A Tour of the Sicilian - Choosing a Variation as Black

Starting with the Sicilian can seem intimidating. There's a general feeling that you must know tons of theory to play it. This is a misconception... The sicilian is a very rich opening, and it can be played in many different ways. Some lines white will have never seen, others are the most played lines in chess. Some are positional, others are tactical; some are passive, others are more aggressive. 

The same holds true against the anti-sicilians. An anti-sicilian is anything other than 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4, leading into the open sicilian lines. White plays these to avoid the theory heavy main lines of the sicilian. But against anti-sicilians black usually has 3-5 viable ways to respond to each one, as well. Black can also avoid most anti-sicilians by playing a move 2 deviation (Hyperaccelerated Dragon, Nimzowitsch sicilian, etc.).

The Sicilian is generally a positional opening that breaks down into tactics. It's an ideas based opening. There are many recurring patterns between lines. Often if black finds himself not knowing how to play a line, he's able to respond well by playing familiar patterns. 

If you examine the game statistics throughout the sicilian, you'll usually find black outscoring white. Throughout the Taimanov it's common to see black up 10-15 points. This remains the case even at higher levels (~2200+). The main reason for this is that Black usually controls the mainline variation that gets played, and black has well over a dozen sicilian variations he can choose from. Since the amount of theory is so vast, black is usually the one with the prep advantage. Nonetheless, as you drill deep into the statistics for the main lines, as white responds accurately, this trend often reverses (though not always). In certain lines, like the Richter-Rauzer or Yugoslav, white outscores black by a wide margin if he plays accurately.

My overriding point is that the sicilian is rich enough that anyone can play it for just about any purpose. This post is going to describe the characteristics and tradeoffs of various mainline sicilians. I'll also point out things I think a below-masters player should consider when choosing a line to play. Obviously this is a light analysis and if you want something more in depth there are videos available on all these lines. 

Before we talk about the specific sicilians, a bit should be said about the 2nd move options. The common ones are 2... d6, 2... e6, and 2... Nc6. But there are others - 2... Nf6 (Nimzowitsch sicilian), 2... g6 (Hyperaccelerated Dragon), 2... Qc7 (Quinteros).

Of the 3 common 2nd moves, 2... d6 clearly deals with the anti-sicilians the best. The delayed alapin (3. c3) is easy to neutralize, because black can pressure e4 with Nf6, which white can't push due to d6 guarding e5. Due to complications arising from this pressure white is unable to ever push d4 in one move, and the game has already equalized. Likewise the Moscow (2... d6 3. Bb5+) is not as testing as the Rossolimo (2... Nc6 3. Bb5+), and 3... Bd7 is a relatively compact response to the Moscow. So there is a good argument for playing a Najdorf, Classical, or Dragon (which arise after 2... d6) on account of how 2... d6 deals with anti-sicilians, especially at below-masters level where you run into so many of these sidelines.

The main drawback of 2... Nc6 is it must face a Rossolimo (3. Bb5). This is probably the most objectively testing anti-sicilian white can play. It's objectively better for white than the Sveshnikov. Much more importantly, white is the one who chooses to enter this. Thus black has ceded his biggest advantage in the sicilian, namely his ability to control the game and leverage a prep advantage. Nonetheless, I don't want to leave the impression the Rossolimo is all that bad - it leads to very complex and interesting pawn structures, and it's a game where the better player will probably win.

Finally, 2... e6 can be transposed into a delayed alapin (2... e6 3. c3), among other things. This is generally an improved Alapin for white. If black wants he can transpose it into an advanced or exchange french, though there are other options. This delayed alapin isn't objectively difficult for black, but it's not the dynamic game black players want from the sicilian. Furthermore, there are divergences after the central exchange where white regains control over the games direction - the Szen variation (5. Ndb5) forces black into a Scheveningen structure (d6/e6) that's cramped and passive, and requires a precise, predictable continuation from black. 5. g3, 5. b4 (the wing attack) and 5. b3 (the Westerenin) are also serious lines. While all these can be dealt with, there are many of them, they can be cramped, and white is in the drivers seat. On the upside, the move 2... e6 is probably the best response to the Closed Sicilian (2. Nc3). 

