When white plays 1. e4 in a chess game, black’s best scoring move in high level chess is 1. … c5, the Sicilian Defense. White only scores 52.2% of the games in this defense, compared to the French Defense (the second most popular defense to 1. e4) in which white scores 55.4%. These numbers show exactly why the Sicilian Defense is the post popular defense in high level chess against 1. e4.
Now we’ll get into the lines that happen after black chooses 2. … d6. These openings are the real heart of the Sicilian Defense, and are some of the main ones used in high level chess. After 1. e4 c5, 2. Nf3 d6, 3. d4 cxd4, 4. Nxd4 Nf6, 5. Nc3 black has three main options, and can go into the Dragon variation, the Najdorf Variation, or the Scheveningen Variation. Here we’ll take a brief look at each.
The Dragon Variation
The Sicilian Dragon goes 5. … g6. Black’s plan is to develop his bishop with Bg7, to castle kingside, and to try to take advantage of the a1-h8 diagonal. White’s plan in the main line is to castle queenside, and push his pawns on the kingside to get a big attack. Play usually goes 6. Be3 Bg7, 7. f3 with white solidifying his center and making g2-g4 possible later on. This also prevents black from playing Ng4, obstructing the e3-bishop. Play continues 8. … Nc6, 9. Qd2 lining up on the c1-h6 diagonal, and preparing a later Bh6. Black castles 9. … 0-0, 10. Bc4 Bd7, 11. 0-0-0 Rc8, 12. Bb3 (black’s threat was Nxd4, exposing an attack on the c4-bishop) Ne5, and white finally starts his attack with 12. h4.
In this position, white’s plan is to play h4-h5 and sacrifice his h-pawn in exchange for an open h-file. Black’s plan is to play moves like Qa5, Rc5, Rfc8, and Nc4 to counter-attack on the queenside. This often leads to brutal attack and counter-attack positions where each side is racing towards the other side’s king on opposite sides of the board. White has a small edge, but has to be extremely careful.
The Najdorf Variation
If we back up to after 1. e4 c5, 2. Nf3 d6, 3. d4 cxd4, 4. Nxd4 Nf6, 5. Nc3, black has the option of playing 5. … a6, which moves into the Najdorf. The Najdorf Variation was a favorite of Bobby Fischer and many other great attacking minds.
The best thing about the Najdorf for players getting used to the Sicilian Defense is the great flexibility that black has in development and plans to attack the center. Black can play b7-b5-b4 to undermine the white c3-knight and take on e4 if he wants. He can also play e5 at any time like in the Sveshnikov except the knight can’t come into b5. He can play b7-b5 followed by Bb7 and Nb8-d7-c5 to pile up on the e4-pawn. There’s tons that black can do.
On the other hand, white will generally play like he does against most classical Sicilian Defenses, planning an attack with moves like Bg5 and Bd3, maybe castling kingside and pushing f2-f4-f5. There are so many options for both sides that it’s hard to get a feel for it without actually playing it a few times. An example line is 6. Bg5 e6, 7. f4 Be7, 8. Qf3 Qc7 where you can feel white’s pressure on the kingside building up. Black can also play with 7. … Qb6, which is the infamous Poisoned Pawn variation that Fischer used so much. Anyway you play it, the Najdorf is an extremely dangerous choice for black to play, and both sides have to tread softly.
The Scheveningen Variation
Consider the position after 1. e4 c5, 2. Nf3 d6, 3. d4 cxd4, 4. Nxd4 Nf6, 5. Nc3 e6. This is the grand-daddy of all Sicilian variations. It’s often referred to as the Classical Sicilian, because of how old it’s roots are. The idea is simple: black’s central pawns create a barrier on the c5/d5/e5/f5 squares that make it hard for white to occupy the center with any of his pieces. He also maintains a lot of flexibility to play different plans, much like the Najdorf Variation. Because of this great flexibility, it’s hard to nail down what exactly the best plans are, like we’re able to do for the Sicilian Dragon.
White will generally try to hold down the center, not allowing black’s breaks of d6-d5 or e6-e5, and try to get an attack on the kingside like we’ve seen before. Black, on the other hand, will generally play with a6 and b7-b5, with a lot of similar ideas as the Najdorf.
The best way to study the Scheveningen variation is to go over games which illustrate main themes and concepts. It’s an opening that takes hours to learn and a lifetime to master. With that having been said, along with the Najdorf, the Scheveningen variation creates the most problems for White than of any other opening in chess, and that’s why it takes so much study to be good at.
Concluding Thoughts
The Sicilian Defense is by far black’s best answer to 1. e4. The flipside of this is that it takes a ton of study to really know those openings inside and out at a higher level. But don’t be discouraged: the beauty of the classical Sicilian is that there are so many themes and ideas that until you reach a higher level as a tournament player, you don’t need to study hundreds of lines of opening theory to learn how to get a good position in your games. All you have to know is the general plans for each side, and you’re on your way to playing expert chess.
