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Sicilian variations ranked by aggressiveness.

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Cali_boy613
So, I wanted to get the opinion of the forums on how they view the level of aggressiveness of each Sicilian variation (najdorf, dragon, taimonav etc.).
Yigor

1. e4 c5 2. Qh5!! is the uncontested champion of the agressive Sicilian!! grin.png

Cali_boy613
Yigor wrote:

1. e4 c5 2. Qh5!! is the uncontested champion of the agressive Sicilian!!

Didn't exactly mean from whites side, 

Yigor

For black that should be 2...Qa5!! grin.png

poucin

Svechnikov and Cobra variations are very agressive.

kindaspongey

Possibly helpful:

Starting Out: The Sicilian, 2nd Edition by John Emms (2009)

https://web.archive.org/web/20140627122350/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/hansen123.pdf

Mal_Smith

To my eyes:

Kan (2...e6, 4...a6) maintains total flexibility, but as yet puts no pressure on the centre, so White can develop as he pleases. So it doesn't appear initially aggressive, but play down the main line and Black can aggressively attack the central pawn and pieces with Q etc, if White plays the common Bc4.

https://www.365chess.com/opening.php?ms=e4.c5.Nf3.e6.d4.cxd4.Nxd4.a6.Bc4.Nf6.Nc3.Qc7

Is this why Bc3 is generally recommended? I'm never sure where to put that bishop!

So the answer to the OP is probably "it depends", I guess...

Kan:

 

Yigor
pfren wrote:

Should agressiveness be measured in kilograms, or meters?

 

LoL Let's say, by definition, that the k-agressiveness of a position is measured by the number of checks in k moves that U can make.  grin.png Example (Wayward Queen Attack):

 

 

The 1-agressiveness of this position for white is equal to 2 cuz U can make 2 checks:  3. Qxe5+ and 3. Qxf7+. wink.png

Mal_Smith

But you can make aggressive moves that aren't checks, e.g., threaten a pawn. Can you have one scale of aggressiveness? 

P.S. None of that Frenchified spelling please, it's "aggressive" with 2gs. Check out:

https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/spelling/common-misspellings

 

TalSpin

I second the Kan for its flexibility. It's not aggressive per se, but it can be utilized by an aggressive or sharp player very well. The Sveshnikov, as mentioned, is probably the single most aggressive Sicilian line, though very theoretical and very, very sharp. One wrong move in the first dozen or so could easily lead to disaster.

Yigor

My notion of k-aggressiveness might be useful for evaluations of 3-check chess games. grin.png

 

P.S. Thanks for correcting my misspelling.

Yigor

 2. Bb5, Bowdler attack 2. Bc4, 2. Qf3, Amazon attack 2. Qh4 and 2. Qh5 are the most aggressive white's moves of 1-aggressiveness = 1. wink.png

 

 

Rat1960
pfren wrote:

Should agressiveness be measured in kilograms, or meters?

It should be measured in pints of beer. Or in your case shots of Ouzo.

Mal_Smith

What is White's most aggressive line, after the obvious response defuses the Bishop's aggression? Then, what about (off database...) Nh3 aiming for 1-aggressiveness via Ng5?  

Yigor

Mal_Smith: All that is great for 3-check chess variant. U can try it in Live Chess here. wink.png

xman720

White is already setting up nasty threats in that position. If black blindly develops with Nc6 he has to meat Qxf7 Kxf7 then Bxe6 check and the king is on f7 with only one health left. Nf3 forces the king to retreat back to e8. Possible, Nh3 is the best move after Nc6.

ThrillerFan
pfren wrote:

Should agressiveness be measured in kilograms, or meters?

 

Grams per cubic centimeter!

Mal_Smith
Yigor wrote:

Mal_Smith: All that is great for 3-check chess variant....

Had to look that up: