Sicilian Anxiety

I seem to have some psychological hang up against the black side of the Sicilian defense.   I don't mind open games.  As white I started playing e4, and will venture the scotch game against e5 and nc6.  As black I play Indian systems and sometimes Chigorin's defense against d4.  But something happens to my brain when I am playing against 1 e4 as black.  I reach for that c pawn. . . and move it to c6.  Seriously.  Caro-Kahn.  If I am really, really fired up I might go for the petroff.  I don't really get it. 

Maybe I just feel unprepared.  There is such a staggering volume of theory around the Sicilian, most of which I dont know, that I guess I am afraid I will just get blown off the board.  I have always read that the Sicilian is a very double edged opening, and that if mishandled you can get crushed.  Is there such a thing as a "positional" approach for the black side of the Sicilian?  Alternativly, can anyone suggest a book as a introduction to the Sicilian as black?   

some lines are more positional than others. the ..e6 lines like the Kan might be a good starting place.

and yeah, when youre starting out with the sicilian youre bound to get crushed. I switched from the h.a. dragon to the najdorf and I am getting pounded. lost my first game on this account with a botched naj

White always gets to decide if things are going to be sharp or positional. Sicilian is a tough beast to master, but if you insist: Get a "starting out" book on the sicilian line you want to play (to get the strategy and ideas) and looking over many, many master games in the line.

Dragon, Shevenigen and classical are all good choices where tactics and structure repeat.

So play the Caro-Kann...whats wrong with that?

People have this burning desire to play the Sicilian, just because it "scores better." Unless you are a GM, it doesn't. Try the Caro-Kann, or the French, or play 1. e5 or something.

Quite frankly, I think most white players are more prepared to meet the Sicilian than any other black opening.

Then most beat their brains in trying to find a way to progress against the Caro-Kann. Absolutely nothing wrong with it, as rookandladder is correct: most players learn to fight against the Sicilian better than they learn to fight against anything else. Heck, the first thing I learned to beat up was the Sicilian Najdorf!

Since you need the courage to puch up that c pawn 1 more square, I suggest the first Sicilian you try out is the Sicilian Accelerated Dragon or the Hyperaccelerated which often transposes and avoids the Rossolimo anti-Sicilian. The Accl. Dragon is also less sharp than other Sicilians and more positional. This doesn't mean its devoid of tactics though.Here is a trap your opponents might fall into:

The Accl.Dragon is one of the best Sicilians to start out with imo. It is very solid and people may tell you how bad black is in the grueling Maroczy Bind, which you likely won't even face until you are higher rated. In reality, the Maroczy is nothing to fear though if you know the ideas and/or lines for black.

I still continue to use this opening and have been for around 1 year now and have just recently started taking a deeper look into the (real) Dragon and Najdorf.

In my opinion, the Sicilian is one of the most double-edged choices for Black.
It is designed for counterplay and to maximize winning chances for the 2nd player.
But on the flip side, White's attacking chances are also considerably enhanced.

I do not believe the Sicilian is a good idea for an inexperienced player.
The reason is simple: if he does not fully and completely understand the positives of the opening (how to maximize Black's attack), then all he will be left with are the negatives (being attacked ruthlessly).
The result will be that he is swept off the board very quickly.

Quite frankly, I think most white players are more prepared to meet the Sicilian than any other black opening.

I completely agree.
There are so many Sicilian Black players now that most White players focus their opening studies on how to defeat it.
Personally, I have never played the Sicilian as Black.
But I have studied it as much as any other opening out there.
And my scores against it have historically been very successful because of this.

I suggest the first Sicilian you try out is the Sicilian Accelerated Dragon or the Hyperaccelerated

I find this to be a bad idea.
One of the only openings more double edged than the standard Sicilian is the Accelerated Dragon version of the Sicilian .
If a player's knowledge of the Sici is not enough to keep him competitive in the standard lines, then he will get swept off the board even faster when playing the Dragon.
This is a complex opening best left to the thoroughly trained.

Having said all that...
The best way to get training and practice in an opening is to try it out.
So I encourage you to play through a bunch of blitz games to get the feel for the Sicilian.
You have nothing to lose.
Blitz games are purely for practice, and the rating points that come and go are not relevant.

But I would recommend holding off on using the defence in any tournament game until you have thoroughly researched it.

Good luck.

--CM

Hey baronspam,

I noticed that you live in Gresham.
I am over in Beaverton.
We should play some games sometime

--cm

 There is all ages chess at the Gresham Library every Sunday.  I take my daughter most weekends.  (Although we wont be there because of the holiday weekend this week.)  If you are on our side of town drop in, we are trying to get more people to show up.

Another good reason to choose the accelerated dragon is that many 1.e4 players don't really understand the difference between an accelerated dragon, and a normal dragon.   I've seen it alot.  Here comes the Yugoslav setup...the move order used against the normal dragon...oops!  Then white ends up losing a pawn or some other calamity occurs.