How to combat the Sicilian..?

i suggest including at least 1600, even 1800, then you'll be following the lines of higher rated players and be even better prepared. I always include 2000 rated in my theory even if I never face that high and can't limit my seeks to anything over my own rating plus.

anything over 2000 is irrelevant because players at that level might be embracing more advanced concepts that are over my head, just like trying to create theory using CRAZY stockfish. turn stockfish on to verify your theory, but you'll see, very often stockfish moves LOSE games because it sees stuff that humans can't. I've seen more than one line where a move that wins is a "5 point blunder" like the duras (a klingon!!!) gambit

if you want smith morra theory, hold on... i'll share pgn of my incomplete book to save you a bunch of time, but it's a transpositional maze!

there's 828 lines of theory here, and it's not even complete

Smith Morra Gambit Theory

the reason it's in one big file is so all of the transpositions are found. you can always edit the theory down into smaller chapters as i did for some lines, or filter out rarer line to get to the basics. imagine entering a line at chess tempo (where I create my trees) way down in the theory, hitting a transposition to the top, which starts with the most popular paulsen vaeriation, and having your screen jump up to THAT, then try to find your way back DOWN to where you just got yanked out of (oh i hate that!) and try to find your place again with 700 or so lines of theory in your way.

i can't complain though because i begged and begged and begged for a tree editor/book trainer for DECADES and got nowhere, so i'm happy to have THAT tool, though there's a bunch of things i'd do different starting with not spacing every line so far away from the next one.

hope THAT helps.

you really don't have to learn ALL of that theory to play smith morra though. once you get the basics, if you're an attacker, you'll find your opportunities. finishing the book and studying it one line at a time to improve my results is a low priority as i'm doing fine with it and playing my way where i hate the stonewall and scandinavian and want to get rid of those much more than perfect the smith morra.

if you follow the theory, at least just looking at every line, if not remembering them, you'll see all those juicy juicy traps that a booked up white player has like that knight sack line I can't remember that has serious poison after you take back with a pawn either checking the king, or discovering an attack on black's queen. i used to know that one from when i 1st learned smith morra and was beating 90% of opponents with just 50 lines of theory a decade ago.

black's better prepared these days, but white is ALWAYS one mis-step by black away from unleashing brutal punishment. that's where theory really helps... when you know all the traps.

at the 1500 level, you will likely crush opponents even harder than i do once you get the hang of it because even 1800s miss tactics, and the absolute HIGHEST rated game i ever played was when the smith morra I won made me an 1891!

the master games are from 2200-2800

i never said the smith morra was bad. personally i think that its a great weapon and really challenges black if he does not know what hes doing

also i cant understand why you keep rejecting the open sicilian, its so fun for both sides. it provides some of the most dynamic, interesting, sharp, fun positions in ALL OF CHESS. theres no "black hiding behind a solid pawn wall" like there is in the french and caro kann, theres no dry berlin endgame like there is agianst e5.

the open sicilian is so fun and interesting and is best for improvement, i dont understand why you would perfer to go for poor opening choices like the closed or alapin sicilian, where 95% of the time you just end up in a dry, dead position or equal endgame

as a person who has been 1900 rated here, we think on another level, we play differently then you, we know more and have done hundreds of more tactic trainers and puzzles than you

most people at that level play the open sicilian, Nc3 french, ruy lopez, mar del plata, etc..

you more you keep pushing back and avoiding these necessary openings at that level, the lower you will plummet down

you NEED to learn the best options against each opening, after that you need to understand why they are superior and what makes them better, then after that you will succeed

UGH! i just played some REALLY tense games, out of practice a couple weeks. i even blundered a castle attempt on my 1st game. OK... back up to 1667. *WHEW*

if you were asking ME why i "prefer the closed sicilian", I don't and wouldn't ever want to play it, but it DOES win more than it loses 1600-2000.

why would anyone want to play lines that perform worse?

you know what holds a person's ratings back?

LOSING!

you know what causes death?

DYING!

You're already playing the SM against the Sicilian, right @gik-tally? Might I recommend playing 2. Nf3 and simply transposing to the SM against 2... e6 and 2... Nc6 but playing 3. c3 against 2... d6?

I suggest you study the Najdorf.

most lines are c3 and d4

if you castle queenside, f3 with g2-g4 and h2-h4 are good ideas

not to mention but if you allow the najdorf/scheveningen you will have some of the most fun you have ever had in chess

Some use of the word "fun" I hadn't thought of before.

i used to be some weird 1100 who used the grand prix and alapin agianst the sicilian. eventually i wandered into how the open sicilian works and its very different. those brilliant sharp games you see tal, fischer, kasparov, hikaru, etc, are all typically from a sicilian. the sicilian is what makes chess exciting compared to some dull exchange french or some 3 knights QGD or the closed italian.

Name a more fun opening than the exchange nimzowitsch, I will wait

this is exactly what i want when i play 1.c5, but everyone always wants to go for some cheesy quick win with the closed sicilian or alapin. although i win more than i lose in the closed sicilian, it still gets boring.

I'm not sure what the "exchange Nimzowitsch" is.