A Practical Alternative vs the Alapin & Smith-Morra

Hi guys,

I am not playing the Sicilian so much these days, but thought I'd share something I "discovered" while I was experimenting with the Sicilian Four-Knights.

(In fact, this line is not new, and upon researching it seems it appears in at least one book - therefore, I can't claim to have invented this line, but I am sharing it because I have found practical value in it in my own games.)

This idea is to play the move 2...g6. 

Why not the main lines?
I am not a big fan practically of the main defences for Black against the Alapin Sicilian. I think I can play them to a decent level, but they seem to me to be generally nicer for White to play, and they always entail a certain level of theory, for which the Sicilian is already renowned:
1) 2...d5

2) 2...Nf6

What are the benefits of 2...g6? 

First, let me display the first few moves of this opening idea: 

So, why is this good? 

1) You cut down dramatically on theory 
Not only is this a less theoretical line, it also works against the Smith-Morra, though it must be said that Smith-Morra players will have a tendency to play more sacrificial lines, so these must be learned as well. 

2) You are likely to be more prepared than your opponent.
In main line Alapins, White is going to be in his comfort zone, having mostly prepared for 2...d5 and 2...Nf6. The diligent White player will have spared a thought for the sidelines, like 2... g6, but it is not pragmatic for your opponent to prepare deeply for these lines. (there are some cases, like serious tournaments, where your opponent may have the advantage of preparing for you) 

So, instead of fighting on your opponent's terms, the battle is now taking place in an area where you have more knowledge. 

3) There are many ways White can go wrong. 
While this is not going to be an opening where you are likely to win quickly out of the opening, it is easy for White to find themselves in a position where they are the ones on the back-foot, without making obvious mistakes. 

I have played this twice OTB and a few more times online, before I switched back to playing 1...e5, and most of my opponents (rated 1500 - 1600 FIDE) have not had much success out of the opening. 

Okay enough chatter, what are the important lines?
There are a few lines I consider most instructive and crucial to know - I will display them here. That being said, I find this system quite intuitive and I think it can be played at a decent level with just a superficial glance at some of the basic themes.

1. 5. e5
a) White tries to play a French: 5. e5 Nc6 6. Nf3

b) White tries to play a French a little bit better: 5. e5 Nc6 6. h3

c)  White's best try: 5. e5 Nc6 6. Bb5

d) An alternative against 5. e5: 5...a6!?

2. 5. exd5

a) White tries to hold onto the pawn: 5...Nf6 6. Bc4 

b) White tries to refute the opening: 5... Nf6 6. Bb5+ 

3. 4. Nf3/4.Bc4

a) Full Morra: 4. Nf3 Bg7 5. Bc4 dxc3

b) Full Morra - An Alternative: 4. Nf3 Bg7 5. Bc4 e6

A selection of master games, for your interest (there are some transpositions from other openings - don't mind these) 

White plays 5.e5:

Black plays 5... a6!?

5. exd5 

White goes full Morra: 

Taking the pawn 

Playing ...e6

I think this is an option to at least consider if you enjoy playing the Sicilian as Black, but you're having trouble against sidelines like the Alapin. 

Would be interested in your thoughts!

All the best, 

~Jack

I played an OTB rapid game that led me to discover another try White can make:

I appreciate the high effort post but I really disagree with a lot of things here. I think the Alapin is easier for Black to play. in the 2... Nf6 line you should investigate 6... Nb6 or 6... Be6. White's center is shaky and Black is fine. You don't play the Sicilian to cut down on theory, you play it to embrace theory in order to get an advantage and not the opposite. Also all decent Morra gambiteers will have to know the Alapin. Your 2... g6 can transpose to the HyperAccelerated Dragon so it would make more sense to play it as your main defense... if everyone played 2... g6 against me I would always play the Alapin, that's for sure. Number 2 also makes no sense, Alapin players will be prepared for this line because it exists. Also I'm a Sicilian player and the 2... Nf6 Alapin is MY BATTLEGROUND! White can't claim otherwise because It's a line I've studied and its part of my repertoire. Enough said. Also at a beginner level White almost never plays the critical 2... Nf6 so you CAN be more prepared than White in a main-line, that's for sure. If I would play the Alapin against a beginner I would be more surprised to see 2... d5 or 2... Nf6 than some other nonsense. Continues...

in every opening you can win quickly if you know the theory really well. Chess doesn't limit to openings so it wouldn't make much appeal for me to: "win out of the opening", If my opponent loses so early against such a bad line I'm sure I can beat him in the middle-game and endgame as well and it's not like White doesn't risk anything in the 2... Nf6 line, many beginners think you can pretty much premove d4, Nf3 and Bc4 when Black will be out of book but that's really not the case if you play me

I remember when I was 2000 paired against a 2350 FM kid (who might have a higher title than that today) and he played the g6 Alapin as black. I knew to play e5 and Bb5 and use the various dark-squared weaknesses and I achieved a crushing position. I later completed blew it and almost lost but for a long time that was my highest draw. I also played a similar game against a ~2000ish friend and just blew him off the board. The point is, anecdotally anyway, I don’t agree that it’s just easier to play black or that black will know things better than white. Based on what? Are we assuming white doesn’t know anything and black does? I knew minimal theory and achieved near-winning positions in the e5 lines. Now that I think about it, I think I had exactly the position you mentioned after Nbd2 at the end.