The move-2 deviations bypass the complications from the anti-sicilians. In addition, the nimzowitsch (2... Nf6) and Quinteros (2... Qc7) can transpose 3. c3 (delayed alapin) into the Alapin, Smith-Morra declined. This allows a repertoire based on either to condense its response to the delayed alapin (3. c3), the mainline alapin (2. c3), and the smith morra (2. d4) into the same lines. For this reason, both the Quinteros and the Nimowitsch excel as anti-anti-sicilians.

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Dragon Sicilians
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1) Classic Dragon - (1. d4 c5 2. d6 Nf3 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 g6):

Here black plays d6 early on, ceding that he will not be playing d5 in one move. As a result of "ceding" the tempo, the full strength Yugoslav attack is possible, where white plays f3 / Be3 / Qd2 / O-O-O and begins launching his kingside pawns toward the black king w/ g4 / h4.

At high level, the Yugoslav is considered difficult for black to deal with, and the engines think white is significantly better. Surprisingly, in online games black is outscoring white in the Yugoslav. That's probably because the Yugoslav is the only challenging line for the dragon, and black players can focus their prep very heavily on it. Dragons always deal well with non-testing lines. All blacks pieces are active and the pawn structure is advantageous long term.

Furthermore, this dragon deals very well with anti-sicilians, like all 2... d6 deviations. And it doesn't have to face the Rossolimo (unlike the accelerated dragon) or the maroczy bind setup. So really it's just the Yugoslav, and if you can get past that line with superior preparation, you have an excellent attacking weapon. 

Another upside of the Dragon is the Yugoslav leads to a very attacking game for both sides. Black is typically launching a counterattack on the queenside (where white castled) as quickly as possible. For this reason, the Dragon is played at high levels as an anti-drawing weapon, in tournament settings where a draw would mean loss of the tournament.  

Another advantage of the dragon - which characterizes all dragon setups - is that Blacks pawn structure is a winning one long term. Trades favor him. Furthermore, as time goes on, the dragon bishop combined with blacks 2 queenside flank pawns pushing up the board amount to a very strong queenside attack in the midgame and beyond. All this means that if white doesn't attack early, and doesn't know their theory, the Dragons often lead to superior positions in the late midgame and endgame. 

For white to maintain the advantage in the yugoslav he also is forced to play a very predictable sequence of moves.Black can study this carefully. He'll want to play this precisely until the opponents knowledge of theory is depleted. However, the really challenging part of the Yugoslav isn't necessarily the main engine lines, it's when white deviates - often white will still have many attacking opportunities and the kingside remains under attack. Nonetheless, black is still outscoring white in this line at club level, which surprises many people.

Lately some have been avoiding the Yugoslav via the Dragondorf (or some people call it the Cobra - 1. d4 c5 2. d6 Nf3 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 g6 6. Be3 a6). Objectively this is 2 centipawns worse then entering the Yugoslav but circumvents the 30 moves of prep white may have prepared. This is what I would play in the Dragon. 

As with all the dragons, generally players who are good at opening prep will do well with them, prep is what's essential for playing the yugoslav. 

2) Accelerated Dragon (1. d4 c5 2. Nc6 Nf3 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 g6):

Many people agree this is the best form of the Dragon. It allows black to avoid the yugoslav attack. Instead of playing 2... d6, black plays 2... Nc3. Therefor, in many positions, black can push d5 in one move. This tempo makes a big difference with the Yugoslav setup, largely neutering it.

However, because white wasn't forced into playing Nc3 early on to defend his e pawn, white is able to play c4 and setup a Maroczy bind. This is generally considered to be the most challenging response from white. The combination of e4 and c4 maintain strong control over the d5 square, and making push d5 not possible in the short term. Therefor, black has to play a positional, maneuvering game. But in practice, these lines often break down into tactics and black has many opportunities, it just requires careful preparation to play well. 

