Help against Bowler Attack!

I'm getting beat up against the Bowler Attack.  Anyone have a continuation for Black after 3.Bc4?  I've tried Nh6, but white trades bishop for knight.  Nf6 loses my knight to pawn or white bishop.  2...e5 gets me in even more trouble.

You need to clarify.  You said you're looking for a continuation after 3.Bc4, when the move order you posted was 2.Bc4, with no move #3.

If you meant after 3.Nf3, which I think is common, then 3...d5 is pretty strong.  If you meant after something else, let us know.  1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.Bc4 is fine for white.  Black can probably equalize with accurate play, but he's in for a struggle.  After 2...e6 though, 3.Bc4 is probably a mistake.

That's why 2.Bc4 isn't played at the master level much, if at all.

Oh, and after the sub-line you posted, 1.e4 c5 2.Bc4 g6 3.Qf3, then 3...e6 ought to pretty effectively squash white's hopes as well.  Your position after that isn't exactly super-active, but white's is completely useless, and you're in good shape to develop in peace.

2 ...Nc6 and play the accelerated dragon.

Your alternative line is also fine. i've played it many times and almost always won unless i have blundered. But from there i would probably try and transpose back into the acc dragon anyway.

looks to me like you win 60% of you games against it.  I found it very frustrating to play against when I first joined chess.com  and I even switched from primarily a Najdorf player to primarily a Kan player in part to deal with it.  I figured the only reason I play 2. ... d6 is because it is a big part of the Najdorf, but e6 seems to do fine and make just as much sense (to me).  I agree with your concerns about the black squares in the diagram where you play e6 and g6, so don't do that ;^)

Just objectively playing Bc4 that early isn't a good idea, so once you settle on an opening scheme that shows it as such (2 ... e6 does that pretty bluntly) and gets you into a middle game on good ground, you can't really blame the opening but your middle game skills.  for me, that's the KID.  I get killed in it even though I know enough about the opening to get into the middle game.  I have to get more comfortable with "those kinds" of middle games (or at least find out what those are).

(I'm editing this to add: the other reason I started playing the Kan is the vote chess game that WGM Pogonina played against chess.com where I feel like the variation she played is something I want to avoid.  I don't know if the Kan is a solution to being slowly strangled positionally, as it has its own ways for white to choke us to death, but for now I'm happy to play along in the Kan.  Since I was playing e6 to deal with the early Bc4, I figured let's go all in and look at the 2. ... e6 realm of the sicilian.  It is very different than the d6 one.)

bugger just made a big answer to this and clicked Video Tour instead of Submit - lost it all.  Anyway I have a defense against the bowler attack.  Challenge me to a game as white and I'll show you my Crown Defense opening.

you won't find me playing 1. e4. I ususally play h3, g3, Nf3, b3, or d4.

[Event "57th ch-RUS"]
[Site "Moscow RUS"]
[Date "2004.??.??"]
[Round "-"]
[White "Timofeev,Arty"]
[Black "Kasparov,G"]
[Result "0-1"]
[WhiteElo "2611"]
[BlackElo "2813"]
[TimeControl "?"]

{A lesson in how to beat the 3 Bc4 Sicilian.  Keep your head, play rational
moves; and don't  make rash moves trying to refute a sound opening} 1.
e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. Bc4 {A great way to avoid well trod lines of the Najdorf
and Dragon.  3 Bc4 is especially effective after 2 d6 because it involves
a loss time for Black to play ...e7-e6 and ...d5, then when the pawn is
on d7.  } Nf6 4. d3 {White wants to play a closed Sicilian with his bad
bishop outside the pawn chain.  4 e5 is interesting. } Nc6 {Kasparov realizes
White is playing a reverse English with a move in hand.  He realizes that
if it works as Black than it must be sound as White; therefore, he doesn't
go crazy trying to refute it.} 5. c3 g6 6. O-O Bg7 7. Bb3 O-O 8. Re1 b5
{Black seeks his counter-play on the queenside with typical English moves.}
9. a3 a5 10. h3 Nd7 {position is about equal.  Black ultimately wins the
game because he kept his head, played good chess and didn't try to overpower
White.} 11. Be3 a4 12. Bc2 Nb6 13. Nbd2 e5 14. b4 axb3  15. Bxb3 Bd7
16. Qc2 Ra6 17. Reb1 Qa8 18. Qc1 Na5 19. Ba2 Qc6 20. d4 c4 21. dxe5 dxe5
22. Bxb6 Rxb6 23. a4 bxa4 24. Rxb6 Qxb6 25. Nxc4 Nxc4 26. Bxc4 Qc5 27.
Qd1 Qxc4 28. Qxd7 Qxe4 29. Qxa4 Qd3 30. c4 e4 31. Rd1 Qe2 32. Nh2 Bc3 33.
Rf1 Bd4 34. Qc6 h5 35. Qd5 Qd3 36. g4 hxg4 37. hxg4 Kg7 38. Kg2 Rh8 39.
Qd6 Qh3+ 40. Kg1 Qd3 41. Kg2 Qh3+ 42. Kg1 Qc3  0-1

Thank you musicalhair.   Looks like the "e.p" after 14...axb3 confuses viewers and recorders so you might want to delete.  I have from post #8 so you should be able to cut and paste it to your viewer.

You may not know what the best square for the bishop is, but you do know if you are going to play a closed Sicilain (white plays d3 instead of d4) you want it outside the pawn chain.  Therefore you have to play the bishop before you play d3.  I agree that if Black plays 2...e6 then 3 Bc4 is not very good.  However if Black plays 2..d6 then 3 Bc4 is very good way of avoiding the Najdorf or Dragon.

The Bowler Attack, 1. e4 c5  2. Bc4, may possibly be the worst anti-sicilian white could try.  All black has to do is play against the bishop, and it should translate into a pretty comfortable advantage.

Also, correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought normally in the closed sicilian white wants to fianchetto his light-square bishop.

So what do you do against 2.Bc4? I face this several times a day on chess.com(i am playing black)

1.e4 c5

2.Bc4 ...?

Most Masters will tell you, the rule of thumb is, "knights before bishops".  Bc4 is not all that scary, and is actually not white's best move here.

 2. .. e6

Silman addressed this opening in one of his articles.

http://www.chess.com/article/view/teaching-chess-to-children-and-the-rasik-variation

e6 is always the answer!!

e6