Also Dierdre Skye look at the Kasparov Deep Blue game I posted.Kasparov was a lifelong Sicilian player. He knew more about the Sicilian than anyone who's ever lived, and he immediately reached a position straight out of the opening that is just completely lost for black by move 17. This was in the 1996 match when Kasparov was still much stronger than Deep Blue by the way, but he still got destroyed by the Alapin against an opponent much weaker than himself.
Just look at statistics from master games - it's roughly equal for white and black.
Just look at the statistics from my games. out of 581 games White wins 68 % black wins 26% and there is a draw 6%. That is a score of 71%. No other opening is capable of scoring 71%.
1...e5 is busted - I've scored 76% wins with the Vienna on chess.com. Similarly the Pirc loses to the 5.a3 Austrian (80%), and the French loses to Tarrasch's 3.Nd2 (71%).
According to the Opening Explorer you have played the Alapin in 581 games on this site. Of those 581 games, only 67 of them have followed the "accepted" main lines with 2...d5 or 2...Nf6. None of the games you have posted (with the exception of the Deep Blue-Kasparov game, which wasn't your own) have followed either of the main lines. I'm all for debating openings, but I think you should back up your claim with more reasons why 2...d5 or 2...Nf6 might fail for Black. Statistically your scores against 2...d5 (+57-38=5) and 2...Nf6 (+48-41=11) are much more normal as well.
Excellent point Wiahwib. Yes d5 and nf6 do provide much stiffer resistance than any of black's other responses. I, however, believe black is still lost even after these moves. I will post an analysis shortly.
Just look at statistics from master games - it's roughly equal for white and black.
Just look at the statistics from my games. out of 581 games White wins 68 % black wins 26% and there is a draw 6%. That is a score of 71%. No other opening is capable of scoring 71%.
1...e5 is busted - I've scored 76% wins with the Vienna on chess.com. Similarly the Pirc loses to the 5.a3 Austrian (80%), and the French loses to Tarrasch's 3.Nd2 (71%).
Do you have a sample size of 581 for each of these openings?
Just look at statistics from master games - it's roughly equal for white and black.
Just look at the statistics from my games. out of 581 games White wins 68 % black wins 26% and there is a draw 6%. That is a score of 71%. No other opening is capable of scoring 71%.
1...e5 is busted - I've scored 76% wins with the Vienna on chess.com. Similarly the Pirc loses to the 5.a3 Austrian (80%), and the French loses to Tarrasch's 3.Nd2 (71%).
Do you have a sample size of 581 for each of these openings?
Not yet, admittedly. Only 250+ for 1...e5 and 1...e6. However, it turns out that things are much more simple than this: Black is simply dead after 1.g3!! (I've scored 73.5% from 615 games). We don't even need to enter any of this complicated 1.e4 stuff.
How is Black losing?
(I know this is a troll post though)
I'm disappointed in you BobbyPhisher. You think I would spend two hours looking up then annotating and thoroughly analyzing an opening solely as a troll post? Nonsense. This is a legitimate opinion. I fail to see black's compensation for the lack of development or center control that results from the Alapin.
I realize this is a controversial opinion since the Sicilian is so respected and beloved, but that doesn't make my analysis inherently wrong. 100 years ago no one thought there was anything smaller than an atom, but that doesn't make that true either. Questioning long held beliefs in the pursuit of truth is a necessary endeavor, and that's what we're doing here.
Unfortunately I don’t have time for further analysis right now. I will address the line you mentioned in a few hours BobbyPhisher.
A friend of mine has 8 wins , 3 draws and only one defeat(an amazing 79%) with 1.a3 in OTB.
So why play 1.e4 and give Black the chance to escape(what if he doesn't play the mistake 1...c5?) when with 1.a3 he is busted.
I dont understand how c5 is bad. 1 e4 c5 2 c3 d5 3 exd5 Qxd5 4 d4 g6
and only 5 Na3 or Be2 have equal winning%. Everything else favors black by big margins.
Looks like 1 e4 barely holds and probably loses....see below.
Just look at statistics from master games - it's roughly equal for white and black.
Just look at the statistics from my games. out of 581 games White wins 68 % black wins 26% and there is a draw 6%. That is a score of 71%. No other opening is capable of scoring 71%.
I am glad you have your personal success with Alapin but statistics of some 1600 player is meaningless for claims you make in first line of your post #1.
"... The only drawback to the 2.c3 system is that with correct play Black can draw the game. ..." - GM Evgeny Sveshnikov (2010)
A friend of mine has 8 wins , 3 draws and only one defeat(an amazing 79%) with 1.a3 in OTB.
I used to play 1. Nc3 in rated OTB tournaments. My winning percentage was over 75% with it. I even won a few tournament games with the line:
I was playing 1. Nc3 the year I won the Atlantic Championship, for example.
I wanna post one more game in your support
A 1677 just debunked the sicilian yay!
The sicialian is busted? Are you high bro? The sicialian have the best stats for black against 1.e4
The response to the sicilian that literally anyone ever tried... 2.c3! How clever is this guy? With this move black is CLREARLY lost
Since some individuals have wanted a more in-depth analysis of the responses 2. d5 and 2. Nf6 I will address both,starting with d5.
After 2. d5 the game normally proceeds 3. exd5 Qxd5 4. d4. Black now has two options. He can take the pawn on d5, which, as UzayAltay correctly noted earlier, is something black wants to avoid since it creates a dynamic IQP position, and wins white a developing tempo with Nc3 chasing the queen. White's lead in development typically proves to be the decisive factor in such a sharp position.
Here's another 3 minute no increment blitz game showing black cracking under the constant pressure from white's pieces.
Clearly black can not take on d4. No instead, black must develop his pieces. The problem is that black has no good way of holding on to the pawn. If the natural Nc6 is played white simply takes on c5 and black can either recapture with his queen and be behind in development as white wins a tempo attacking the queen with Be3, or he can sacrifice the pawn and not allow white to castle with Qxd1. Both simply lose. In the Qxd1 line there is insufficient compensation for the loss of the pawn, and in the Qxc5 line the center has been blown wide open. So the most important factor becomes who can develop faster, which is of course white because his bishops have been freed by the trading of white's center pawns, and because his pieces can win tempos chasing black's misplaced queen and exposed king.
Here is a master level game to demonstrate that concept.
No instead black's only logical option to try and protect the pawn on c4 with something like Nf6. Unfortunately this also loses as black eventually runs out of ways to to protect the pawn on c5. All white has to do is simply develop and continue to ratchet up the pressure on c5, and, as Kasparov learned in the game against Deep Blue shown in the original post, eventually white will play Be3, at which point black has no choice but to take on d4. As I already demonstrated earlier, and as Deep Blue demonstrated to Kasparov once black takes on d4 white's superior development, spatial advantage, and piece activity in the ensuing extremely sharp IQP game ultimately wins the game.
c4 is more explosive than c3.
c4 accomplishes nothing though