@i-eat-guini-pigs wrote :
but generally in the smith mora you dont want to devlope your queen side... I know it sounds counter intuitive but you want to wait to devlope that side until you have develped the queen side.
Thanks for this clear advice on which side to play , but are you talking about playing White ? Because if so , I will immediately tear out the pages containing those lines in my Morra-Smith book , written by some stupid IM.
@rmurray hinted :
keep asking yourself these types of questions, and eventually you will have to make a choice.
Gee , that's what the guards just told me when they put me in this isolation-cel . Signs all over : you knew this was about to happen and you and the troubled cow send a worldwide message to warn me . Do you think this Sicilian,this Gandhi guy has something to do with this ? Is he the one that locked me up ?
Reason not to play Sicilian , Crime Section , not for children .
Dangerous stuff , better left alone.
You missed 8. Nb5, preparing to go to the weak d6 square with check. (in the fianchetto variation black isn't supposed to play e6 for this reason.)
Thanks for your analyses.
Yes , 8.Nb5 looks attractive (blockade on d6) and I'm sure I must have considered playing it because it's a common theme in the Morra. After this move Black won't be able to castle anymore , but I believe White doesn't win back the pawn and it's hard to find a follow up.
Ng5 is a good followup, take for example, 8. nb5 ne7 (as there is no good way to defend the knight from going to d6 with check and ne7 is one of the better moves here)
9. nd6# kf8 10. ng5 (threatening the pawn on f7) f6 10. ngf7
resulting in this position
@AdorableMogwai wrote :
Ng5 is a good followup, take for example, 8. nb5 ne7 (as there is no good way to defend the knight from going to d6 with check and ne7 is one of the better moves here)
9. nd6# kf8 10. ng5 (threatening the pawn on f7) f6 10. ngf7
Thanks again for your response. I have to be hard on you this time I'm afraid .
You let Black play 8.Nb5 Ne7? (8. .. a6 is better) and 10. .. f6? emphasizing the fact that playing a sharp Sicilian is not the thing for you. Your line passively leads Black right to the slaughterhouse. So of course the final position is a win for White easily, it's a suicide line .
But still , I really appreciate the efforts you made to respond.
At what level do you think one should add the Sicilian Defense to his repertoire? There are so many variations, and although it's known for its fighting spirit for black, if you don't exactly know what you're doing, white is gonna crush you. Of course, you can learn the Najdorf, Dragon, Schevenigen, but your opponent can avoid all of them by playing non-book moves. It's not like in the Pirc Defense for example, where white can play natural moves, without knowing theory, and still be fine in the opening. I am a fairly decent player, not a novice anymore, but I still don't feel comfortable using the Sicilian as black.
If you like it, then play it.
If you don't like it, then chuck it.
When you gain confidence in an opening, then you can surely use it.
I just started a sicilian as black for the first time in one of my online games (I normally play 1..e5). Seems like I know a fair bit about it already, as I've played against it so much! I went Najdorf and it seems to be going alright so far ...
My father taught me the rules of chess when I was about 6 and I used to play a lot of games with my friends. We came up with all kinds of weird openings , just for the fun of it . Then I started to remember that I generally got good (or bad) play after a certain move-order. You're still to young to read a book,let alone an opening-book , but innerly you start to develop some insight.
We invented a lot of openings , but I believe we chiefly played 1.e4 to let the Queen out. We played sicilians,french and scandinavian or just answered with 1. .. e5. We discovered that a Knight stands well on f3 (f6) and the K-side Bishop was the main weapon to attack Blacks King. Those were the days ...
Now everything was spoiled when I got older and read an opening book. The romantics was gone , everything we kids invented was already known to the adults. Book says : play so and so , that is good chess. Away with creativity and individuality , submit to the cold facts.
Now to answer your question : WHEN should one start with the Sicilian , I would say : as soon as it appeals to you ,when you feel comfortable when playing it. Preferably start when young , because the older you get the harder it is to learn something new and to unlearn something you thought you knew.
