Easy to play, intuitive counter to the sicilian?

The Morra is very decent. It's a dangerous gambit that has no refutation. I know of at least two expert level players that use it as their weapon against the Sicilian, not to mention Esserman. 

While I can't speak to every serious black try against the Morra, I can say that Shankland's prep results in an endgame that is very slightly better for black (even material, black has bishop pair, development is nothing special for either side) with best play from white, so it's not like white is lost if black knows what they're doing.

Which brings us to the second part. The Morra melts people in practical play. Black has to be very careful to meet all the threats. Even when black gets objectively good positions, the game is still hazardous with a single instance of bad defense resulting in a lost position. 

Is it a recommendation for a titled player trying to push for the next level? Of course not. Is it a practical weapon for club players? Yes.

As for the closed Sicilian, I considered including it. Probably should have. 

I've tried every anti-Sicilian, and dabbled in Open Sicilians, but I've come back to the Closed. The basic idea is pretty simple, fianchetto the light-squared bishop, castle kingside, throw the pawns forward in front of your king. Obviously it doesn't always work out like that, but I've found the games are usually fun and I no longer shudder when I see 1...c5.

The Closed Sicilian is a great option; personally I've played it until expert level, and it worked okay for me.

I think the Grand Prix Attack is a pretty solid option as well, relatively clear plans and where to put all your pieces. 

But honestly, the Alapin is a very fine choice as well; it would be helpful to understand what exactly it is you don't like about the Alapin.

2.Nf3 / 3.d4 is the correct way for white to play, but it's a lot of work!

The Morra Gambit must be the least practical Anti-Sicilian of them all. Black has the choice of declining (e.g. 3...Nf6) which transposes to the Alapin, or accepting. If black accepts, then there is a lot of theory, just like the Open Sicilians, but black needs to know only one variation whereas white needs to be ready for them all. Of course if black doesn't know what they are doing then white can win quickly with the Morra, but the same is true of the Open Sicilians.

The Closed Sicilian is the opposite of the Morra. Black has several ways to equalize, but that only shifts the battle to the middlegame. In positional openings like the Closed Sicilian, cumulative experience pays off in the long run. If black doesn't know what they are doing they only get in a little bit of trouble (in the Morra they get into big trouble!). But if white has seen it before then this casual play can still lead to good winning chances.

The Alapin and Grand Prix are sort of midway between the Morra and the Closed in terms of risk and reward. There are some other respectable Anti-Sicilians not mentioned so far:

• 2.d3 Big Clamp
• 2.Nf3 / 3.d3 or 3.g3 King's Indian Attack
• 2.Nf3 / 3.Bb5(+) Rossolimo(Moscow)
• 2.Nc3 / 3.Nge2 Chameleon
• 2.Nc3 / 3.Nf3 (or 2.Nf3 / 3.Nc3) a no-name chameleon

Maybe the Rossolimo is too popular to consider?!

I play the Rossolimo..

vs e6 Franco-Sicilian I kingside fianchetto and pray

vs. d6 I trade the bishops (moscow) or if Nd7 go for Maroczy Bind (c4 e4 structure, normally requires some Qe2 to guard the 2nd rank as well as e4)... and pray, of course

vs g6 and dragon stuff I pretend to play something like the Alapin (g6 >> c3!) 

if they panic too early from my Bb5 and kick it out (a6) before I have time to develop I just take the knight Bxc6 doubling their pawns then play e5 h3 and normally d3... 

finally some tricky players transpose from the Moscow to the Rossolimo (after Bb5 they go Nc6) and then I like doing the same as the last one (take on c6, e5, h3).

OK this might not be "easy" but hey Sicilian is the best opening for Black and I prefer this Rossolimo thing where both you and your opponent kindof get mixed up and just play a game rather than the flashy stuff (Grand Prix, Smith Morra) which actually require alot of study or main line stuff which I can always assume they will out-book me in... 

I hate the closed... unless you are an endgame wizzard then the closed is good I guess.

I did not realize that the KIA was a valid response to the Sicilian. (I suppose I should have. KIA is supposed to be good against everything but the Scandinavian.) I’d like to investigate that. Aside from the chess brah (Aman Hambleton) youtube series on the KIA, are there any particularly good resources for study? And are there any plans and ideas which specifically apply to KIA vs sicilian (as opposed to more generally)?

I'm not brave enough to "investigate" tbh! but go for it..

I "know" it works against the 2. e6 Sicilian. Check database.

And I also saw Eric Hansen beat Nepo (!) in a double fianchetto setup, so sometimes if the game flows in that direction it's surprising and cool... but don't look to "crush", it's more like... surprise the Sicilian player, hope they lash out as a respone, and if they don't pray you are more familiar with this type of middle game... 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I2YaOtGfyHk

Good good

The wing gambit is not good if black knows how to combat it. Like many not so good gambits it can lead to crushing positions if black is clueless.

The McDonnell attack is a worse move order Grand Prix that gives black extra options. 

I have played the Rossolimo/ Moscow and 3.g3/3.b3 against 2...e6 many times, but IMO the Alapin is simpler, and easier to understand for class players.

Chessable has a free course (Short and Sweet: Alapin Sicilian). While I do not like some of the variation choices, it's a very good course to get familiar with the opening.

Always enjoy your input. But I am wondering.. Because the Alapin is pretty much the most popular choice for 1200-2200 online... don't you think it's also the most familiar and easy to prep against for Sicilian players?

Every time I try it I get hammered (even though there are some similarities with some Rossolimo lines that involve c3).

So do you suggest to stick with the Rossolimo or invest in learning the Alapin? 

My reasoning to stick with the Rossolimo so far is that at the end of the day it dosen't really matter which opening you play so I stick to what I "know"... and by "know" I actually mean don't know, of course

i have never read a book on the closed sicilian and have done completely fine with it.

The Rossolimo loses by force at the 30 sec bullet you are mainly playing: The move Bf1-b5 is way too long...       

I've won against the Sicilian every time playing the McDonnell 🤷

I actually play mainly 15+10 and 30+20 on lichess... Also 10+5... 

and yeah I fiddle with 30 sec bullet for random fun and it's clearly not chess... in which I play 1. h4 or 1.a4 exclusively... This way I avoid playing 3+0 but still get the meaningless dopamine fix  

But sure if I am not worthy of your serious reply that's actually fair enough.

No sarcasm  

I'm not sure if anyone has said it yet, but I play the Smith morra gambit religiously. Very sharp and usually a lot of fun. Perfect play is a loser, but 1600 play its perfectly reasonable.

If you want to get really wild, you can try the Kopec System: 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. Bd3. The idea is to follow up with c3, Bc2, and d4. It might not be easy to play or intuitive -- nothing in chess is -- but it takes the game far outside of what most Sicilian players are expecting. There's probably analysis showing that Black easily equalizes, but players below master level will not be familiar with it.