The Sniper is an Opening I want to Learn

I don't get why this position is so bad for black?

if Nf3 cxd4 and we get into a sicilian,

if d5 isn't this similar to a Benoni,

if dxc5 Qa5 and if now Nf3 Bxc3 and then Qxc5, leaving white with double isolated pawns on an open file.

Ok I understand now, thank you.

The Sniper opening is similar if not the same as the Pterodactyl. Isn't it?

yes lol. It surely takes the first prize for the most ridiculous names.

It changed its name to hide from its past.

Just how many openings has Andrew Martin recommended? 

If you're going to cite Andrew Martin, show us a game where he chose it against a grandmaster.

Andrew Martin has authored many sub-par DVDs on openings that he has never played in serious competition. It's a good way for an IM to make some money, but not a good reason to play his recommendations.

He's the Andrew Soltis of the UK

Your "Sniper" opening is probably better known as the Pterodactyl. I'm sure Charles Storey has just highjacked the opening and slapped this cool sniper monicker on it.

And I haven't gotten to the Kalashnikov position in any of my Sicilian games. (Plus I have book on the Kalashnikov, lol.)

Plus ca change................

Can the sniper opening stop zombie threads? Apparently not.

Take the Center Counter Defense as an example.  Al Lawrence played the opening and remembers tournament opponents literally chuckling at his first move.  Yet GM Ian Rodgers played it, Viswanathan Anand played it against Kasparov and got a great position and Larsen beat Karpov with it.  The same transformation of ideas might also happen with The Sniper if someone is willing to put in the time.  Plug it into Houdini Pro and run it on a top-notch gaming computer against itself or to analyse lines.  

Wow! A double-zombie thread! And with a total non-sequitur about an opening no one mentioned! Way to go!

1.d4, g6 2.Nf3, Bg7 3.e4, c5

This would be the King Side Sniper, which imo, is much better for black than the Queen Side Sniper attack, (2.Nc3). Storey's book is not much help, incomplete to say the least.

It surprises me how even strong players still do not know what 'The Sniper' is - I secured The FM title by defeating the current European Senior Champion with it (Grandmaster Keith Arkell - who rarely loses with White) and have won over 120 Opens with it - because it is dynamic and confusing enough to defeat anyone up to 2500 FIDE - which would include pfren and 99.7% of the chess populace. Because I have set-up my entire 'chess education materials' around it I am sometimes seen as a threat from competitors and they spout this nonsense which I then feel compelled to defend - it normally just comes down to one word why they say such things - ignorance.

Elvis - The book was written in 2010 - I have created many more Sniper educational materials since -  all can be seen via my website (which I will not advertise as this tends to get people excited and start being abusive)

7...Nc6?!  is an error...Qc7! is better.

As discussed in Sniper Reloaded 2014 [Dendrite Chess] available for download from my website  GrandmasterVideoCourse.com

There are several great advantages about the Sniper:
- It holds some surprise value, forcing unaware opponents to think for themselves straight from the off (which can be a great advantage in Blitz games too);
- It is really direct, aiming at undermining White's centre a.s.a.p.;
- There are several traps to avoid when you play this line as White, so you have to play accurately in order not to emerge with a worse position from the opening;
- In case it doesn't work catching the opponent off-guard, the game can transpose fairly easily into sound lines from other openings, such as the Benoni, variations of the Dragon Sicilian, or a variation of the Smith-Morra/Alapin hybrid which is infamously grossly underestimated by Evgeny Sveshnikov in his The Complete c3 Sicilian.

It really is a pity that I don't play the Sniper yet. The Accelerated Dragon peaks on my repertoire with Black, and I also play the Smith-Morra Gambit line with g6 and an early d5.

@Storey: Thanks for writing the book! I'll try to appropriate the material a.s.a.p. :)

What about this line against the Sniper?

Don't care if it is almost a year old, but I think it's cool whenever they put a new name on an old system.  They renamed the Greco-countergambit the Latvian and (tried) renaming the Paulsen the Kan (Paulsen just has a better ring to it, and no, one cannot can the Kan ^_^ It draws with best play just like the Najdorf) so why not renamed the Leningrad Dutch, say, the Pegasus system ^_^ Leningrad isn't in Holland sillies ^_^ )

And no, the gambits I name are NON-NEGOTIABLE!  This includes the Bird Wing (because it combines the Wing Gambit with the Bird, duh!) and its Lightning Countergambit variation (black gets an advantage fully accepted: )