I started playing the Sicilian when I felt that other Black defenses left me on the "defense" and I wanted to try something with more dynamic counterplay. After playing around with the Najdorf and Schevenigan for a while, I am not experimenting with the Kan which seems to be pretty stable and provides Black with the best winning chances while minimizing White's ferocious attacks. I spend lots of time on Youtube observing White and Black games with commentary. It takes l-o-t-s of study, but then again, learning is what chess is all about.
Usually you start playing the Sicilian Defense after 1.e4.
Oh, now I get it! No wonder it isn't working for me! I always play it after 1. d4.
@AdorableMogwai wrote :
Ng5 is a good followup, take for example, 8. nb5 ne7 (as there is no good way to defend the knight from going to d6 with check and ne7 is one of the better moves here)
9. nd6# kf8 10. ng5 (threatening the pawn on f7) f6 10. ngf7
Thanks again for your response. I have to be hard on you this time I'm afraid .
You let Black play 8.Nb5 Ne7? (8. .. a6 is better) and 10. .. f6? emphasizing the fact that playing a sharp Sicilian is not the thing for you. Your line passively leads Black right to the slaughterhouse. So of course the final position is a win for White easily, it's a suicide line .
But still , I really appreciate the efforts you made to respond.
A6 wouldn't be better, what are you talking about? The knight already got to b5 so a6 doesn't help anymore. If black played 8...a6 the knight would just go to d6 with check anyway. Then after the check, the king is forced to f8 and the other knight goes to g5 hitting f7.
@AdorableMogwai,
In the position after 1.Nb5 a6 2.Nd6+ Kf8 3.Ng5 the Pawn on f7 is hanging and Black has to defend this with 3. .. Nh6 the only move. The position still favors White of course, but Black is a pawn up and perhaps he can play b5 , Ne5 or f6 somewhere to try and get some counterplay. I don't think putting the pawn on a6 has been a waste.
Thanks for your analysis. It shows how sharp the lines can get in a Sicilian.
i am playing sicilian as black . if you don't study it properly then you will surely be killed by white.
but as for the question, you should play sicilian if you really like it and you are ready to do some study regarding it.
Seems harder to play from the black side than the white side. Please be relevant, helpful & nice!
I like the Sicilian even though I lose more than I win with it, but I guess I'll just keep studying and practicing.
Start playing the Sicilian when you are ready to commit to taking all the fun out of the game
Krestez my darling
You need to start playing the Sicilian at your rating....only if you're ready to step into a minefield of tactics from both sides. Since I started playing the Sicilian w/ Black I've begun to have fun again w/ chess !....
....
1...c5 !!....
....
Krestez my darling
You need to start playing the Sicilian at your rating....only if you're ready to step into a minefield of tactics from both sides. Since I started playing the Sicilian w/ Black I've begun to have fun again w/ chess !........
1...c5 !!........
Which variation(s) do you play? I play scheveningen (najdorf style).
When you are tactically sound and make moves at sufficient depth and/OR WHEN you have used a chess engine to analyze and find the various moves and variations the sicilian can step into....if you dont play properly you are FINISHED.......but if you play well and your opponent approaches it with the strategy ..it can provide a wall like defence..try the Najadorf Sicilian i love it as it is safer more open and gives a good defence though initially you may get into positions where you dont know what to do and end up blundering in a complicated semi-closed position/...
Reason not to play Sicilian , Crime Section , not for children .
Dangerous stuff , better left alone.
ya well you didnt play the correct moves versus the smith mora...
Not really the point of this example but tell me , where did I make my first mistake ? Personally I think the White position after 11.Rac1 is the standard setup in the Morra.
Thanks for taking the trouble to examine and comment on the game.
your welcome...
but generally in the smith mora you dont want to devlope your queen side... I know it sounds counter intuitive but you want to wait to devlope that side until you have develped the queen side.
I recomend you check out the data base for anything more...