i spent so long in the opening-middlegame looking for a good plan..
I felt like f5 was one of my biggest mistakes since it created a threat that could easily be stopped and weakened the bishop on e6 to the point my rook was pinned to it. B5 was a mistake but then at least he combatted my mistake with his own mistakes..and I like playing Nd7, its not supposed to be worse for black but I can always change, i've played both positions. And @ Chessmstrmate I know some people that play that but I don't understand it..
What line in the Sicilian do you normally play if your opponent plays 3.d4 insead of 3Bb5+?
Is it one where you can play 2...e6 instead of 2...d6? If so, then you can avoid the 3.Bb5+ lines altogether. Although some opponents still automatically play 3.Bb5 no matter what (typically kids) and I have had no less than three games that went 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.Bb5 and then after 3...a6 I have already equalized.
Also, when your opponent plays 2.c3 would you normally play 2...Nf6 or 2...d5? I like to play 2,..d5. The problem you can run into though is if your opponent likes to play the delayed Alapin with 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.c3 now you can't play ...d5 as it loses a tempo. So you have to play the ...Nf6 lines. If you play 1.e4 c5 2.c3 Nf6 then that's not an issue for you, but if you are like me and play 2...d5 then you keep that option on the table here with 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.c3 d5 and you transpose right into the lines with 2...d5.
So just switch to 2...e6 if you can. I play the Scheveningen so 2...e6 works just fine for me.
The Bb5 sicilian isn't supposed to refute the d6 sicilians though, I just have trouble playing against them for some reason due to my lack of positional understanding. I like to go for Najdorfs and Shevengingens and occasionally I play a Kan with e6. Against c3 I played Nf6 since the start and recently I've been looking into immediate e6 moves as well as g6 and d5 systems. The nf6 d6 g6 one looks fun but somewhat dangerous for black, but dangerous doesn't deter me from playing the Pirc as black, so that shouldn't stop me I guess.
Right, but if you have a hard time against 3.Bb5+ and you play the Scheveningen then just play 2...e6 and eliminate the problem.
ChrisWainscott wrote:
Right, but if you have a hard time against 3.Bb5+ and you play the Scheveningen then just play 2...e6 and eliminate the problem.
+1
I'll miss my Najdorf days then.. to become stronger I should try to play more positional chess as well, because its a weakness I have. When both me and my opponents are shuffling our pieces around doing nothing, I typically lose 90% of the time because I make the first wrong shuffling move or try and push for a win and then over press and lose. When I play against bb5 most of my opponents play passive with d3 and nc3 and re1 etc. its just this opponent played more aggressive although ended up in an equal position. I'm so bad at playing against bb5+ I even lost when I was up a piece to a player of my rating last year. Its a curse..
If it's a curse than you have no other option but to switch to 2...e6! 
But seriously, give the Taimanov some runs and maybe you'll prefer it as your main weapon if you never have to face 3.Bb5+ again.
I could but then I need to study more theory..I know the Najdorf better than pretty much any other opening I play, maybe except the Ruy. I know the Pirc pretty well too, but don't play it against high rated opponents
I hate it too but since I am a Scheveningen player and I could just play 2.. e6. If you play Najdorf with e5 then you indeed shouldn't do that (obv) but when you play Scheveningen structures even with Najdorf then it's a nice option.
In my experience, most of my opponents who play Bb5+ don't really know the theory of the Rossolimo. My average opponent rating in live standard is 1653 too - you would expect they would, but they don't. It's as if they've heard that Bb5+ is an anti-sicilian and they think just that alone is somehow doing something. I simply block the check with Bd7 and there's a trade of bishops. After that it's easier to get a knight outpost on c4 since there's no light square bishop to remove it.
Everyone here seems to be advocating for Bd7 instead of Nd7 so I might give that a try, even though Nd7 is the more "aggressive" move because it can give black the bishop pair and I like those.
I've always preferred ...Nd7. If white wants to exchange pieces right away he has to give me the pair O Bishops!
Kauffman recommends Bb5+ in his book Chess Advantage in Black and White.
I switched to 2...e6 for just this reason. I'd rather face a Keres.
Keres? Isn't that in the Scheveningen without a6?
The Keres is this:
3...Nd7 is OK, it gains a bishop pair (which is good in the long run), but You have to prepare for it a bit, since You will be under pressure for 10 moves or so.
For some reason I always have trouble against this line more than any other opening. OTB my rating fluctuates between 1625-1740 over the last year and even against lower rated opponents I just can't get anything out of this opening as black, no matter how good my position is in the middlegame. I feel like the positions out of the bb5+ sicilian are so simplified that if both people are playing even decently its hard to get anything at all, for EITHER side. My record against this opening against players 1400 rating and above is something around 1-15 and I love playing the sicilian but I actually thought about switching to the Kan just to avoid this evil opening. Even when I put my positions in Stockfish in the middlegame and it says ive equalised or am even better, there's just no way for me to get a win since position and pawn structure is virtually the same. Is this opening pretty much a forced draw for white?? I try pushing for a win and always end up losing, no matter who i play. I'll post a couple games, or the start of them.