Still learning the Sicillian...

I've actually given up the Sicillian for the e5 answer lately, but I played this game a little while ago and am not exactly sure where I went wrong. I end up winning, but it's because of one bad mistake by my friend. Before he gave me his queen, I'm pretty sure that he was ahead. Experiences like this are proving to me that I still don't understand the intricacies of the c5 response...

so maybe it's good, but I'll be playing simpler openings for a while. 

i actually dont know what to say...

needs some work. 

The first thing I try to do, especially when I don't know the opening, is to try and grab space in the center. That is why I would have preferred 2...Nf6 instead with the idea of d5, challenging white's central pawn. Don't know if that is a good idea but if you stick to basic principles (play in center, dont neglect development etc) you usually tend to get a resonable game in my experience ;)

8...e6 I think isn't so good because it weekens your pawn structure. I would have considered d5 instead. It blocks out the queen and grabs space.

Up to move 9 white grabs quite a lot of space and pushes you back but then with 9.d5 I think he went a little too far. His pawn did better at d4 imho.

EDIT: also I think 7..b6 is weak. The knight is left unguarded and might be subject to pins later on by both queen and bishop. Since you should focus on developing your pieces I don't see anything wrong with 7...Qd2 or even 7..Rb8 if you please

"1.e4 c5 - I hear that the Sicillian is officially the best opening, so obviously I need to master it before I make my run at world champion!"

Well, good luck with that. :)

"2.d3 But my opponent doesn't follow a main line, so my books/websites don't help out much...sadly, I'm stuck with my poor tactical skills in the opening =("

Rejoice! In general, if you have a good book, and your opponent's move is not in it, that usually means either: (1) his move can be refuted or (2) his move is too passive and gives you even better chances than in the mainline.  

"2..Nc6 - The books said to do this =)"

Completely logical. You develop a piece to a natural spot where it controls two central squares and is protected from pawn advances by your c-pawns. Nf6 would be unnecessarily risky due to e5.

3.Be2 g6 - I don't know why i did this

Too bad, it's a fine move for two reasons: (1) A fianchetto g7/Bg7 increases your control over the e4 and d5 squares and (2) your bishop probably wouldn't have had a bright career along the a1-f8 diagonal anyway after c5.

4.c3 d6?!

Inconsistent. Your c-pawn was in no immediate danger and 4...Bg7 was the logical continuation of your fianchetto. Besides, you might have been able to play d5 in one move later on, avoiding the wasted tempo of d6.

5.Nf3 Bg4?!

Again, finishing your fianchetto was a better idea.

6.d4

This is the fruit of your inattention to controlling the center. Your g6 served no purpose since you never followed through with Bg7.

6...b6?

Like g6, I would ask what purpose this serves? 6...Qb6 seems better, threatening to trade queens (which lessens any small advantage White has and opens your a-file) and otherwise gives her a more active role in the battle for the center.

By the way, here's an instructive game played by a stronger player in the same line which might give you some ideas. I should add that in all five games in my database where Black played 4...Bg7, he won! So it's not just my intuition.  ;)

 Thank you very much for both posts. They're extremely helpful. For future reference, where can I access those types of databases? Is something online like chessgames.com worth the subscription?

I use Big Database 2008, which costs $50 and includes 3.75 million games.

chessgames.com has  465,000 games. I feel it's worth accessing for free, but I don't feel it's worth paying $25/year to subcribe since there are better pay options.