The biggest downside of the Accelerated Dragon, in my view, is white can avoid it by playing the Rossolimo (3. Bb5+) (unless black plays 2... g6 the hyperaccelerated, but that comes with its own issues). The Rossolimo is considered the most legit anti-sicilian. I don't think it's objectively a very hard line to deal with - the pawn structures are complex and the better player will probably win it. What bothers me about it is that white controls whether to enter it, and you lose the prep advantage there. The prep advantage is the main reason black scores so well in the sicilian. Still, these are surmountable difficulties - there are some interesting deviations in the Rossolimo that can correct this problem if you look for them (3... Nf6 or 3... e5 are two rare lines I like).

Again, as with all dragon setups, if white doesn't play the most testing lines black has a fantastic position. He has all active pieces, a ready-made attack on the queenside, and a superior pawn structure long term. This is good in a below-master settings because generally you can expect players to not know the testing lines very well. 

3) Hyperaccelerated Dragon -

The Hyperaccelerated Dragon is 2... g6. The Accelerated Dragon can be transposed into from the Hyperaccelerated. In theory, this allows you to avoid the Rossolimo and other anti-sicilians that white commonly plays against 2... Nc6. 

Unfortunately, one of whites most common responses here is 3. c3, which is like an alapin on steroids. Because white hasn't played 4. d4 cxd4 yet, trading off the d pawn, he can build a strong center via c3 > d4 which smothers the fiancetto. After cxd4 cxd4, white recaptures with his c pawn. 
Alternatively, white can respond with the immediate 3. d4 cxd4 4. Qxd4, recapturing with the Queen, and eyeing down the rook in the corner exposed by 2... g6. Black must respond with 4... Nf6. This leads to a forcing sequence of moves where trades occur. The game is approaching an endgame, but whites queen remains active and white retains his opening advantage. Opportunities for outplaying white are sparse as the endgame is already apporaching. This gives white an easy, prepackaged response to the hyperaccelerated.

Black can respond to this sharply, and there are opportunities for deviating that will regain the advantage if white doesn't know his lines, it just isn't ideal for the opponent to have such easy pressure leading into an endgame.  

Black does gain a factor of surprise with this line - white isn't going to see the hyperaccelerated as often as he sees his Rossolimo.

Another interesting option here is the Hyperaccelerated Pterodactyl transposition - 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 g6 4. d4 Bg7. This is also reachable from the Modern. The arising positions are quite unusual. For example, 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 g6 4. d4 Bg7 4. dxc5 Qa5+ 5. c3 Qxc3 6. Na3 - here white must find the move Na3 to maintain the engine edge. Black will also need to find a way of dealing with 4. c3. Black is actually scoring quite well in these lines. If I was going to play the HyperAccelerated I'd probably play it this way. 

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French Sicilians 
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4) Taimanov/Kan Hybrid (1. d4 c5 2. e6 Nf3 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nc6 5. Nc3 a6): 

People often debate whether this is a Kan or a Taimanov. We're calling it a hybrid. Note that you can reach this from the old sicilian (2... Nc6) or the french sicilian (2... e6). You can also reach it from the Kan or Taimanov move order (4... Nc6 or 4... a6).

This line has a reactive and positional feel to it, since the move a6 is a defensive waiting move, valuable for preventing many Ndb5 shenanigans which occur in the main lines of other french sicilians, such as the four knights / bastrikov. 

After a6, if white doesn't play Nxc6 immediately (the main line), you can often followup with Qc7 and transpose back into the lines of the Taimanov Bastrikov. This can allow you to selectively bypass some main line defenses white may have had prepared for the Bastrikov. An alternative to Qc7 is Nf6, which leads to a pseudo four knights position. This is a nice response to 6. Be3, avoiding whites mainline Qf3 Bastrikov response. 
Reaching the Taimanov by transposition presumably makes it even more effective.

The Taimanov in general has some of the best winrates for black I've seen in the sicilian. It's probably because the position plays very naturally if white doesn't know the correct response. Black can typically just play a combination of Qc7, a6 > b5 > Bb7, Bc5 or Bb4, and Nf6. In many lines black can push d5 early. But black is also content with leaving the pawn on d7. White can go wrong with greedy moves like f4 which open the king up to the wing attack, where Bc4 + Bb7 is applying strong pressure.

