Learn the Closed Sicilian

B23-B26 · a repertoire for white · 7 chapters · 28 annotated lines

"Skip their prep: one fianchetto machine against every Sicilian"

Sicilian players know their Open Sicilian theory better than you ever will — so don't play it. The Closed Sicilian (2.Nc3 with g3, Bg2, d3 and f4) sets up the same machine against every Black scheme and fights on White's terms: a kingside pawn storm Black has to defend over the board, not from memory. This course teaches the fianchetto system against 2...Nc6, 2...d6 and 2...e6, the f5 and e5 levers that turn the setup into an attack, the punishment of premature ...d5, and honest coverage of Black's best queenside race — a complete anti-Sicilian file that pairs with (or replaces) the Alapin.

What's inside

• Chapter 1: The Fianchetto Machine — Meeting 2...Nc6
  Lines: Study 1: The Main Line — ...g6, ...e6 and the 10.e5! Break, Study 2: ...e6 and the Premature ...d5 — a Pawn Falls, Study 3: The Great Race — ...Nf6 and the Queenside Charge
• Chapter 2: One System, Every Move Order — 2...d6 and 2...e6
  Lines: Study 1: 2...d6 and the ...e5 Wall — 9.f5! Storms Through, Study 2: 2...e6 and ...d5 — Winning the Light Squares, Study 3: The ...Bg4 Pin — Beg for the Trade
• Chapter 3: The Main Line Deepened — Black's Other Tries
  Lines: Study 1: 9...Rb8 — Clamp the Charge with 10.a4!, Study 2: 10...dxe5 — the Knight Recapture, a Move Earlier, Study 3: The Patient 11...Bd7 — Regroup and Squeeze
• Chapter 4: Winning the Race — the Storm in Full
  Lines: Study 1: The Storm in Full — c3, g4 and the Rolling Pawns, Study 2: The Immediate 8...Nd4 — h3, a4 and the f5 Bind, Study 3: 11...Nd4? — the Race Move That Drops a Pawn
• Chapter 5: The Botvinnik Wall — Every Defense Cracked
  Lines: Study 1: Declining with 9...f6 — 10.g4! Rolls Anyway, Study 2: The Greedy 11...Nxc2 — Take the Attack, Not the Exchange, Study 3: The Early Release — 7...exf4 Hands Over the f-file
• Chapter 6: The French Sicilian — 2...e6 in Depth
  Lines: Study 1: Holding the Isolani — the One Time White Plays d4!, Study 2: The Immediate 5...d4 — 6.Qe2+! and a Wrecked Kingside, Study 3: The 3...Nf6 Move Order — 4.Nge2! Keeps Every Option
• Chapter 7: Sidestep Artists — 2...Nf6, 2...a6 and 2...e5
  Lines: Study 1: 2...Nf6?! — the One Time You Break the Routine: 3.e5!, Study 2: The 2...a6 Race — the Machine Doesn't Blink, Study 3: 2...e5 — One Tweak: the Knight Goes to e2

Free sample: the main line, move by move

• 1. e4 — 1.e4 — stake the center.
• 1... c5 — 1...c5 — the Sicilian: Black fights for d4 with a wing pawn and books up on 3.d4 razor lines. We are not going there.
• 2. Nc3 — 2.Nc3 — the Closed Sicilian. White refuses to open the position, so thirty moves of Najdorf theory evaporate. The plan is a SYSTEM: g3, Bg2, d3, f4, Nf3, castle — and then a kingside pawn storm. Black's whole opening was built to punish d4; White never plays it.
• 2... Nc6 — 2...Nc6 — Black's most common developing move.
• 3. g3 — 3.g3 — the bishop belongs on g2: it bolts down e4, backs the coming f4-f5 push, and quietly stares at b7 for the rest of the game.
• 3... g6 — 3...g6 — Black mirrors with the Dragon bishop.
• 4. Bg2 — 4.Bg2 — with e4 defended twice, the c3 knight is untouchable by tricks and White's structure is already complete on the light squares.
• 4... Bg7 — 4...Bg7.
• 5. d3 — 5.d3 — modest and perfect: it supports e4, frees the c1 bishop, and keeps the long diagonal closed to Black's g7 bishop. The d-pawn's job is to stay home so the position stays closed.
• 5... d6 — 5...d6 — Black matches.
• 6. f4 — 6.f4! — the point of the whole system, and the move-order key: the f-pawn must go BEFORE the knight comes to f3, or it is blocked forever. White claims kingside space and prepares the f5 lever that every Closed Sicilian attack runs on.
• 6... e6 — 6...e6 — the main line: Black blunts f4-f5 and opens e7 for the knight.
• 7. Nf3 — 7.Nf3 — now the knight: it supports e5 and f4, and White is two tempi from castling. Notice the machine — every White move so far is the same in nearly every line of this course.
• 7... Nge7 — 7...Nge7 — headed for the standard ...Nd4 or ...f5 counters.
• 8. O-O — 8.O-O — king safe behind three untouched pawns; the f1 rook already smiles at the half-open f-file to come.
• 8... O-O — 8...O-O.
• 9. Be3 — 9.Be3 — the last developing move: the bishop hits c5 and connects with Qd2 ideas. It also invites 9...Nd4 — an invitation White is happy to extend, because the knight on d4 can be undermined at will.
• 9... Nd4 — 9...Nd4 — the thematic outpost; Black's most common try.
• 10. e5! — 10.e5! — the break, engine-first choice, at the perfect moment: it hits d6 while Black's e7 knight blocks his own queen. The e4 square is vacated for White's c3 knight, and every recapture on e5 favors White. This is the move that turns the quiet system into an attack.
• 10... Nef5 — 10...Nef5 — hitting the e3 bishop to relieve the pressure.
• 11. Bf2 — 11.Bf2 — drop back and keep everything: the bishop still watches the a7-g1 diagonal, g3 is reinforced, and the e5/f4 pawn duo keeps cramping. Black now faces an unpleasant choice about the e5 tension.
• 11... dxe5 — 11...dxe5 — the natural release, and already an inaccuracy: best was the patient 11...Bd7.
• 12. Nxe5! — 12.Nxe5! — the recapture is with the KNIGHT, never 12.fxe5?!, when 12...Nxf3+ 13.Qxf3 Bxe5 solves all of Black's problems. From e5 the knight radiates — c6, d7, f7 — the g2 bishop suddenly breathes fire at b7, and the engine already gives White nearly a full pawn.
• 12... Bd7 — 12...Bd7 — developing and covering c6.
• 13. Ne4 — 13.Ne4 — the second knight joins through the square 10.e5 cleared. It attacks c5, eyes d6 and f6, and next comes g4, evicting the f5 knight, then c3 evicting its brother on d4. Two knights on the rim of Black's camp, two raking bishops, +0.9 and rising: the Closed Sicilian main line, played the engine's way.

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