As I prepare to enter into chess tournaments for the first time since Scholastic (though, I've kept up my chess studies), I've needed to find a "mature" defense to 1.e4. If you're like me, you've been looking for that perfect Sicilian that combines soundness and aggression. While I've spent an entire year learning the Dragon up-and-down, I found myself inspired by IM John Bartholomew's youtube games when he essayed the Classical Sicilian. One thing is clear though, the Richter-Rauzer attack is a tough line to deal with as Black (in theory and OTB).
I am advocating for the resurgence of an old line against the Richter-Rauzer that was (briefly) revived Croatian GM Ivan Saric (6…a6).
Below is my research from sources such as Everyman Chess, Quality Chess, Gambit Publications, Batsford, Thinkers Publishing, ChessPublishing.com, and Chessbase. This work is complemented by analysis from ChessBase 13, Shredder 12, and Stockfish 7. Key works that I should immediately go ahead and credit are as follows:
1.e4 vs The Sicilian I (2015) by Parimarjan Negi
ChessBase: The Classical Sicilian (2015) by Mihail Marin
The Richter Rauer Reborn (2015) by Kozul & Jankovic
Starting Out: Classical Sicilian (2007) by Der Raetsky & Chetverik
Chess Explained: The Classical Sicilian (2006) by Alex Yermolinsky
Easy Guide to the Classical Sicilian (2000) by Jouni Yrjola
The Complete Richter-Rauzer (1998) by Wells & Osnos
The Sicilian Richter-Rauzer (1975) Harding, Markland & Wade
