I would suggest that if you are a beginner it is better to start with symmetrical openings ie. 1.e4 e5 or 1.d4 d5 because there is less imbalance and it is easier to understand what is going on. But sure, Sicilian is good like most openings if you know what you need to be doing. Probably best to start with Classical Sicilian, Najdorf is perhaps most complicated, Taimanov/Kan are quite logical, so is Dragon. It is basically a matter of taste which one you prefer. Look up some youtube videos on the common plans and pick one to try out for a bit. But most important is to learn the plans, what weaknesses you must watch out for, how to get active play. Don't try to just learn a sequence of moves because when your opponent plays something unexpected (which they will because they will also be beginners/relatively weak) you need to work out why it is not the usual move and how best to respond.
Sicilian Defense variation
@Strangemover thank you. That was quite helpful.
But i seem to struggle a lot middlegame. For some reason i cant seem to do helpful trades - the enemy's knights and bishops are always protected by pawns. Do you know any good way to initiate better fights to clear the field?
I'm new to chess and I don't know what to do as black. I heard that the sicilian defense is good against the common e4, bit I don't know wich variation is the best for a beginning player.
Youre getting ahead of yourself with worrying about openings.
Opening Principles:
1. Control the center squares – d4-e4-d5-e5
2. Develop your minor pieces toward the center – piece activity is the key
3. Castle
4. Connect your rooks
Tactics...tactics...tactics...
Pre-Move Checklist:
1. Make sure all your pieces are safe.
2. Look for forcing move: Checks, captures, threats. You want to look at ALL forcing moves (even the bad ones) this will force you look at and see the entire board.
3. If there are no forcing moves, you then want to remove any of your opponent’s pieces from your side of the board.
4. If your opponent doesn’t have any of his pieces on your side of the board, then you want to improve the position of your least active piece.
5. After each move by your opponent, ask yourself: "What is my opponent trying to do?"
Around 2010, IM John Watson wrote, "... For players with very limited experience, ... the Sicilian Defence ... normally leaves you with little room to manoeuvre and is best left until your positional skills develop. ... I'm still not excited about my students playing the Sicilian Defence at [the stage where they have a moderate level of experience and some opening competence], because it almost always means playing with less space and development, and in some cases with exotic and not particularly instructive pawn-structures. ... if you're taking the Sicilian up at [say, 1700 Elo and above], you should put in a lot of serious study time, as well as commit to playing it for a few years. ..."
"... For beginning players, [Discovering Chess Openings] will offer an opportunity to start out on the right foot and really get a feel for what is happening on the board. ..." - FM Carsten Hansen (2006)
https://web.archive.org/web/20140627114655/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/hansen91.pdf
Possibly of interest:
First Steps: 1 e4 e5
https://www.newinchess.com/media/wysiwyg/product_pdf/7790.pdf
Openings for Amateurs by Pete Tamburro (2014)
http://kenilworthian.blogspot.com/2014/05/review-of-pete-tamburros-openings-for.html
https://chessbookreviews.wordpress.com/tag/openings-for-amateurs/
https://www.mongoosepress.com/excerpts/OpeningsForAmateurs%20sample.pdf
@Strangemover thank you. That was quite helpful.
But i seem to struggle a lot middlegame. For some reason i cant seem to do helpful trades - the enemy's knights and bishops are always protected by pawns. Do you know any good way to initiate better fights to clear the field?
No problem. Your question here is about planning. When the opening stage of the game moves to the middlegame stage (usually when the pieces are developed and you have castled) you must try to make a plan of some sort. There are certain plans which follow from certain openings but in general look at all your pieces, assess which are doing something useful and which are not. Can you move the pieces which aren't really doing anything to a square which is better? What is your opponent trying to do? Do you need to take measures to stop their plan? This is not easy and is basically analysing in your head (or on an analysis board in daily chess) the consequences of each potential move by both yourself and your opponent. IMBacon's patented checklist is very useful for a beginner level player. The first stage of improving is to get to a point where you do not lose material for nothing and do not miss major threats against you. When you reach this point you can then look at certain openings in more detail. Some openings give you a middlegame where the plan is reasonably clear for both players, others give a more complicated picture.
I'm new to chess and I don't know what to do as black. I heard that the sicilian defense is good against the common e4, bit I don't know wich variation is the best for a beginning player.