Trying to to understand sicilian defense as a beginner? I don't get it?

Hello everyone,

I have no professional knowledge of chess and all the rating points I have gained so far is with no understanding of sicilian. So I thought may be try to learn this and try it for the first time. Then I checked some forum posts in this, and people say I'm a dragon player and nadrof player etc. I looked at the dragon variation and I liked it, so I started playing it in a few games, and I don't understand how can you be a dragon player when no one plays the open sicilian with me (even worse even if white plays d4, white will grab the pawn with queen and not enter open sicilian very confusing to me). Then I realised some of these players who are calling them dragon players, play the exact dragon moves even if open siclian lines by white is not played. Now isn't this wrong to play the exact same dragon moves whatever the opposition player plays, I thought you should play it only if open sicilian occurs. Also where do I find a youtube video describing what to play in the sicilian if white doesn't respond with open siclian response, all these videos on siclian show the variation assuming white will always play open sicilian and online players are playing everything except the open sicilian so how can you test your dragon moves etc. So basically if I like dragon variation is it ok for me to play dragon moves if white doesn't respond with open sicilian, if not what the heck should I play.  Sorry if I make no sense, I'm totally confused by sicilian. Please shed some light. Thank you. 

You're right that most club players up to around 1800 avoid the open Sicilian because they're afraid of the complications, and especially of being caught out in some book line. (I'm one of them, and I do the same.) The various lines they can choose from include the Grand Prix Attack (Nc3 and f4), the Closed Sicilian (Nc3 with a kingside fianchetto), the Rossolimo (Bb5 against 2....Nc6), the Moscow (Bb5+ against 2...d6), the Alapin (2.c3) and several others. Collectively these are called Anti-Sicilians, and the good news is that none of them is considered as strong objectively as the straightforward Open Sicilian. The bad news is that, if you want to get booked up, there are a lot of variations to learn in addition to your Dragon, Najdorf etc, which you will hardly get  to play until you come up against stronger players. You can do a lot of it by instinct and general principle, though, bearing in mind that most people who play these lines are doing it to avoid book moves, so probably don't have any clever prepared variations up their sleeves. Black's choice of plan may involve opening the c file and attacking down it with the support of a fianchettoed KB, Dragon style, or trying to equalize in the centre by playing for an early d5.  Every now and then you'll get crushed with a kingside attack, but you have to expect that in the Sicilian anyway.

Hey thanks both.

@Frog: I agree with you completely. Atleast me having these questions mean, I atleast have a basic idea of what sicilian is, even though I don't how well to play it.

I don't play the Sicilian much anymore, but I'm a bit familiar with the lines and basic ideas. The fundamental idea behind the move 1..c5 is to trade the c-pawn for white's d-pawn. This provides black with a central pawn majority and the semi-open c file for counterplay on the queenside. In the dragon, black will fianchetto the dark squared bishop which provides them with strong control of the long diagonal. They can then play moves such as a6, b5, Rc8 and coupled with the power of the DSB generate a strong queenside attack. Black will also look to play d5 which will break open the center and facilitate the queenside counterplay. However, in exchange for black's queenside play, white usually has more space in the center and can quickly attack black on the kingside with moves such as h4, g4, h5, Bh6, etc. This attack is known as the Yugoslav attack and is considered to be very dangerous.

If white does not play an early d4, then the c-pawn will remain on c5. This pawn provides control of the d4 square and queenside space. In some variations of the closed sicilian or the grand prix attack, black can still fianchetto his bishop and castle kingside. The DSB will help provide control of the central darksquares on d4 and e5. Black will then look to utilize his queenside space and play moves such as b5-b4 to generate counterplay.

I'm not very familiar with the lines of the Alapin or Rossolimo, however, I suspect that a "dragon-like" DSB fianchetto is playable in both of these variations as well. So to answer your question, the "dragon" dark squared fianchetto is likely playable against almost any white variant of the Sicilian. Unfortunately, since I don't play the Sicilian I don't have any good Youtube videos to share.