With all that said though, *any* reasonably sound repertoire that is well-researched and that you’ve got experience in can get the job done. If you choose to specialize in this and work hard at learning the ideas, it can work for you as a pet system like any other opening would. I just suspect white achieves a slight advantage in this line and I’m not sure that’s true after 2…Nf6 for instance.

It's an old conundrum: play obscure (and often not very good stuff) to get your opponents out of their comfort zone OR play the best stuff that has been proven through grandmaster play and struggle on in known lines. 

You may win more with the first approach, but the second approach will teach you more about chess in general than this or that gimmick opening. Win more/learn more? It's a tough choice.

I do absolutely agree that 2... Nf6 is perfectly playable. It is probably my second favourite defence, and if I ever find a critical issue with 2... g6 I will invest some more time in learning it. 

I can respect your strong feelings about the 2... Nf6 line - we all have our pets  
At my level I've found White usually know what they're doing well into the middlegame. 

I assume you're referring to 7... Be6 or 7... Nb6? Yes I am aware these are more popular, but I just don't like them - not saying Black doesn't have a point but they don't appeal to me. E.g.  

As for 7... Be6, I have been on the receiving end of some real dunkings...

RE: theory, I don't think every Sicilian player loves to study not only many Open Sicilian lines, but also Rossolimo theory, Alapin theory, Smith Morra theory, as well as looking at some way to deal with Wing Gambit and 2. a3 stuff. 

For some, typical Alapin theory is appealing, and that's cool, but at the same time I think there are certainly people who struggle with these positions and are looking for something fresh, so this is a suggestion for said people.  

Thanks for your reply. 

All I can speak from is personal experience as a player who has been making my way through the 1900s - 2000s, and has gotten the opportunity to test this opening a few times OTB. Personally, I find players with the White pieces often struggle to find the right ideas, and that my pieces all have pretty natural development. 

Your anecdotal evidence says otherwise - I don't find Bb5 is an intuitive idea for many players, but this is why I am starting to consider that perhaps 5... a6 is a consideration which deserves more attention. 

I'd be interested in seeing the game if you have it on hand or in a database somewhere  

Isn’t 7. Bc4 dxe5 known to be pretty equal these days? I always thought if you want a pretty clean equalizer vs the Alapin that’s the place to look but it’s been a while since I studied the theory. 

I prefer to both win and learn  

Part of the good thing about "gimmick" (by which, of course you mean, less theoretical ) openings is you are more likely to be able to use your superior knowledge of chess sooner than your opponent. 

I do agree there is value in studying main lines - but I also think there is value in having options like these, for example in a must win, or when one wishes to focus one's chess attention on something other than the opening.

Thanks for your response! 

Huh, yeah, you may be right. The positions seem pretty safe, if a little bloodless. I definitely prefer this move to the others I've seen. Thanks for the heads up!

sorry I messed up my move-order, I personally like first 7... dxe5 8. dxe5 and now Be6

Ah yes that makes sense. Of course this is very solid - black has no clear active play from what I can see in these lines, but develops pieces easily, for which there is a lot to be said 

@ the Rusche vs. Scharrer game you have posted, White enjoys a clear advantage after 13.Re1 f6 14.Qb3, or even 13.Qb3 directly.

Actually, i am quite fond playing these lines as Black, a tempo down! (1.c4 e5 2.g3 c6).

You may also notice that Paco Vallejo was totally lost in that Smith- Morra. Of course this means nothing, as all casual chess dot com or lichess dot com fast time control games  are of very limited value. The Smith- Morra with ...g6 is actually fine for black (equal) if he returns the pawn with 9...d6! (instead of Paco's overly optimistic 9...Nf5?!).

Do you really study the games before attaching them, or you pick them randomly from a database?

Oh... and the argument about the best move in the line 1.e4 c5 2. c3 Nf6 3.e5 Nd5 4.d4 (I think 4.Nf3 is more accurate, but anyway...) cxd4 5.cxd4 Nc6 6.Nf3 d6 7.Bc4 between 7...Nb6 or 7...Be6 is not very relevant, as the imple 7...dxe5! 8.Nxe5 e6 is Carlsen-approved, and absolutely satisfactory for Black.

1) after Qb3, ...Rd8 seems alright, if slightly passive. Qb3 is a delicate idea to find though, and I still think the middlegame following f6 is instructive.

2) RE: Vallejo Pons game, yes, the Knight on d6 is not attractive but I found it interesting that black won anyway. (which of course has nothing to do with him being the higher rated player by 300 points ) To be honest I wanted an alternative to the perfectly decent 9... D6, but perhaps it is the way to go. 

Also you are incorrect about the game selection being from online games by default. I took these from the lichess 'master database'. Not all are from otb play, but most are.

3) 7...dxe5 does seem the best move to me as well but 8.dxe5 is the more common response surely? 

Yeah as I mentioned above I have never found a convincing thing after 7…dxe5 and it makes me fee better that pfren hasn’t either. Although it’s just a chess game. 4. Nf3 sometimes you can play without d4 also

8. dxe5 Ndb4 is the thing btw

This is a funny looking line - not too wild but somewhat amusing: