The Open Sicilian: Masterclass Edition

The Open Sicilian is the most theoretically sound and, in my opinion, exciting way to tackle the extremely popular Sicilian Defense. Many players are dettered from playing it as White due to the massive amounts of theory involved. However, if White wants to fight for a serious advantage, the Open Sicilian has been proven to be the way to go. Despite being very theoretical, it is a lot of fun to play and White has excellent chances in every line!

Course stats

For: white pieces

Total students: 107

Recommended for: Intermediate players

Trainable variations: 185

Alternative variations: 1

Informational variations: 1

Avg. line depth: 14.77

Instruction: 9,094 words

Released on: Sep 19, 2016

Support level: Unspecified

Section: 🌎 Community

The Open Sicilian: Masterclass Edition has

4.8 out of 5 stars, based on 7 user ratings.

Variation Details

1 x The Open Sicilian Introduction (5.00 avg depth)

50 x Najdorf Variation: English Attack (16.18 avg depth)

22 x Classical Variation: Richter-Rauzer (15.18 avg depth)

21 x Dragon Variation: Yugoslav Attack Modern Line (17.19 avg depth)

14 x Scheveningen Variation: Keres Attack (13.57 avg depth)

11 x Sveshnikov Variation: Chelyabinsk Variation (16.45 avg depth)

11 x Four Knights Variation: Main Line (14.09 avg depth)

4 x Kalashnikov Variation: Maroczy Bind (12.00 avg depth)

20 x Accelerated Dragon: Maroczy Bind (12.85 avg depth)

7 x Kan Variation: Maroczy Bind (14.29 avg depth)

11 x Paulsen and Taimanov Variations: Main Line (14.55 avg depth)

15 x Less Common Sicilians (10.80 avg depth)

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Comments

Last 10 Position Comments

StillTheory 961,670 Here I was wondering what if Black plays Bxc3, because it looks scary for White. If White replies bxc3 and Black goes for Qxc3, OK, White plays Bd4 and holds, but White lost a pawn in the process, which seems unnecessary.
So I turned on the engine and it says none of that is good, instead giving variations for White putting his DSB on the a3-f8 diagonal, with evaluations between +2.5 and +3. I think those variations are difficult to spot, at least for a player my level (around 1700 FIDE), so I thought I'd bring this to your attention, do you think you can add these variations to this chapter. IMO that would be a good addition. 1 month ago

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Bechster 375,950 Black continues* 2 months ago

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thedude 744,830 Here, I wonder why 13.Nd5 and not 13.Ne2 (as in other lines in this English attack repertoire) with the idea of eventually removing the black knight on h5 that's blockading the attack on the kingside. 7 months ago

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thedude 744,830 A bit of a tough move for me to remember. In very similar position, we go g4 because black can't play d5 yet anyway. And if black goes b4, chasing the knight away, we can go Nd5. Why does white castle long here and not in other similar positions in the English attack? 7 months ago

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Person 3,820,790 Instead of b5, what if black takes on c3 in this position? 1 year ago

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Peter 8,455,040 In the Richter-Rauzer: 6.Qb6 Sideline variants, the same position is reached twice after 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 Nc6 6.Bg5 Qb6 7.Nb3 e6 8.Qd2 a6 9.O-O-O Be7 10.f3 O-O and 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 Nc6 6.Bg5 Qb6 7.Nb3 e6 8.Qd2 Be7 9.O-O-O O-O 10.f3 a6. Unfortunately, one time g4 and the other time h4 is recommended. 1 year ago

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Peter 8,455,040 How can I delete a comment? 1 year ago

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Peter 8,455,040 In the variants Richter-Rauzer: Main Line 7.Qb6 and Richter-Rauzer: 6.Qb6 Sideline the same position is reached after Rd7. The recommended reply however varies between Qe1 and Be3. Could you please choose one as the primary choice? 1 year ago

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Peter 8,455,040 In the variants Richter-Rauzer: Main Line 7.Qb6 and Richter-Rauzer: 6.Qb6 Sideline the same position is reached after Rd7. The recommended however varies between Qe1 and Be3. Could you please choose one as the primary choice? 1 year ago

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