I like 3...Nf6 (4.d4 exd4 5.e5 Nd5) against the Ponziani. Black has a very good game, and the whole line can also be used against the Goring gambit.
The c3 sicilian
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Glaucon333 wrote:
Why is the c3 sicilian considered to be a semi-respectable anti-sicilian, played by Sveshkinov and Hess, among others, while the Ponziani is considered to be a terrible opening? >>>
The difference is that in the Sicilian, black has not occupied the centre but bases his game on preventing white obtaining a full centre. With the c3 Sicilian, white attempts to do so. After e4-e5, black's e-pawn is undefended so white's strongest response is to pressurise it.
Mar 27, 2019
0
#24
bong711 wrote:
The 2. c3 or Alapin Sicilian is used by GMs, IMs and.NMs to draw against higher rated players. And crush equal and lower rated players. A must learn variation by Sicilian players.no
Mar 27, 2019
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#25
DevilishApples123 wrote:
bong711 wrote:
The 2. c3 or Alapin Sicilian is used by GMs, IMs and.NMs to draw against higher rated players. And crush equal and lower rated players. A must learn variation by Sicilian players.no
actually the c3 sicilian is not used to draw. I play it and beat people way higher rated than me like 2000's so it must be better than that. no game is drawn out of the opening, that would be ludicrous.
My Kingbase-2017 database has 544 master level games with the Ponziani from years 2000-2017.
Mar 29, 2019
0
#27
I recently lost a against a c3 Sicilian OTB. I had decided to play the main black antidote. I had drawn against the same player with a different variation but decided I needed to jump into the deep end. One variation that could have occurred is shown in this position:
Perhaps you may wish to look at this position for a minute or two before reading past the
filler. It is white to move.
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Fritz 11 give this as very marginal 0.12 in white's favour.
On checking the 365chess general database:
White plays Re1 in 121 games. BLACK scores 48.8%/38%/13.2%
White plays h3 in 94 games. BLACK scores 62.8%/27.7%/9.5%
and others where white isn't doing so well.
I just like black's deployment. At a slight space disadvantage he has swapped off a couple of knights as per "Simple Chess" rules. What my defeat told me is that black's main aim has to be to make sure the pawn on e5 doesn't remain there
DevilishApples123 wrote:
bong711 wrote:
The 2. c3 or Alapin Sicilian is used by GMs, IMs and.NMs to draw against higher rated players. And crush equal and lower rated players. A must learn variation by Sicilian players.no>>
Crush equal or lower-rated players? That is completely illogical, since the fact that they use c3 to draw with stronger players than they are indicates that the c3 Sicilian is more balanced than the Open Sicilian. Hence, it will also be more drawish against equal and lower-rated players.
Ziggy_Zugzwang wrote:
I recently lost a against a c3 Sicilian OTB. I had decided to play the main black antidote.
im a little curious what is the main antidote? how did you end up in that position? was it 1.e4 c5 2.c3 d5?
That position must have arisen via 2. ...Nf6. I would play Re1 there. The position isn't easy for either side and I much prefer 2. ...d5 for black.
Mar 31, 2019
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#31
2...e6 is also pretty good, though it allows a transposition to the Advance French
Yes, so I wouldn't play it as black!¬ 
I quite like Advance French for white. Very slightly bigger edge than in the ....Nf6 variation, although I like ....d5.
Mar 31, 2019
0
#33
I like the French so I wouldn't mind playing this, especially as if white avoids the transposition the positions seem similar to the French Tarrasch with 3...c5. However, it's probably reasonable that people who are playing the Sicilian stick to the Sicilian, as there's already a ton of Anti-Sicilian and Open Sicilian theory to contend with
Mar 31, 2019
0
#34
BusyNight wrote:
Ziggy_Zugzwang wrote:
I recently lost a against a c3 Sicilian OTB. I had decided to play the main black antidote.
im a little curious what is the main antidote? how did you end up in that position? was it 1.e4 c5 2.c3 d5?
I'll give the full game. Not my finest achievement... It show how the e5 pawn can create a wedge. The white diagonal to the black king becomes exposed... I decide to accept a weakness to eliminate this, then lose h7 and then collapse. White players of the c3 Sicilian may feel smug, yet after checking the possibilities along the way, I'm confident of not getting crushed so quickly in this line in the near future::
(I'm sorry I've been struggling for ten minutes to load the game. No doubt the problem is because of "improvements".)
But yes, it was 2...Nf6
lol its ok. 2...Nf6 is a good move. i play c3 sicilian myself
<<<<staples13 wrote:
DeirdreSkye wrote:
Challenge some good(over 2000) players and then post the games and we can talk. In your level it doesn't matter what you play as long as you don't blunder something.
I've destroyed many many players rated 1900-2000 using the Alapin. These experts fail to equalize against the Alapin just like the beginning players . Look at game #2 in my original post. He is rated 1928, but his position is completely lost by move 10.
Here's another 3 minute no increment blitz game against a very strong player. Notice how easy and natural white's development is while black struggles to find any good developing moves. Black's problem stems from his very first move which accomplished nothing.
Yes weak players struggle against the Alapin, but strong players struggle against it to because with best play in my opinion black loses to the Alapin.
A 3 Minute Game. If you did the same thing in in rapid 45|45 your ass would get kicked.>>>>
This is a c3 Sicilian thread!! Reading the above rubbish, one wonders why Staples13 abandoned the game I was generous enough to play with him, when I had the advantage as black against his c3 Sicilian, and then blocked me from his stupid thread so I couldn't point it out.
No, one doesn't. My mistake.
The "kicked" comment was from PolarPhoenix, reacting to an August 27, 2018 post in another thread.
https://www.chess.com/forum/view/chess-openings/a-bust-to-the-sicilian-defense?page=2
https://www.chess.com/forum/view/chess-openings/a-bust-to-the-sicilian-defense?page=50
Staples seems like an idiot but the reality is probably more sinister than that.
May 2, 2019
0
#40
DevilishApples123 wrote:
DevilishApples123 wrote:
bong711 wrote:
The 2. c3 or Alapin Sicilian is used by GMs, IMs and.NMs to draw against higher rated players. And crush equal and lower rated players. A must learn variation by Sicilian players.no
actually the c3 sicilian is not used to draw. I play it and beat people way higher rated than me like 2000's so it must be better than that. no game is drawn out of the opening, that would be ludicrous.
ditto
Easiest game??? LOL you clearly never played it or against it
Which would you suggest gives black the easiest game after: e4 e5, Nf3 Nc6 if not the ponziani? (talking about respectable openings which the ponziani clearly is)
The ponziani gives the hadest or the easiest becouse it's very sharp and double edged
I agree with you on it being the sharpest option (maybe the evans is sharper but it can be avoided) but it still believe that f6 neutralizes the attack
I thought after 7.0-0 Bd7 was the move and then go for 0-0-0
.