Opening : Why I play the Sicilian Kan/Taimanov

It is quite important to develop an opening repertoire, regardless of your chess level. Of course top grandmasters spend a lot of time preparing lines in the opening, but it is also necessary to work on openings  if you play competitively.

Against 1.e4 my favorite opening is the sicilian 1..c5 and specifically the Taimanov/Kan setup.

Here's a typical Taimanov position 

and here's a Kan position

You have slightly less forced lines than when you go for the Sicilian Najdorf and the Sicilian Dragon.

Typically, here's how you would develop your pieces with Black, following the arrows.

Because of e7-e6, the Bishop on c8 often ends up on b7, on the a8-h1 diagonal.

Since you did not commit to play d7-d6, the dark square bishop can go to c5 or b4. 

The Queen typically ends up on c7. Overall, it is a fairly flexible set-up while you do not have to memorize tons of lines. Gata Kamsky likes to play g7-g6 and Bg7 in the Sicilian Kan. etc,etc.

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Here are a few games I selected by top players, showing the potential of this opening.

Firouzja

Nepomniachtchi

Nepo won a nice game online against @Hikaru in 2021

and finally world champion Magnus Carlsen 

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which game was your favorite ?? leave your thoughts in the comments section !