2. Bc4 against the sicilian.

The idea of e6 is not just to block the bishop, it's also to play an early d5, which just happens to hit the bishop on c4. This is another reason it's badly placed there, don't forget the fork trick also.

It may be a bit much to call 2.Bc4 a sin that must be punished, but it is kind of sad that people play it considering that those who want to avoid Sicilian theory have so many interesting anti-Sicilian options to choose from (The Sicilian having far more "antis" than any other response to 1.e4), but instead of selecting from this array of options these people just play 2.Bc4. It's kind of like taking someone to a luxury clothing store and saying "you can select anything in this store that you want", and they go "no I don't want to pick anything out here, Instead I'll just wear this dookie-stained shirt I got out of a garbage can". 2.Bc4 is playable, just as a dookie-stained shirt is wearable, but in both cases doing so sends the message that you're lazy, apathetic, and have no real interest in chess or anything else.

By the way, Rybka 4 says 2...Nc6 is stronger than 2...e6. I have tried various set-ups against 2.Bc4 and I do have the most success with 2...Nc6, because it's best to develop some pieces before breaking in the center with an immediate e6-d5. After 2...Nc6 White should bring one of their knights out then Black plays 3...Nf6  There are some slighty tactical variations involving early e5 pushes (or counterpushes in response to Black's d5), and also one where White sacs a bishop on f7, but they all work out for Black.

XPLAYERJX,

Nice explanation and examples. I didn't know those subtleties of the Sicilian Defense.

leiph18,

I didn't get into that chapter of Alburt & Parr's book deeply enough to learn exactly to which principles they were referring. It was just a library book I had borrowed for a while for other reasons, and the only reason that one paragraph stood out for me was that this is about the third thread I've seen where somebody asked that same question, so I thought it would be a good excerpt to have on hand. I was right.

prashanth222000,

Great game! I'm surprised your rating isn't much higher.

OK. I'll wait. Thanks.

What is so terrible about this move that most opening books fail to give it more than the slightest reference? Richard Palliser's "Fighting the Anti-Sicilians" - an entire book dedicated to tricky, non-standard Sicilians, and the only thing he says about it is that it's misguided due to e6. 

However Houdini doesn't hate this move, and if you go through the variations, it gets slightly tricky at times (at least in blitz, where you're a lot more likely to see it), since black has to make sure white's bishop really is shut out while and end up making moves such as Be6 to support the d5 pawn. 

I realize that Bc4 is the first idea of people who don't have a clue about openings, however I can't help but feel it's not actually so bad, or at least I couldn't convincingly refute it.

When I used Rybka 4 to analyze this I let it run for a very long time, so long that the fans on my computer started making a heavy *whiiirrrrrrrr* noise. At first it preferred 2...e6 slightly to 2...Nc6 by a margin of 0.06th of a pawn, but eventually 2...Nc6 took the lead and it settled on that.

 In any case I prefer 2...Nc6 because they tell us we shouldn't make too many pawn moves in the opening. We've already played c5, and if we play an e6 and immediately go for d5, this is three pawn moves before developing a piece, and if we go 2...e6 without the intention of going 3...d5 immediately next then why is e6 necessary at the second move?

Most likely these lines with 2...e6 and 2...Nc6 will transpose anyway, but one other thing to consider is these 2.Bc4 people are used to seeing 2...e6, 2...Nc6 is played less, perhaps they will feel a little bit less comfortable when 2...Nc6 is played.

2.Nf3 d6 3.Bc4 I find harder to play against, there's this kind of delayed alapin that some people do. I haven't researched or analyzed this yet though.

I have yet to see a credible refutation to 1. e4 c5 2. Bc4. Sure, 2...e6 is "a threat" (Anderssen and Wyvill finished 1-2 at London 1851 [knockout])

Your variation is caused you not to be able to castle. An if you do castle your position is lost my friend

The variation I was showing was your only real chance for survival. In this line you are just at the mercy of the white player's. A rook and a queen dominating a file facing your king is never good or winning.

I know you may love this line but trust me their are better ways of playing Bc4 that will help you get the advantage.

As you can see in that diagram your in a very uncomfortable spot not being able to castle and having pawns ruined as well. You have to rememeber in chess not every player is an attacking white player they can also play positionally against you. They have pressure on you they can just sit their and develop their pieces and add more pressure on them he doesn't have to kill you with a killer checkmate blow your already techinically dieing positionally with ruin pawns and an exposed king. He can just sit their and put more pressure on you till you die. Which sounds bad but its true thats how positional players win they grind you down till you can't move or do anything like a python squeezing you to death.

Do you see What I am doing? What I am doing is attacking your weakness I see the square e7 as being weak.  I have my queen and rook attacking e7 I want to invade the 7th rank by ways of the e7 square. You are defending the e7 square with your king and your queen and than you play Nc6 to defend the e7 square. By me playing Ne5 What I have done is my knight on f3 was not contributing to the attack of the e7 square so by playing Ne5 my intention is to attack the defenders that are protecting the e7 square. I will take a piece that I am not using in the battle of the e7 square and trade it for a piece you are using to defend the e7 square. I will than play Bg5 hitting the knight on f6 indirectly attacking the e7 square.

Analyze it carefully bro. :)

I don't have to play 12.Qe2

I am winning now I'm up a pawn. All I have to do is consolidate my position and develop the rest of my army.