Good counterattack lines in the 2... e6 Sicilian that don't require huge theory?

What is a good, single line for Black in the 2... e6 lines of the Sicilian that do not require knowing a huge amount of theory or memorized lines? I typically play the Taimanov Variation or the French Variation but I want some lines that mix it up better. Any ideas?

i know its not exactly what you asked, but do consider the o'kelly sicilian 2.a6. The main way of playing the sicilian with 3.d4 is actually suboptimal vs the O'kelly thanks to early e5 and if 3.c3 you can play 3...e6.

The Kan Sicilian has light amounts of theory.

Compare to the Tamiov or Paulsen.

Actually, I don’t know.

The Hedgehog/Macrozy Bind positions can be very Theoretical.

Honestly, it’s the Sicilian.

Everything is complicated and theoretical in the Sicilian

That’s the whole point of the Sicilian.

Change Openings perhaps.

Even the Anti-Sicilian lines have theory now.

Its pretty disgusting and marvelous at same time.

Thanks guys. I think I'll check out the O'Kelly for sure. Is there a make difference between the Kan and Taimanov Variation? I'm trying to keep away from lines that allow the Keres Attack and are good against the Gran Prix Sicilian

There's not very much after 1. e4 that isn't theoretical. But if you can manage to get out of theory for the opponent, while still having a good enough position... maybe you can get away with not knowing theory. French sicilians are probably what I'd recommend on this front, and are already going to be out of book for opponents in your range, though. If you're bored... maybe try learning the Four Knights.

I usually play the Kan (1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 a6) but have also looked at White's 6. Be3/7. Be2 variation in the Taimanov. The Taimanov and Kan play very differently from each other from what I can tell.
Even with the Kan, white has about 5-6 'main' moves and black can respond in two ways in a few of them with the game going quite differently in each case. Like with all open Sicilians, the Kan can get to very wild positions with no standard/thematic ways to play.

I use to play the Kan Sicilian because I thought the Theory wasn’t as heavy vs. other Sicilian.

And the Kan Sicilian does great vs. Bc4 players.

The only problem with the Kan is you might face Macrozy Bind players who play pawn to c4.

The line I used against it was Hedgehog which is tons of fun, but it can be crazy Theoretical.

I was sort of lucky when I was low level because no one played pawn to c4 against me.

They didn’t start doing it till I was 1600 or so.

But I don’t know if times have changed or not

A lot of people have told me chess has gotten harder vs. past 2 decades.

In terms of piece placement, in the Bowlder games is b7 the best square for the light squared Bishop or are there times when going to d7 is better? This is assuming that White does not okay an early Qe2+ in which I almost reflexively play Bd6 as the block.

"French Variation"?

What is this (other than a misnomer)?

It's what this site calls the version of the Sicilian where Black adopts the pawn structure in the French Defense. I've seen it in older books called the Franco-Sicilian Variation.

I like the French Sicilian because I run in a lot of anti-Sicilians such as the Bowdler, Alapin and Grand Prix where black equalizes early with a d5 thrust which also simplifies the game.

The Taimanov-Scheveningen, 4..., Nc6 5Nc3, d6 is interesting and a good way to learn a lot about chess, since the Scheveningen structure is fundamental to understanding the Sicilian, but without the Keres Attack to worry about. I especially like a "modern Scheveningen" approach, without an early ..., a6.

@StevieG65 are there any videos or lines in the explorer that highlight these variations?

It really depends on the set up you play as Black.

Most times in the normal lines the LSB goes on b7.

BUT you could try to get a Classical or Najdorf formation and the Bishop could go d7.

Just depends on how you play it

Excellent. I'm going to have to bone up on this because I almost play the Sicilian as Black all the time and I'd like to get better at it.

wow there are really good informations

5. Bd3 in the Sicilian Kan is probably now the more difficult move to face over the Marcrozy Bind.

The simplest way to play the sicilian is probably the 4 knights. There is a complicated tactical line but the theory there isn't so much compared to other sicilians. Also, I find it rare that opponents go for the complicated tactical line anyway. More often white goes for the positional line. If you know the theory black can equalize fairly easily. The problem is if you are looking to win with it. It's the sort of thing where although it is easy to play for black, it is also easy to play for white.

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On the other hand I have found the 4 knights to be a good stepping stone to other lines of the sicilian. After playing the 4 knights for a while I felt the need for more complicated play, so I switched to the Sveshnikov. In the 4 knights in most of the sidelines what black is doing is putting a bishop on b4 and pushing a pawn to d5. There are similar ideas in the sidelines of the sveshnikov, so playing the 4 knights for a while can be useful even if you end up playing something else later on.

Excellent ideas guys. Thanks