Why do people like the silican so much?
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The sicilian is popular because it scores very well against 1e4. Its also a question of "fashion" in chess. Whatever is popular among top players tends to be taken up by hacks like us. 
e5 is so boring.
I play it because I think I know more about it then my opposition. When that's not the case, I still play it and hope to learn something new. I originaly picked up the opening to mix it up a bit when playing against my old man, an e4-e5 player.
Reb is right; before, I used it because Kasparov liked to use it. When I use it against the computer, I always get a bad outcome.
I think the main reason people like playing the Sicilian Defense is that it give Black a chance to counter attack immediately. The battles of forces becomes a race to see who can get to the other's king first. And it is a great opening if you like to attack. Let's face it, defending is dull and boring. It is always more fun to be on the giving side then the receiving side of an attack.
The sicilian is a way of life!
The sicilian is so popular because A) it gives good chances to win as black and B) There are so many variations to choose from almost anyone can find one that suits their style. It can be as tactical or as positional as you like.
I think a lot of people invest heavily in opening theory. The Sicilian is an opening that richly rewards this investment. The theory is probably the most memorable and easy to learn. Possibly because it is so assymetric. Whilst it does often become a race to attack, I tend to play it for a better end-game, but I guess that is a matter of taste.
Nilesh wrote:
...it seems to be such an akward and difficult opening, I fail to realize why it is so awesome.
This is probably because you haven't studied it. The Sicilian is played at all levels because (as Reb mentioned) it scores very well. Black launches an immediate queenside attack and creates an unbalanced position that results in very sharp games where Black can often play for a win.
Has Nilesh021 been here since 2007?
Nov 27, 2017
0
#11
Why do people like the silican so much?
Don't know. Chess was more fun before they invented computers.
kindaspongey έγραψε:
Has Nilesh021 been here since 2007?
Yes, but not since Aug 12,2010. So, this thread is an excellent place for trolls (like, say, another reincarnation of 2Q).
In the sicilian black can play for a win
If you play 1..e5 you are fighting for a draw because the giouco piano and ruy lopez offer little counterplay fo black.
And, amazingly, the sicilian is actually much more solid (lose less) than e5.
More solid+ +chances for a win= Main response to e4.
Nov 29, 2017
0
#14
Lawkeito wrote:
In the sicilian black can play for a win
If you play 1..e5 you are fighting for a draw because the giouco piano and ruy lopez offer little counterplay fo black.
And, amazingly, the sicilian is actually much more solid (lose less) than e5.
More solid+ +chances for a win= Main response to e4.
That is such utter hogwash! 1...e5 can very well be played for a win! Just within the last 10 days, I've won 2 games over the board with 1...e5, and quite easily! Granted, the second one probably should have been a draw, but once he let my King get to a3, not any more! If you are going to try to answer questions, know what you are talking before you do it! 1...e5 is the most solid response to 1.e4, and it does not remove all counterplay for Black by any stretch:
yall be nerd lolololoololo
I understand your argument but:
In the chess databases, c5 loses 36% of the time, e5 loses 40% so c5 is more solid
Meanwhile, e5 wins only 28% and the sicilian wins 35% so c5 offers a lot more chances for a win.
Against weaker opponents or in a opening suprise (like the petroff) it's higher the chances for a win.
"... Two-thirds of this book deals with 'Open Sicilian' positions, in which White plays 2 Nf3 followed by 3 d4. This is by far the most common way for White to meet the Sicilian. White opens more lines for his pieces and attempts to exploit the fact that he will be ahead in development.
Let's take a look at the possible opening moves 1 e4 c5 2 Nf3 d6 3 d4 cxd4 4 Nxd4 ... . White is up in development and can move his pieces more freely. Black, however, has a structural advantage of an extra central pawn, which gives him long-term chances of taking control of the centre. A typical imbalance has arisen. The onus is on White to exploit his lead in development in order to secure an early initiative. If White plays passively or his initiative runs out of steam, then typically it's Black, with the better pawn structure, who enjoys the long-term chances. Thus it's quite rare for a state of 'dull equality' to arise. Often in the Sicilian, if Black 'equalizes', he is already slightly better! This structural advantage is seen in most Open Sicilian lines: for example, the Dragon, the Najdorf, the Scheveningen and the Classical Variations. The major exception to this rule is the Sveshnikov Variation, in which Black accepts pawn weaknesses in return for activity. ..." - GM John Emms (2009) in Starting Out: The Sicilian, 2nd Edition
Nov 29, 2017
0
#19
Lawkeito wrote:
I understand your argument but:
In the chess databases, c5 loses 36% of the time, e5 loses 40% so c5 is more solid
Meanwhile, e5 wins only 28% and the sicilian wins 35% so c5 offers a lot more chances for a win.
Against weaker opponents or in a opening suprise (like the petroff) it's higher the chances for a win.
Statistics don't prove solidity, and especially the stats you are using.
You are simply comparing 1...c5 to 1...e5. This includes all the garbage that is played. 1...c5 players that play the Pin Variation. 1...e5 players that play garbage like the Latvian Gambit or Schliemann Variation of the Ruy Lopez.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but supposedly, the theoretically soundest line of the Sicilian is the Nadjorf. Depending on the database you use, let's say 365chess.com.
The Sicilian Najdorf - the position after 5...a6, White wins 37.2% of the time
The Closed Ruy - the position after 9.h3, White wins 32.4% of the time
The problem is that the questionable lines of the Sicilian score 45 to 50% wins for White, and an overall score of about 65 to 70%. The unsound lines of 1...e5 or the more dubious lines like the old Steinitz Variation, White is winning over 55% of the time, and factor in draws and he's scoring in the low 70s.
So that's why just blindly looking at 1...c5 vs 1...e5, you are getting the better numbers with 1...c5. If you dig deeper and stick with SOUND LINES, both 1...c5 and 1...e5 score about the same overall percentage, but 1...e5 leads to a lower loss ratio, and of course a lower win ratio, and there are far more draws.
The move 1...e5 poses the least amount of risk to the Black King assuming both sides play soundly. A Sicilian player is chancing losing more than a 1...e5 player, but he is also opening up for greater possibility of a win, but the Black King will be standing upright fewer times than the 1...e5 player over the course of 1000 games. The Najdorf Player might score +300, -350, =350 while the 1...e5 player might score +150, -200, =650. The former survived 650 times and the latter 800 times, but the score was the same in both cases.
Makes sense, One thing you said is the reason why the sicilian is so popular:
It's extremely hard to play against a sicilian to someone that isnt well versed in opening study, but it's pretty natural to play against 1.e5.
In class level the sicilian requires skills that players don't have until 1800's or so:
-To mount an refined attack against a structure that has no weaknesses to attack.
-Coordinate the defence on the queenside against black's powerful counterattack
-Play with a disavantage in the center
That's why so many people are attracted to the sicilian, it's much easier for white to make a mistake.
Actually it's pretty hard to white NOT to make a mistake in the sicilian.
I don't get it. I know it throws of the balance of the game, but it seems to be such an akward and difficult opening, I fail to realize why it is so awesome.