I haven't seen this before. Here are some ideas perhaps: 1/a5 attacking the queen or knight if it moves there. 2/Facilitates a Ra3 and transfer to king side.
Having said that I would probably play a developing move such as 0-0 or Nc3 or d3 etc
Sicilian,Canal-Sokolsky
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Dec 17, 2016
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#3
After Nd7 the a4 move is a lot better than it would have been after Nc6 because it makes it very problematic for Black to put his knight on b6.
I don't think it's a weak move. It gives Black certain development problems.
I don't think it's a weak move. It gives Black certain development problems.
The other point is that ... a6 is met by a4-a5.
I score very well with the Canal-Sokolsky, albeit in rapid games, mainly because my opponents have had absolutely nothing against it, and have generally made a sequence of concessions, like this, for example: Black plays ... a6, allows a4-a5, plays ... b6, weakens a6, and eventually drops the a6-pawn.
Hi, I'm trying to understand move a4 in this position.
computer says it it is not bad, but I don't see any benefits except defending b5 and potencially support for knight. It seems to me that a4 is weak move. Can someone offer a better explanation?