How To Crush The Sicilian In 3 Check: 4. d5 Part 4 (Black Plays c4 Before Bd3)

In Part 3 I demonstrated how to play when Black plays c4 after Bd3. This time I will show how to play when Black plays c4 before White has the chance to play Bd3.

Plans and ideas:

• Push your pawn to e5 to support Nd6+ in the future.
• Play actively in the center after going for the Knight check on d6. Don't give Black time to successfully advance in the center.
• If Black pushes their pawn to c4 before you have the chance to play Bd3 then play c3 with the idea to play Ne5 and Bf4 next.
• After Bf4 Black will usually play Qe7 to avoid discovered attacks from White's Bishop but then Bg5 is very strong. The idea being to take on f6 followed by Ng4 and Nxh6+.
• If 10. Ne5 is not possible then play g3 followed by Bf4 and Bg2.
• You can usually afford to sacrifice multiple pieces for a 2nd check or to maintain the initiative in this opening due to the vulnerability of Black's King. You should have enough resources in reserve to get a third check.
• Don't be afraid to allow a check if you get something in return, assuming your opponent doesn't have a good follow-up to the check. 
• Always focus on creating threats towards Black's King. The initiative is very important so try to avoid playing passive moves whenever possible. That being said, this line is more positional compared to other lines so a slow build-up is sometimes the way to go.