Is this a named Sicilian variation? What is your opinion of it?

Is this a named Sicilian variation? What is your opinion of it?

I'm sure it's not, and my opinion is that it's simply a waste of time.

exacly

Would you mind explaining why it is a waste of time? I'm trying to learn more about the Sicilians so if you would explain why 5... h6 is a bad move I would be very grateful

May I ask why?

Well put simply it achieves almost nothing, pretty much just passing on a move.

It doesn't further the advance of black's counterattack.  It loosens black's kingside and king safety.  It accelerates white's kingside attack.  It does nothing for the center.  ...g5 is not a real threat, so all this does is stop white from playing Bg5.  There are much higher priorities for black at this stage.  The Sicilian opening is a race against time and this move is too slow.

At least, this is my lowly B-player pov.

TheKhaotic, what's the plan supposed to be?

I don't really have a plan ^^, I was played some games with the Najdorf and got annoyed by Bg5, so I thought "Why not stop Bg5 the same way Bb5 and Nb5 are stopped in the Najdorf?" I didn't think more than that

OK, well a6 is a very rare case where playing a Rook's pawn out one in the opening is actually a Merited and necessary option in a lot of lines. The same can't be said for h6 however. And also with a6 Black isn't wasting time either in preventing invasion onto b5, because in many middlegame positions an a6, b5 minority attack is a common plan for Black anyway. So in summary don't play passive moves just to prevent a variation which you don't like!

HAHAHAHAHA!!!! What a lemon of a move! I wonder what genius came up with that thing?!

daniel3 you are pretty stupid. He probably ment a6 wich is played in a lot of cases.

I'm not stupid at all. 5...a6 would be a Najdorf which is a highly respected move. 5...h6? is a stupid move that deserves more than a lemon label. If he meant a6, why didn't he say it?

I'm not stupid for saying that 5...h6 is a dumb move; it is.

most players at levels under expert poop pants once someone moves outside theory. a move like this, while being rather harmless does wonders to move outside of "theory". some grandmasters have played 2.Na6 against the sicilian. now that is completely dumb move, but it gets out of thoery.

TheKhaotic, I think your question, was a valid one, that deserved an answer. I can't believe how many elitist's there are on this site, who will call someone stupid, or make fun of them for asking a question. Which makes a lot of sense to me, because the ones who talk down to people are usually rated under 1500. If a GM played this move, I am pretty sure he put some thought into it. So an amatuer trying this out doesn't really seem stupid, or a terrible move at all to me. Everyone is smarter than everyone else on the internet I guess, it's kind of sad.

 Way to show off your egotistical nature!  This guy is trying to learn here and learn more about the Sicilian.  The last thing he needs is for people to make fun of him.

Anyways, h6 can be played as a deviation in the Najdorf, but I don't think it fits very well in this position.  White may not be intending to play Bg5 anyways, and this can lose a tempo.  Typically, Black shouldn't move his kingside pawns out in the Sicilian because it gives White a target to generate his attack.  I like the fact that you are thinking of new Sicilian variations.  Soon, you'll become proficient at the Sicilian.  h6 is not a lemon, but it doesn't do a whole lot for your overall position

 Agreed.

If the last move was g6 instead of h6 it would have been the "Sicilian Defence - Dragon Variation".  I don't know anything about g6 or h6 but hope to investigate this variation in the future.  Hope this helps.  Regards.  Dean