White's theoretical response to the Taimanov/Kan hybrid is to immediately take via Nxc6. Here black still has a solid pawn structure in the center, and pushes d5. But if white follows up with the main line and plays it sharply, blacks king can get displaced. The position is still objectively fine, and it's quite rare to see someone play this line precisely. There are opportunities for reaching legitimate and novel positions as early as move 10. Often both queens will be active and it ends up being quite a sharp and chaotic game. 
While this is uncomfortable, if we compare with something like the rauzer or Yugoslav it's clearly better, because black will be able to out-prep the opponent rather easily due to the Taimanov/Kan being alot less common than those lines.  

The variety of ways black can reach this sicilian allow him to choose which anti-sicilians he'd like to face. The Kan (4... a6) faces 6. c4 the maroczy bind, the Taimanov (4... Nc6) faces the mainline exchange (5. Nxc6), 2... Nc6 move orders face a Rossolimo but not a strong Alapin, etc.. 

Overall, the Kan/Taimanov is a positional line. Due to the move a6 being played early on, it doesn't punish white for going wrong as hard as something like the four knights or classical can. But the mainline response to it isn't as formulaic as the Four Knights is, and it allows you to play a Bastrikov by transposition. I would probably prefer the Bastrikov (Qc7) over this in a setting where someone could prep, since the main line sees blacks king displaced and harassed. But in an online setting it's really not a concern, and I think this line is excellent.

5) Four Knights (1. d4 c5 2. e6 Nf3 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 Nc6) - 

This is a very attacking setup. Black wastes no time in development, he brings both knights out and opens up the LSB / Queen immediately... As a result, Black can often push d5 early with alot of initiative after pinning whites knight on c3, and the game equalizes or almost equalizes. Black can do this against most moves white makes, with really just 2 exceptions: 6. Ndb5 and 6. Nxc6. At below masters level, where players don't know these lines, you will very often get an ideal almost equal position almost immediately, which makes this sicilian appealing in online settings. The positions are also very natural and easy to play. I think this is the ideal line for people starting out with the sicilian.

Against 6. Ndb5 black can be forced to enter into a Sveshnikov or to play an objectively suboptimal line such as the Cobra variation, or to pin the knight with Bb5. The Cobra is a sharp, punishing line which rewards prep. Pinning the knight often leads to trades and an IQP position. Alternatively, the four knights can be used a way of reaching the Sveshnikov while avoiding the rossolimo.

With 6. Nxc6, the exchange line, black gets a position that's dynamic / messy in a good way. Whites king even gets displaced in the main line, but white has a strong counterattack. Objectively it's on par with the french defense or Rossolimo, about +0.23. There are still unexplored deviations in this line which the new AI engines have found. 

Overall, it's a good line. Compared with the Rossolimo I'd prefer it. At the very least, black will have a greater familiarity with it.

In general this is a great sicilian online and for beginners due to how attacking it is and how often white goes wrong / just hands black an almost equal position. I played about 100 games with this at ~1800 level and had a ~72% winrate, very rarely did I encounter the main line. Putting white's theory to the test early is always a good thing at this level. 

6) Taimanov bastrikov (1. d4 c5 2. e6 Nf3 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nc6 5. Nc3 Qc7) -

if you want to throw off the opponent and get out of theory this is a very good way to do it. It can be reached from a variety of lesser known move orders, such as the Flohr or Quinteros (discussed below), which will bypass a whole slew of anti-sicilians. It also plays very positionally. If white makes small errors the game can equalize very quickly once b5>Bb7 is played, and black has great, long lasting pressure from the flank. This slows down the rate at which white can push his kingside pawns. Black also isn't under immediate pressure to push d5. Overall, blacks king feels safe in these lines. The highest winrates for black I've seen in the sicilian are throughout these lines. 

There are early Ndb5 moves where blacks queen is harassed, and black has to drop back the queen, but they're not difficult to deal with and can often be transposed back into the main lines after a6 bumps the knight. 

If white doesn't play precisely black will often just get a very natural Taimanov setup - a6 / Nf6 / Bc4 or Bb5, and either push d5 early, or play b5 > Bb7 first and build up to d5. When black gets this setup the game feels very natural and easy to play.