Finally, I recommend that you do not play the Sicilian. If you really do want to play the Sicilian, then I recommend anything other than the Najdorf or Dragon. I've tried playing the Sicilian Najdorf a couple times and everytime I get so bogged down with learning theory that I spend too much time memorizing variations and not enough time learning how to actually play the game. I remember reading that white has something like 17 playable 6th moves against the Najdorf, which feels like way too many variations for me to remember. Also, many of the lines are really complicated and one simple mistake could easily result in getting run off the board. That doesn't include all of the white sidelines which are also very popular. Instead of the Sicilian, I started playing the Caro Kann and the Pirc, which have far fewer variations to memorize and are also considered fairly solid openings. Additionally, many of these lines are less complicated so making a small mistake doesn't have the same devastating impact as in the Sicilian.

Of course, if you really love the opening then you should keep playing it. Just wanted to give my two cents

Hey benl123, that was a great concise response, I actually understood most of it. I really liked your explanation of dragon. Is it possible for you to give me a similar answer regarding the main ideas of  najdorf because I like it better becauseas  it avoids rossolimo with the a6 move, and I really liked your short and sweet explanation of dragon. Yes I was thinking of learning caro, however I played few najdorf games, and I would like to keep it in my arsenal as well to maybe use for lower rated players who will be confused. Thanks a lot. 

Sure! To be honest though, there are so many lines of the Najdorf that I've never had a full understanding of it, so take everything I say with a grain of salt.

The move 5. ..a6 has multiple purposes: it prepares for the b7-b5 pawn advance to gain qside space and also prevents white from putting a minor piece on the b5 square. This allows black to play e5 without worrying about a potential Nb5 which would threaten the d6 pawn. The e5 move is a critical idea in the Najdorf because it contests white's strong central presence and provides space for black. However, it permanently weakens the d5 square and the d6 pawn. As a result, black needs to be very careful to maintain control of the d5 square with minor pieces such as a Nf6, Be6 or Bb7. Eventually, black will want to play the d6-d5 pawn break which usually leads to equality when successful. Black will also use the c-file and b7-b5-b4 to generate queenside counterplay.

White will want to exploit the weakness on d5 with Bg5 and try to play an eventual Nd5. In addition, they can gain kingside space with moves like f2-f4, g2-g4-g5, etc which can either lead to a strong kingside attack or just displace black's defenders of the d5 square. White can also attack the d6 pawn if black becomes careless.

Overall, the positions are quite double-edged and imo its a bit easier for white to play because they have more space and I've always found that its easier to attack the kingside than the queenside. However, if they are unable to exploit the d5 square and black gets in b7-b5-b4 and d6-d5, then black has good chances for a win. Its definitely a good opening for playing lower rated opponents.

Hey benl123, thanks for the great explanation again. I have a question

1. In najdorf I'm confused to play e6 or e5 at the right time? I feel most of the threats you posted will be less if black plays an e6 najdorf, why is that a bad idea? Also in few of the games I tested out, I played e6 instead of e5 due to fear of exact weaknesses you mentioned, and I found it easier to play. Your thoughts on this?

2. Also if you have time, you can help me with my "end game" question as well, as you have a skill to explain clearly.

https://www.chess.com/forum/view/endgames/please-show-me-the-power-of-bishop-by-defending-against-3-pawn-army

Thank you. 

I like to play the sharp Dragon variation of the sicilian but it sometimes get really complicated.

It's true that white can't exploit the d5 square if black doesn't push e5. However, by pushing e5 black is gaining space and directly contesting white's pawn center. If black plays e6, then white maintains control over the d4 and f4 squares and has much more space.  This makes it easier for white to launch a kingside pawnstorm because he has control of the center. Black usually relies more on queenside counterplay in the e6 lines since he has less control of the center.

I honestly don't know when its better to play e6 vs e5. I'm sure that depends on which variation white decides to play. In general, I know that both ideas are fine so I don't think one is always better than the other.

Unfortunately, I have spent too much time on chess in the past couple days and need to get back to work, so I won't be able to answer your other question. I hope I've helped you a bit though. Good luck

I also prefer the e6 lines to the e5 lines... but it's just a personal preference. The e5 lines are perfectly sound. They just don't suit my style.

Here's a sample OTB tournament game where I was playing the Najdorf as Black against White's 6. Bg5 move. 

