Antidote to sicilian

So, I am e4 player and i can't find good opening against the sicilian defence. I tried morra gambit- no good results, i thought about rossolimo/moscow, but 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 and that's it:), open sicilian is out of the question, too much theory, ruy lopez is enough for me.

What could u suggest then? Maybe grand prix with 2.Nf3 and 3.f4? Should white in this line be at least equal?(of course i dont expect big advantage if black is prepared) What do u think maybe u could make up sth else:)

2.c3 is fine. Doesn't give an advantage in the deep theoretical lines, but who cares, you don't play them anyway. It does lead to comprehensible positions with enough possibilities. I've played the Sicilian for ten years or so, and this is what I have the worst score against.

something like this? I love the c3 combination. I don't know the official lines, maybe knight before premature (?) d4

Just play the Open Sicilian and learn! I had the same problem as you, but eventually just gave it a go and now i enjoy playing the Sicilian especially as white. There's no need to learn all the lines to perfection, the point is that you get the idea of the opening: what's blacks intention in the Sicilian in general and what are white's options. Once you get that, it's just using you tactics and basic chess capabilities to try and get in a good position.

Hint: check some GM games to see the possibilities you have as white. You'll see that white isn't doomed to play a lost game but has exciting oppurtunities. Maybe check some Youtube vids as well, i'm sure there are some that are about Sicilian openings. Enjoy!

thx for your suggestions, i am thinking about alapin now.

Dutchie22: i like playing open sicilian too, but when i am black:) my choice is accelerated dragon. I tried to do what u said, but even ideas in different variations are so various, that it would be very time consuming. I will do this when i will be better, now i am only about 1500 on playchess with 50%+ratio, so better choice would be sth more practical i suppose, maybe i am wrong though.

    The winningest opening for white is d4.  And the Sicilian is the reason.  It wins a lot of games against e4.   The win/lose  percentage  between e4  and the Sicilian is damn  close to being 50/50 .     So its an unavoidable dog fight.    So,  sorry,  there is no antidote.  By the way,  I do play the Sicilian.  

Amen to that!  Thats why the d5 opening gives white the edge

I'm not certain that's true -- according to the game explorer, e4 and d4 are pretty much equal in terms of win percentages for white, but d4 draws more often:

http://www.chess.com/explorer/

This would seem to give the edge to e4.  Fischer, after all, called e4 "Best by test".  I presume this is the reason.

I like playing against the Dragon as white with the Yugoslav Attack.  Makes for great sharp games and I've had a lot of success with it.

One thing I've never fully understood. though, is how the Accelerated Dragon is supposed to prevent the complications that arise from the Yugoslav Attack -- the games in which my opponents have played the Accelerated Dragon have really never played out all that differently than the conventional version.  I suspect it's a result of my opponents' not capitalizing on the prophylactic line, but I can't really say because I don't know what that is.

Can anyone enlighten me?

I love the sicilian. If you don't enjoy playing against it, I suggest finding a new opening repetoire. Try the King's Indian, it's one of my favourite attacks as white, and my favourite defense against d4.

I say don't give up on the Smith-Morra Gambit so easily. It does take a little study to learn the key ideas, but once you get used to it, it's a lot of fun and scores well by getting opponents out of their game. Maybe post some of your games here where you didn't do well with it, and myself and others can give you advice on how you could have played it better. That's always a good way to learn, anyway.

--Fromper

Smith Morra Gambit. Once i found that i've used it ever since. I'm tryin now to learn to play straight up against the sicilian because it is very interesting and tactical to play against but you have to know what you are doing. If you like gambits then Smith Morra will help.

I think e4 is probably the best.

What are the moves for berlin wall i've never seen it

I have a few. I always play 2. nf3. if 2...d6, then be2 and some lesser known trappy lines I like to play. If 2nf6, I usually play the smith-morra. It took me a while before I got results in the smith morra, but you need to make use of your main asset which is grabbing open c-file with your rook, and of course know the queen winning traps in that line if you opponent plays into them. I never play the sicilian as black, id rather play a kings pawn game (don't worry I don't play boring giuoco piano stuff) so yeah I'm with you i never play the straight out open sicilian (with all those dragons and najdorfs). Maybe you would like a straight out closed sicilian with Bb5.

The gambit is 1. e4 c5 2. d4 cxd4 3. c3. If black accepts the gambit with 3. ... dxc3, then 4. Nxc3. White then usually plays Bc4, Nf3, O-O, Qe2, and Rd1 and gets a strong attack up the semi-open d-file, or possibly on the open c-file.

I'm not really sure what lines wetpaste is talking about. There's one trap that wins the black queen, but I've never had an opponent walk into it. I suspect I'm just playing stronger opponents.

As I said, the SMG requires some knowledge to play correctly. I had a hard time with it at first, but I've been doing much better now that I'm more familiar with it. The key is knowing how to use your advantages even when your opponents don't walk into the cheap traps, but also make sure you know the cheap traps, just in case they come up.

Well, your main problem seems to be dealing against 2...e6, because you can just play the Rossolimo/Moscow against Nc6 and d6, respectively, and those openings are fine for white and don't have so much theory. Against 2...e6, you could simply play 3.Nc3 and transpose into a Rossolimo/Moscow if Black responds with Nc6/d6, which he usually does. If Black plays another move, for example g6 or a6, you could try a King's Indian Attack hybrid with g3, if you like a little hypermodernism, but this is quite complicated.

I don't really like the Alapin, because I personally think the immediate 2...d5 3.exd5 Qxd5 (if 3.e5 it'll just transpose to an Advance French where black can release his bishop before playing ...e6) doesn't promise White any advantage at all. After white plays d4 (the only try for a large center, which was the intention of 2.c3) and pawns are exchanged, he has a weak isolated pawn, though it's also a space gainer. Also, black can play 2...Nf6 3.e5 (virtually forced) Nd5 which is a variation of Alekhine's Defence that's more favourable for black than usually.

Perhaps you could try the Wing Gambit (2.b4) if you're into gambits. I think it's better than its reputation, especially at the club level. Many opponents are not familiar with it.

By the way, Bastiaan, the first line you give is an Alapin, but Black doesn't play 2...Nc6 in that opening. The second line you give is simply an inferior open Sicilian where white places his pawn on d3 instead of trading it off at d4, which is often done by amateurs who don't know the Sicilian. White has few prospects to ever conquer the center or launch a kingside attack, while Black will simply develop with a6/b5/Bb7, gain space in the center with an eventual e6/d5 and expand on the queenside.

Oh, and the Berlin Wall is played against the Ruy Lopez, not the Sicilian...

I thought so. I wasn't sure about it but i knew the wall had something to do with Ruy Lopez... 

 1.e4 c5 2.c3 d5 3.exd5 Qxd5 4.d4 (the Alapin mainline)

Salaskan> After white plays d4 (the only try for a large center, which was the intention of 2.c3) and pawns are exchanged, he has a weak isolated pawn, though it's also a space gainer.

Black hasn't managed to exchange the pawns yet, and as soon as he does White not only gains space but also time with Nc3 (attacking the queen). The battle lines are drawn--White will use his temporary space and time advantages to launch an attack before his weakness (the isolani) does him in. An interesting battle.

Statistics: +35%, =36%, -29%

I agree, c3 is the best second move for white (maybe not objectively but it's given me the best results). :)