There is one interesting line where white can trade 3 pieces for blacks queen, leading to quite a chaotic position, and although black has advantage.

There are some theoretical testing lines, most notably as 6. Be3 a6 7. Qf3. Here black is objectively fine, he just has to play precisely... but it's rare to actually encounter these online below a master setting. There are also ways black can deviate within these, if he doesn't want to remain locked in theory. 

Generally I'd recommend this to any player that wants a serious sicilian they can play for life. It's extremely good at circumventing prep, it's a powerful positional game that plays naturally, and it's completely solid. 

7) Flohr Sicilian (1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Qc7):

This is a very rare line (~1% of games at the 4th move) that transposes into the Taimanov Bastrikov.
If you reach the Flohr via 2...  Nc6 you have to play a Rossolimo. 
While the Rossolimo is a good line, there aren't many other strong anti-sicilians after 2... Nc6 that black must face. In contrast, the anti-sicilians after 2... e6 are numerous and lead to positions that are dry, such as the improved alapin. 
And black does have some good ideas in the Rossolimo. The moves 3... Nf6 and 3... e5 are two lesser played deviations that provide white opportunity to make mistakes, and regain black some control over the game.

So one could argue that the tradeoff of facing a Rossolimo is justified, and some players will reach the Taimanov via either the Flohr, or the more staightforward 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 e6. 

But there's another way of reaching the Flohr which avoids the Rossolimo - the Quinteros. 

8) Quinteros Sicilian (1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Qc7!) 

It is my belief that this is the most underplayed line in the game of chess. Yes, it is that good.

The Taimanov would be worth playing by itself. Blacks highest winrates in the sicilian are in the Taimanov. It is completely sound, it gives a great positional attack from the wing, and black is doing very well. 
Its biggest downside is that it requires black to play e6 anti-sicilians, as we've discussed. The Flohr you can make a strong case is worth playing, even with the Rossolimo, because it bypasses that issue. 

The Quinteros transposes into the Flohr, while bypassing the move-3 anti sicilians associated with 2... Nc6, including the Rossolimo and everything else. And the Flohr then, in turn transposes into the Taimanov Bastrikov. 

But it's even better than that, because the way the Quinteros handles the move-2 anti-sicilians is unmatched. Like the Nimzowitsch, it transposes with the Alapin, Smith Morra declined. So you can transpose both of those move-2 deviations (Smith Morra and Alapin) into the Quinteros delayed alapin. And not just any alapin - one of the sharpest lines I've seen against the alapin. I would play the line for its independent value, regardless of its transpositional significance.

Effectively this line bypasses all anti-sicilians along the way to, arguably, one of the soundest lines out there. 

If that were not enough... the Quinteros is almost *never played*. We're talking less than 0.1% of games.

It's shocking that such a promising line would be almost never played. To understand why this is, it's worth reflecting on chess history. Sicilian theory evolved in the pre-engine era, and it was developed based on chess principles. Moving a queen early in the opening is a known violation of chess principles. There are a few cases where it works - like in the Scandinavian, but generally speaking it does not. In the case of the Quinteros, the queen never gets harassed in any serious way, the line just transposes into good, already played lines while bypassing all move 3+ anti-sicilians. It just went discounted and ignored during the pre-engine era, as the theory developed, so it has never developed a reputation. It turns out that much of the theory people adhere to is tradition based. Tradition is largely why the Najdorf remains the most popular sicilian today, despite the fact it has one of the lowest winrates for black in the sicilian. 

9) Kan - 1. d4 c5 2. e6 Nf3 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 a6 

The Kan is a positional sicilian. It's the most common french sicilian, and is very theoretical. White can respond with c4 the maroczy bind, and what follows black needs to play precisely. Black can try to break out, or play it positoinally. In practice black is doing well here, going by the statistics, and it's a bit overstated how much of a problem this line is. An online club-level player will be able to break it up without issue.

A nice line for black here is the wing attack (b5), where black is threatening Nc3 and indirectly pressuring e4 / applying pressure to whites kingside via Bb7. 