And here's one where I played Black against White's 6. Bc4 move.

@Benl123: No worries. Indeed you have helped me a lot. Thanks a lot

@blueemu: Thanks a lot for posting these games, I really liked them. Any chance you have some games where you won when white plays that annoying a4 pawn move early and stop the queenside attack. I got that all the time in the games I played. How do you get a winning edge then. Also you played h6 in first game to attack the bishop, but wouldn't this expose you to some nasty bishop sacrifice to expose king, if king has not castled on queenside yet.  Thanks a lot. 

If White plays a2-a4 then he is pretty well committing himself to castling King-side instead of Queen-side. This leads to a slower-paced game, where both White's and Black's attacks have less bite than they do in opposite-side castling situations. 

I'll look for some a2-a4 games tomorrow.

Regarding my h7-h6 move... castling King-side as Black is rather rare in that Bg5 variation of the Sicilian anyway; and with White's Bishop shunted off to h4 it wouldn't be easy for him to arrange to sacrifice it on h6 anyway.

The h7-h6 move does weaken the g6 square (and therefore burdens the f7 Pawn with another responsibility), which makes a potential Knight sacrifice on e6 a matter for concern as mentioned in my note to White's 13th move, game 1... so the move shouldn't be played automatically, but only after calculation.

@Blueemu: Thanks again. Yes looking forward to seeing some of your a2-a4 games. With the ranking level I play, most of my games white plays a4 and castles king side, but still boldy pushes its king side pawns and attack my castled king on same side and sometime do sacrifices when I play the h6 move. This really annoys me when we both have castled the same side (king side) but still boldy attacks my kings side and winning. 

Also in nadjrof are there situation where black castles queenside, is this rare?

I mean you should play the Sicilian in my opinion, it is the best answer to e4. But of course you have to know the antisicillians/Sicilian variants that is not open. You should learn alapin delayed alpain wing gambit smith morra gambit canal attack checkover and prins variation 

blueemu luvs to play Sicilian against e4, as do I.  AND! as did the immortal Bobby F.  The great thing about this system is that it let's black control the destiny of the game.  Give it time, and you'll develop an instinct for playing it properly...  If this thread continues, I will give you more info that will help you understand the underlying "theme" rather than a simple "respond this way" approach.

My OTB chess career was thirty years ago, so I don't have many game scores on hand. It turns out that none of the ones I have available are Sicilian a2-a4 games. 

Here's a game by the current World Champion, though, Jabovenko vs Carlsen:

https://www.365chess.com/game.php?gid=3714886

... and here's a game where I had to face an anti-Sicilian (instead of White's 3. d4 Open Sicilian):

I am nowhere near a beginner, and I have played the Najdorf and Taimanov in the past, but I basically avoid the Sicilian all together as Black.

The Alapin, Closed, Grand Prix, etc are all equal.  I find it hilarious that so many people avoid the Sicilian because of the Anti-Sicilian lines.

I avoid the Sicilian because I hate dealing with 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 (or 2...d6) 3.d4 as Black!

If I, as an expert, find the Sicilian to be a problem, you, as a beginner, will likely not succeed with it.  Play something simpler.  Most beginners should be playing 1...e5.  Then after that, join me is a far more fun defense to play than the Sicilian!  French-Almighty!

Depends on your priorities, and on how you measure success.

If the OP is only concerned with winning their next game, then there are probably better systems to learn. If they are more interested in long-term improvement, and in gaining experience with a wide variety of central formations, middle-game plans and tactical elements, then the Sicilian might be exactly what they are looking for.

Also, the OP will likely be facing opposition around their own level of strength, with no more expertise in the opening than they have... although it's worth mentioning that on the single occasion when I faced a super-GM over the board (Mikhail Tal in 1988), I played the Sicilian Najdorf as Black... and drew.

One of the biggest problems I had learning the Sicilian on this site is that nearly everybody wants to play the Bowdler defense LOL.

Hey,  I am about the same level as you and I learned the Sicilian by knowing the basic setups for White in the open variation (I never play it as black). Basically, look at some games in which the Sicilian defense is played. Something like this is what I play, and ignore what black is playing. I don't know how to play the Sicilian as black.