3 Check Opening Ideas For Black In the French Sicilian: Part 7 (3. Bc4)

Plans and ideas:

• Play Bd6 to prepare Bxh2+ if White castles Kingside. You can follow up the sacrifice with Nd4 and Qh4.
• If White does not allow the sacrifice and instead blocks the Bishop by playing g3 then they have weakened their King position and you can possibly take advantage of this by pushing the h-pawn down the board.
• Even if Bxh2 is not possible you can still often sacrifice other pieces on h2 or f2  to break down White's defense around their King.  
• Often it's a good idea to sacrifice your b-pawn by playing b7-b5 in order to quickly open lines for your Queenside pieces.

Where to put your pieces?

• The Queenside Knight goes to c6 and later can potentially go to e5 or d4.
• The dark squared Bishop goes to d6. If White does not allow Bxh2+ then you can later reroute this Bishop to c5 or e5.
• The Kingside Knight goes to f6 and then often to g4 where it has potential to sacrifice on h2/f2 or reroute to e5 to threaten a check on f3.
• The King can castle Kingside, Queenside or stay in the center depending on the situation and personal preference.
• The Queen usually goes to c7 but can also go to b6 or h4 in some cases.
• The light squared Bishop often goes to b7 can also potentially be developed on the c8-h3 diagonal later on.
• The Rooks should go where they are useful.