Sicilian Rossolimo

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shovingwood

In the Sicilian I always aim for the Sveshnikov, but often have to encounter the Rossolimo, which I often find difficult to play against. I'm often stuck for choice between 3..e6 (which has a better success rate) and 3..g6 (which is more popular, especially at the highest level). What would you regard as the best books that deal with this variation? Any relevant games and comments welcome!Smile

BigTy

Play 3...Nf6! It is a good way to unbalance the position and play for a win. Plus, it is more move order friendly, for example: 1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 Nc6 3.Nf3 Nf6 will lead to the same thing after 4.Bb5, or to the Svesh after 4.d4, whereas 3...g6 would be awkward because white could then play 4.d4 and get you into an accelerated dragon instead.

In "The Easiest Sicilian" there is extensive coverage of this line. The authors reccomend the less known, but still good, 4...g6 after white plays 4.Nc3, so often the positions will become similar to those that occur after 3...g6. Palliser covers 3...Nf6 fairly well and from a more objective point of view in his book "The Bb5 Sicilian", but he focuses much more on the common 4...Qc7 which is also quite good, but probably a bit more drawish. Either way I think these lines are the best choice for Sveshnikov players because they are often sharp, and there are basically no move order problems.

KRONOS3000