A question about the Sicilian Defence

Hello, I am a beginner of about elo 1750 strength, and I have encountered a perticular line in the sicilian that i need your help with. To begin with, as White, I play the Richter-Rauzer against the Classical, English /Yugoslav attack type formations (Be3,f3,Qd2,000,g4 etc.) against pretty much everything else. Now here's the line:

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cd 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 Bd7!? and now a)6.Be3 Ng4!? b)6.f3 Qb6!? c)6.Bc4 Qb6!?

Two observations: 1.Bd7 is a very natural move that features in many lines of the classical sicilian, scheveningen, and the dragon. 2. Although I have played and enjoyed the "classical" setup (Be3, Be2, 00, f4 etc) against many sicilians, this is not what I intend to do here. So 1.What's my best move order to reach either a Richter- or Yugoslav- type position? 2.To meet 6...Qb6, is there any way to sacrifice the b-pawn to have some initiative in the centre?

Any thoughts, comments, questions, and suggestions are greatly appreaciated.

Thanks in advance!

Oh, another thought: I am not particularly worried about black playing ...e5 at some point in near future, as i think i can handle the Boleslavsky type positions arising afterwards, and Black's Pieces are not very well placed there.

Uh, help, anyone?!

Awesome idea, neoindian.

Best thing I've seen on the forums in a while.

5...Bd7 is a neat waiting move.

It combines aspects of the Najdorf and Classical.

Everything about the position calls for 6 Be3.

You were correct to anticipate 6...Ng4.

7 Bg5 h6 8 Bh4 g5 9 Bg3 Bg7 10 Be2 h5 11 Bxg4

Awesome.

5...Bd7 has a name: the Kupreichik variation.

It mostly transposes to Classical Rauzers- whether it's more, or less flexible than the regular move order, is open to debate.

I've seen 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cd 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 Nc6 6.Bc4 Qb6 7.Nb3 before but does Black want to put the bishop on d7 there?

The "big" idea is transposing to a Richter-Rauzer attack, where white is committed to f3 rather than f4.

However, using the classical move order, Black is doing rather well in the f4 variations- and 5...Bd7 is supposed to discourage f2-f4 (won't disclose any details here, they are rather too technical), but allows white a few other interesting possibilities.

IMO the Kupreichik is fully playable, but I do not think it's any better than the classical.

Many thanks for the responses, guys. Be back in a sec...

Please don't leave me hanging here! After 10.Be2 h5,

a)11.Bxg4 Bxg4 12.f3 Bd7 13.Bf2 Nc6,

b)11.Nf5 Bxc3+ 12.bxc3 Nf6 or even Bxf5 is unplayable. Arrrgh!

c)11.h4 Nc6 12.Nxc6 bxc6 13.hxg5 Rb8 14.Qc1 Qa5

This is why I am not too confident about 6.Be3. Any other ideas, please?

TitanCG, after 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cd 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 Nc6, I play 6.Bg5, not the Sozin 6.Bg4, and definitely not the Velimirovic! All are playable, of course, bur they bring their own set of problems that I'd rather not deal with (Out Of Repertoire, you see). Just for example, in the Sozin, Black gets very interested in exchanging my LSB, and there isn't much I can do about it!

My problem is 5....Bd7!?, after which my 6.Bg5 will look rather silly. In fact, ALL my sixth moves have some funny issues, which isn't what you'd expect from the innocuous 5...Bd7. Please see my first post.

Thanks for the helpful posts, pfren. I am mostly play in friendly club games and online correspondence chess, but I really want to learn and improve. I don't have a chess coach, I rely mostly on my favourite game collections (Fischer, Kasparov, Anand) and online resources. If you could suggest any sources where I could read up on this particular variation, I'd be very greatful.

Another thing: I know an improving beginner shouldn't be too obsessed with Opening Theory. But learning on my own, the first thing I learned was not to drop pieces, and then pawns in the opening, the hard way. I also improved in technique, mostly by defending inferior middlegames and endgames constantly, which I was getting right out of the opening. This is how I learned what to want, what to play for, and what to avoid. I have a habit of always playing against opponents sronger than myself, and I feel I need to improve in ALL aspects of the games to get ahead. Being good at tactics and  technique is necessary, but not sufficient when you're outplayed into a middlegame you have no concrete idea about.

Again, thanks for all your help, guys, and any further inputs are appreciated.

What on earth is 13 Bf2?

Go 13 Qd2 and 0-0-0.

neoindian,

You have inspired me to take up this line.

I don't know if this was sarcasm or not, but.....LOL :)

I have come up with a temporary remidy to the Qb6 problem, which I think is calmer:

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cd 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 Bd7!? 6.Bg5 and now ...if Qb6; 7.Nb3 (I didn't want to play this move...) Nc6 8.Qd2, and now my Bishop is ready to come back with tempo where he has nothing better than Qc7 or d8. Of course, black doesn't have to play 6...Qb6, he can go 6...h6 or 6.....e6 or even ...g6 for all i know. I don't know quite what is this I'm playing,but it seems Okay for white. Nevertheless, the objective of landing me in completely unfamiliar teritorry has been achieved!

On another note, a system with an early Bd7 and b5-b4 is what Vishy Anand liked to play as black against the Fischer-Sozin in the Najdorf, so 6.Bc4 e6 and then ...Nc6, ...Rb8, ...b5-b4 may not be too rosy for white either.

Aaargh! I still don't know what to do against it!

Are you autistic? 6 Be3.

@ ghostofmaroczy: "Are you autistic?" I don't know if this is polite way of saying "Are you retarded?" If it is, take your "help" elsewhere. After 6.Be3 I was having a few troubles with 6...Ng4. Read the Darned response before posting.

Take your troubles elsewhere.  

yeah, like you own this thread, right? So it gives you the right to insult others ? Keep your idiotic comments to yourself, and don't waste everyone's time. There are a lot of people who actually come here to discuss, share ideas, and help.