How to Stomp the Sicilian

Chess openings are a vital phase in any game. Yet most club players have huge problems when it comes to opening preparation and creating a sound opposition to play against the Sicilian

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One of the questions many 1.e4 players ask themselves again and again is the following: What should I play against the Sicilian Defense in order to crush Black’s setup?

The Sicilian Defense is the biggest and most complex setup of all chess openings. It is a semi-open playing system, in which Black tries to avoid the usual playing manner for equalizing the game and immediately starts an uncompromising fight for the takeover. From the very first moves, we get unbalanced pawn structures and very dynamic positions.

Most chess players believe that White has to go for sharp lines against the Sicilian Defense as Black almost always has the better structure in the endgame. If White does not crush Black right out of the opening, he’ll suffer a long and unpleasant endgame. However, this is only half the story!

White does not necessarily have to crush Black tactically in the Sicilian Defense. A brilliant chess strategy to outplay club players who play the Sicilian Defense against the 1.e4 is to go for a positional setup.

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Stomp the Sicilian Defense: 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.b3 d5?!

After 3.b3, Black has several moves at their disposal. One logical follow-up is 3…d5. Black makes use of the fact that White avoids the main line after 3.d4 and occupies the center himself.

The move ...d5 is not very popular for Black. The reason for this is that White can either give check on b5 immediately or exchange pawns on d5 first and then give check on b5