The Kan can also transpose into a variety of Taimanov Bastrikov lines. The main advantage is you don't have to face the Szen variation via this route. Personally, as a player who isn't playing in OTB tournaments or at masters status, I would choose the maroczy bind over the szen, because black is statistically scoring well here and if black plays precisely it's going to get broken up. 

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Normal Sicilians
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10) Classical 

A somewhat uncommon sicilian these days. It's objectively sound. If white doesn't play the main line rauzer you often just get an ideal setup... your setup is very aggressive due to the knight on c6 being an active move. It's similar to the four knights in this respect, though not quite as aggressive since you haven't opened up a bishop yet. The move 2... d6 makes this a little more positional and theoretical than the four knights. You don't usually push d5 early. 

Generally this is a sicilian where you can leverage theoretical knowledge and punish your opponents mistakes when he goes wrong, due to the more active early game setup compared with something like the Najdorf or Dragon. For example, the english attack (6. Be3) does not work against the classical due to the immediate Ng4 followed by Qb6, combined with Nc6 this immediately threatens Nd4 and checkmate if white moves the knight. 

The only testing line against the classical is the richter-rauzer, where white will usualy castle queenside and launch his pawns on the kingside. It's not an objectively bad line for black (in contrast with the yugoslav), but it's generally agreed it's hard to play. So again, as with the dragons / four knights, this is the kind of sicilian where you can study 1 line very deeply and all the other sidelines are quite easy to deal with. This is very beneficial in an online setting, or below master level. Contrast it with the Najdorf where there are 5 serious lines black must prepare.

In the richter-rauzer, even though your pawn structure can be compromised or you may go down a pawn (depending on the line you choose), you still have significant counterplay and the position is still objectively fine for black / very unbalanced. It's one of those positions where every single move breaks down into complex tactics and transforms the position, and you cannot tell even with prolonged analysis what the ideal move is. 

A big advantage of the classical is you can reach it via 2... d6, and there is really no challenging 3rd move anti-sicilian you must face. The Moscow is not nearly as challenging as the Rossolimo. 

Overall this sicilian will reward players who like to study theory / play complex positions while also using it to punish their opponents. This can also be a good way of getting a theoretical sicilian without playing something that's super-common like the Najdorf.

11) Najdorf -

It's the most commonly played sicilian. From an opening principles standpoint, it's more defensive and positional - a6 is a defensive waiting move. It keeps the balance and refrains from committing to a setup. As a result of not controlling the center white has 10 or so serious responses he can choose from. So the amount of theory needed to play this line is vast. Furthermore, white sees this line alot. If white is prepared for anything, it will be the Najdorf
Furthermore, while the Najdorf is probably the most equal and objectively sound sicilian... to retain that objective edge there's very little room for deviation. 

The moment you deviate... you're just playing a predictable theoretical position that's not objectively better than other lines. So in an online or below-masters setting I'm not a fan of this line. It is very overplayed. It just makes your play passive early, extremely predictable and requires you to grind enormous theory which your opponent will know anyway. It also allows white to choose the major deviation, ceding blacks biggest advantage in the sicilian - his ability to control the game. The statistics bear out what I'm saying. The Najdorf is, surprisingly, one of the worst scoring sicilians for black in a below masters, online setting.

12) Scheveningen -

White has some strong responses to this line. As a result, it's very rarely played nowdays. The strongest response is an early g4 pawn advanced, the Keres attack. While the position is hard on black, ironically, I've found almost no one actually knows the g4 theory here. Because all black players gave up on the line. That said, it's not only the Keres that gives black trouble but also the English attack setup, so you have to study that deeply too. More broadly, the main issue is that d6/e6 is just a relatively passive setup which gives white alot of space.

There are actually two common ways of reaching the Schveneningen - via 2... e6 and 2... d6. The former is more played, here you can delay Nf6 a bit and play Nc6 first, this deals a little better with the Keres (g4). But it's not quite as good against the English attack setup.

Another option, which for unknown reasons is never mentioned, is delaying d6 for longer, first entering a classical, four knights, or Najdorf and then transposing into the Schveningen later on. That bypasses the Keres.

