LouStule wrote:
...t does anyone know the line where black tries to go for a queenside castle?.
Here's a game of mine against Robert Hamilton, who later peaked at 2349 FIDE (that's a genuine FIDE rating, not online).
Is the Sicilian meant for chess experts only?
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SmyslovFan wrote:
Optimissed wrote:
I castle Q side if I already have the better position but am already being attacked on the K-side. I don't think black has a natural Q side advantage in the Open Sicilian and c5 is more to prevent white getting the better centre. But as black, the way I see it is that I'm prepared to sacrifice my Q-side in order to generate attacking opportunities in the centre and against white's K, wherever it happens to be.
Please, post examples of your successful Q-side castling.
I did one about 100 games ago and won but I doubt I could find it. The conditions I described were in place.
Btw, Taimanov and other Sicilian specialists have discussed Black’s Q-side advantage in the Sicilian both on general terms and in specific variations. Gligoric and especially Shereshevsky analysed Black’s natural q-side advantages in the endgame in the Sicilian.
It depends what you mean by natural queenside advantage and as I pointed out, I don't think they exist at all. The conditions for a minority attack by black may be in place but white has more room to maneouvre in the early stages of a Sicilian and if white chooses to play positionally, very often white gains a significant queenside advantage if black is not careful. I think either those GMs are wrong or perhaps your interpretation of what they were doing is mistaken. Black has the better centre in the Sicilian. Not the better Q-side.
In the Sicilian, the Q-side is the Sahara. Black is Rommel and White is Montgomery.
bluemu's game also fulfills the position I was describing. I wouldn't hesitate to 0-0-0 there. Black looks more solid than white but only after 0-0-0. Leaving the K in the centre doesn't look like an option. Black has too much to calculate regarding sacrifices.
Oct 13, 2022
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#1066
The game I posted above (#1077) is an actual line, by the way. White was the first to leave book territory.
oh ok.
Oct 13, 2022
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#1068
There are times against the Keres Attack, and against the English attack when …0-0-0 is called for, but those are rare.
Congratulations to @biueemu for his great win!
Oct 13, 2022
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#1069
Chessflyfisher wrote:
Yes. And I heard that from a Master. He said that a lot of people play it because it is supposed to be what you play when you are going for an outright win. According to him, many guys playing Black end up losing because they just don`t comprehend the complexity of this defense.
I've had really good results with it at the club level. If you know a few variations, you can usually throw off a 1...e4 player, in my experience they are not quite sure what to do and are soon trying to "get you out of book", all the while you keep developing quietly.
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Oct 13, 2022
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#1070
Optimissed wrote:
I castle Q side if I already have the better position but am already being attacked on the K-side. I don't think black has a natural Q side advantage in the Open Sicilian and c5 is more to prevent white getting the better centre. But as black, the way I see it is that I'm prepared to sacrifice my Q-side in order to generate attacking opportunities in the centre and against white's K, wherever it happens to be.
Thank you. (Please note the early a6 in the above game 
)
Oct 13, 2022
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#1071
blueemu wrote:
LouStule wrote:
...t does anyone know the line where black tries to go for a queenside castle?.
Here's a game of mine against Robert Hamilton, who later peaked at 2349 FIDE (that's a genuine FIDE rating, not online).
Nice! And thanks for the ongoing tips and advice from you and Opptimssed.
Oct 13, 2022
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#1072
At anything below maybe 1800 or so opening theory probably won't decide your games.
I played the sicilian quite a lot a few months back and I got good results without ever learning much theory - just setup my pawns on e6 and d6 and controlled the c-file.
LouStule wrote:
Optimissed wrote:
I castle Q side if I already have the better position but am already being attacked on the K-side. I don't think black has a natural Q side advantage in the Open Sicilian and c5 is more to prevent white getting the better centre. But as black, the way I see it is that I'm prepared to sacrifice my Q-side in order to generate attacking opportunities in the centre and against white's K, wherever it happens to be.
Thank you. (Please note the early a6 in the above game )
You're welcome but I'm not half playing badly atm. Just lost 200 off my rapid rating which wasn't very high to start with. I console myself in the knowledge that I had off-days otb and was perfectly capable of losing a streak of 10 games to not very great players. But it didn't affect my slowplay in the same way. I would say at slowplay, the Sicilian isn't the best opening for weaker players. It really is complex and difficult because there are so many varieties and the play isn't direct and straightforward for black. It usually involves a lot of fiddling around. Something like the Caro-Kann follows more recognisable pathways. I play that when I've lost too many Sicilians and it often works. But I would never risk a Caro in an important game or against a much stronger player.
Oct 13, 2022
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#1074
es para todos los niveles pero en blancas trato de evitarla jejeje
Nov 1, 2022
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#1075
I'm having continued success with the early a6. At my level, it seems to flummox people more than the Scillian itself.
When they play moves like 4. Ne5, you'd expect to win but all the same, you're right. A lot of people don't like it and don't know what to do. Then they get it wrong and black gets a massive attack on white's centre.
Dec 26, 2022
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#1077
A flawless Sicilian defense by "Not an Expert". Sorry to all my haters (and thanks again to those who suggested an early a6) but I just had to post this one. According to the post review, not a single inaccuracy or mistake and only ONE book move! Proving once again, the Sicilian is not just for experts only.
Dec 26, 2022
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#1078
At my level I fact the Sicilian a lot and my opponents are intermediate players like me
LouStule wrote:
A flawless Sicilian defense by "Not an Expert". Sorry to all my haters (and thanks again to those who suggested an early a6) but I just had to post this one. According to the post review, not a single inaccuracy or mistake and only ONE book move! Proving once again, the Sicilian is not just for experts only.
It's still a little on the slow side. You could try playing e6 earlier and delaying moves like d6 and Nc6. My entire strategy is to play d5 but it can be quicker or slower. Sometimes I have to play d7 d6 but you probably shouldn't play it unless you have to.
I only play c5 vs e4 and I'm super happy to see e4 every game it comes up and I'm not an expert my win with e4 c5 is better than any other first two moves with black by a lot. I find it way more easy to play than vs d4 lines. I started as a French player so I play the e6 version to the point I force c5 e6 vs almost any opening but d4 since they can push d5.