… 1. e4 c5 2. c3 Nc6 ...
"... d5 and nf6 do provide much stiffer resistance than any of black's other responses. ..." - staples13 (August 27, 2018)
https://www.chess.com/forum/view/chess-openings/a-bust-to-the-sicilian-defense?page=2
… Black can survive the Alapin only if white blunders, ...
“Both 2...Nf6 and 2...d5 are fine against the Alapin, and some players may also like 2...e6 or 2...g6.“ - IM pfren (September 4, 2018)
https://www.chess.com/forum/view/chess-openings/a-bust-to-the-sicilian-defense?page=6
'Black played fantastic...'
Really?
Black didn't play fantastic and you still have to provide a refutation to ....Nf6
I have the feeling that @staples13 never answers the critical questions, always say "white's position is much easier to play", "Black can only survive if white blunders" while not being even close to giving a refutation( I've never seen someone here just writing one move and 1-0 as a refutation) and providing a bunch of blitz games where your opponent played terrible.
Please stop continuing this topic. My headaches are getting more severe.
Question for all Sicilian players:
Lets suppose for a second the Sicilian Defense is not busted and black can hold even after 2. C3
Why are you all so bad at defending against it then? Why does it seem like one must be a master to defend it?
If you are master level please feel free to ignore the question.
Sicilians players are not so bad at defending against it. Your "if you are master level please feel free to ignore the question" is justified ; in master games, the percentage of drawn games, won games and lost games by both sides are almost equal. Consider that Magnus, who had a plentiful of 2600+ GMs that helped him prepare for his WC Match, does play the Sicilian. Do you think that he didn't think about 2.c3 ? of course he did.To me, that is sufficient proof that the Alapin does not refute the sicilian.
No apparent idea as to whether this was mentioned previously, but the Wing Gambit is a most intriguing method when it comes to defeating the Sicilian. If black accepts the pawns, then it is quite likely that white will be better off, albeit the response 3.b3 can put Anti-Sicilians off this gambit.
I’m a fan of the wing gambit. Admittedly 2. b4 is inaccurate because it gives black drawing chances, but it leads to a very fun game with a slightly superior position for white
Your opponent did not play fantastic. But nice job trying to refute the Sicilian. Peace?
Peace
nf6 e5 nd5 leads to a few drawish positions where both sides use there facters, white with his extra space while black with control of d5
Show how black can equalize please
“Both 2...Nf6 and 2...d5 are fine against the Alapin, and some players may also like 2...e6 or 2...g6.“ - IM pfren (September 4, 2018)
https://www.chess.com/forum/view/chess-openings/a-bust-to-the-sicilian-defense?page=6
What am I doing with my life, I just read this whole thread
I really was on the edge of my seat, wondering if this is a troll post or not but unfortunatly
"Admittedly I couldn’t figure out how to download stockfish so I had to guess as to what moves stockfish would have played, but I think I probably got it right"
gave it away
Btw, 7. ...dxe5 might be more challenging than Nb6. Stockfish initially thinks that 8.Bxd5 is a problem, but after some time realizes that the black queen sits comfortably on d6 after 8. ...Qxd5 Nc3. Although going for 7. ...Nb6 8. Bb3 dxe5 9. d5 Na5, where black might even hope for a sizeable advantage, at least with engine assistance, is propably the best try vs staples13
Black has a multitude of good moves in this line. For example:
13. Qd3 is smooshy (inaccurate). u shooda played Qc4.
What am I doing with my life, I just read this whole thread ...
...
In case anyone is wondering, the lexpk post is from September 9, 2018:
https://www.chess.com/forum/view/chess-openings/a-bust-to-the-sicilian-defense?page=7
13. Qd3 is smooshy (inaccurate). u shooda played Qc4.
What's the difference after (13.Qc4) Bd7 14.0-0 Be7?
At least a Queen at d3 may "threaten" something like Ne4 and d5-d6 after castling.
cuz they shooda been trying to go Nb5 (thematic) or ur Ne4. ur Q made a terrible passed pawn blocker. u lucky. ur shooda lost this.
Show how black can equalize please
You're actually the one that is supposed to provide the refutation.
cuz they shooda been trying to go Nb5 (thematic) or ur Ne4. ur Q made a terrible passed pawn blocker. u lucky. u shooda lost this.
Nb5 is not thematic, and a queen at d3 supports a knight at b5 too, genius.
The only difference is that the queen is more exposed at c4.
White really wants to play ether Nc3-e4, or f2-f4, and the Queen is better placed at d3 for both these operations.
13.Qe4!? provoking an early f7-f5 is certainly more interesting, but Black may not lose his sleep because of this. Either accepting with 13...f5 or developing with 13...Be7 are fine.
Here’s a 2 minute 1 second increment “bullet” game I just played. Black played fantastic and made almost no errors after 1. c5, but was still helpless to stop the Alapin onslaught