Of course, it begs the question - if you're waded through all the anti-sicilians against e6, and reached the four knights, and your opponent has played a non-forcing move such as Be3 which allows you to push d5 immediately, why instead would you choose to enter the Scheveningen via d6? It would be a better Scheveningen, there's just not much reason to do it. 
The most viable option is probably reaching it via the Najdorf, against specific responses from white. It can serve as a useful divergence in certain Najdorf lines. Playing these d6/e6 structures means playing without space, which requires skill to do. One plus is it will teach you how to play such positions and improve you as a player. 

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Lasker Sicilian
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I'm not as much of an expert in these lines, but I'll give my general impression based on what I know: 

13) Lowenthall -

another very attacking sicilian, but this one is very much a tactical line. The lines are also pretty forcing. Good for people who like to memorize sharp and deep lines that don't branch much, and play the sicilian more like an e4/e5 line. It's not as objectively sound as the sveshnikov but it's a little more offbeat. But it can also transpose into the sveshnikov with a little extra effort. But the lowenthall itself is a good way of minimizing the theory you need (since it's very forcing) while still getting a sharp, attacking tactical sicilian.

14) Sveshnikov -

a very tactical, attacking sicilian. It's a completely crazy attack, but it's also very theoretical. Here the effort is really to try to out-theorize the opponent in these deep, sharp tactical lines. Allows black to play a very attacking style of chess. However you have to tolerate some very dubious positions especially with your king exposed. Overall it's alot of theory and it puts alot of burden on the opponent to know all that theory. A good option for players who like this kind of sharp tactical but also highly theoretical style of play. 

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Misc Other Sicilians
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15) Nimzowitsch -

I generally think of this as an improved alekhines, the objective eval is about the same and many of the positions have a hypermodern tone to them. However, it tends to lead to advantages for black more reliably than the alekhines. Since you've played c5 you can retreat the knight to c7 instead of b6 if it gets tempod, this is an improvement over the Alekhines. People also are far less prepared for this line than they are Alekhines.

People act as if there's a hard counter to this via main line, this actually isn't true... the main line is dynamic and sharp. It's very playable for black, black even has a positive winrate in the line. It's also objectively better than the yugoslav, and yet the nimzowitsch is also only played in 1% of games. You could say this unfair reputation has increased its potency. It is one of my favorite weapons. I played this line for a while - at 2000 elo almost no one knew the mainline, I got it maybe 3 games out of 100. I think I'd be a little hesitant to play this if my opponents were expecting it, like in a club or tournament setting, but in online play or as an off-weapon it's very good and underestimated. The opponent often has no idea how to handle these strange knight maneuvers, and you often just get an edge in the opening as a result.

One of the biggest selling points of this sicilian is it avoids most anti-sicilians, since it begins on move 2. Furthermore, the patterns in the nimzowitsch are very similar to the Nf6 lines in the alapin, and can even transpose with it in some places. Combined with transposing the Smith Morra into the Alapin you've dealt with the 2 most common 2nd move anti-sicilians as well. So this is really the ultimate anti-anti-sicilian. As an off weapon this makes it particularly valuable against players you know intend to play anti-sicilians. 

If black wants to play the sicilian and doesn't want to deal with the anti-sicilians / wants to get his opponent out of book quickly this is a good line to play. 

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As you can see there's a sicilian that suites pretty much any need - if you want to get the opponent out of theory with a focus on online / club-level play there's the french sicilians... if you want to avoid the anti-sicilians there's the nimzowitch... if you want a tactical sicilian there's the lowenthal or sveshnikov... if you want a theoretical line that's capable of punishing mistakes there's the classical... if you want an objectively ideal line and are willing to learn alot of theory there's the Najdorf... if you want a positional line that requires / rewards more focused prep there are the dragons.... There are even lines that are almost never seen and are just as good as main lines (Quinteros), etc., etc.. Unlike in most other defenses to 1. e4 it is black who chooses the primary variation, and there are well over a dozen options. I actually did not list them all. It is my opinion that the sicilian is the best defense in chess, and the only response to 1. e4 with no downside for black.