Learn the Sicilian Kan

B41-B43 · a repertoire for black · 7 chapters · 47 annotated lines

"The flexible Paulsen — ...a6 first, and let White commit"

The Kan (or Paulsen) is the Sicilian for players who love flexibility. After 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4, Black slips in 4...a6 before committing a single piece — taking the b5 square away from White's knights and bishop, preparing ...b5 and ...Bb7, and keeping every structure on the table. Only when White reveals a plan does Black choose a matching setup: the ...Bc5 pressure on d4, the ...Qc7 and ...b5 hedgehog, or the ...Bb4 pin against the Maroczy Bind. It is easy to learn, hard to break, and beloved from Paulsen to Kasparov because it refuses to walk into anyone's preparation. This course builds the whole repertoire against every fifth move — 5.Nc3, 5.Bd3, the 5.c4 Maroczy, and the quiet 5.Be2 and 5.g3 — with every Black move checked by the engine.

What's inside

• Chapter 1: 5.Nc3 — The ...Qc7 Main Line
  Lines: 5.Nc3 Qc7 6.Bd3 — The ...Bc5 Plan, 5.Nc3 Qc7 6.Bd3 Nf6 7.Qe2 — The ...b5 Hedgehog, 7.O-O Bc5 8.Be3 — Keeping the Tension with ...d6, 6.Ndb5?! — The Premature Knight Raid
• Chapter 2: 5.Bd3 — The ...Bc5 Plan
  Lines: 5.Bd3 Bc5 6.Nb3 Ba7 — Pressure on d4, 5.Bd3 Bc5 6.Nb3 Ba7 7.c4 — The ...Nge7-g6 Reroute, 5.Bd3 Bc5 6.c3 — The Pawn Prop and the ...e5 Counter, 6.Nb3 Ba7 7.Qg4 — Meeting the Queen Lunge
• Chapter 3: 5.c4 — The Maroczy Bind and the ...Bb4 Pin
  Lines: 5.c4 Nf6 6.Nc3 Bb4 — The Pin and the ...dxc6 Recapture, 5.c4 Nf6 6.Nc3 Bb4 7.Bd3 Nc6 8.O-O — The ...Nxd4 Trick, 7.e5 Ne4! — Meeting the Push with a Counterpunch, 7.Qd3 — The Clumsy Queen and the ...d5 Break, 7.Bd2 — The Quiet Unpin and the ...Ne4 Liquidation, 7.f3 — The Pawn Prop and the ...Rd8 Regroup
• Chapter 4: The Quiet 5.Be2 and 5.g3
  Lines: 5.Be2 — The Scheveningen Setup, 5.g3 — The Fianchetto, 5.Be2 with 8.a4 — When White Stops ...b5, Strike with ...d5
• Chapter 5: 5.Nc3 Qc7 — Be3, f4 and the g4 Lunge
  Lines: 6.Be3 — The English Attack Setup and ...b5, 6.f4 — The Space Grab and the ...Bc5 Sting, 6.g4 — Calm Against the Caveman
• Chapter 6: Early Sidelines — 5.Bc4, 5.Be3, 5.f4 and the Rare Tries
  Lines: 5.Bc4 — The Misplaced Bishop and the c-file X-ray, 5.Be3 with c4 — The Bind Met by ...Ne5!, 5.f4 — Punishing the Premature Space Grab, 4.Qxd4 — The Queen Recapture and ...Nc6, 5.Nb3 — The Timid Retreat and the ...Bb4 Treatment
• Chapter 7: Dodging the Open — 3.c3, 3.d3, 3.b3 and 3.b4
  Lines: 3.c3 — The Alapin Sidestep and ...d5, 3.d3 — The King's Indian Attack Race, 3.b3 — The Fianchetto Sideline and the ...d4 Wedge, 3.b4?! — The Wing Gambit Deferred

Free sample: the main line, move by move

• 1. e4 — The Open Sicilian. White grabs the centre and invites the fight Black is only too happy to have.
• 1... c5 — The Sicilian. Rather than mirror White in the centre, Black stakes a claim on the queenside and unbalances the game from move one — the highest-scoring answer to 1.e4.
• 2. Nf3 — White develops and prepares d4.
• 2... e6 — The Kan/Paulsen move order. ...e6 is supremely flexible: it frees the f8 bishop, supports a future ...d5, and tells White nothing about Black's plans yet.
• 3. d4 — White opens the centre.
• 3... cxd4 — Black trades the wing pawn for a centre pawn — the standard Open Sicilian exchange that hands Black the half-open c-file.
• 4. Nxd4 — White recaptures and reaches the Open Sicilian tabiya.
• 4... a6 — The defining Kan move. ...a6 takes b5 away from White's knight and bishop, prepares ...b5 with ...Bb7, and keeps every structure available — Black still hasn't committed a single minor piece.
• 5. Nc3 — White develops naturally and defends e4.
• 5... Qc7 — The heart of the Kan. The queen takes her ideal square: eyeing the c-file, controlling e5, and supporting a later ...b5. Play this in nearly every 5.Nc3 line.
• 6. Bd3 — The most natural developing move. White eyes the b1-h7 diagonal and keeps e4 defended.
• 6... Nf6 — Development with tempo — the knight hits e4 and adds a defender to the important d5 square.
• 7. O-O — White castles into a quiet, healthy position.
• 7... Bc5 — The point of the plan. The bishop takes aim at d4 and f2, pressuring White's knight and cramping his kingside. This is the sharpest, most active square for the bishop.
• 8. Nb3 — White chases the bishop and clears the d-file, hoping to gain a tempo.
• 8... Ba7 — The key retreat. The bishop keeps the a7-g1 diagonal — from a7 it still glares at f2 and the centre, and it is beautifully safe behind the a6 pawn. Never surrender this diagonal with ...Be7.
• 9. Qe2 — White connects the rooks and props up e4, preparing to expand or trade in the centre.
• 9... Nc6 — Development, completing the minor pieces and eyeing the d4 and e5 squares. Black is fully mobilised.
• 10. Be3 — White offers to trade off Black's active a7 bishop — the one piece really cramping his position.
• 10... Bxe3 — Black accepts. Trading the good bishop looks odd, but it removes White's best minor piece too, opens the a7-g1 diagonal for the queen's later use, and leaves Black with a comfortable, weakness-free structure.
• 11. Qxe3 — White recaptures, the queen well placed on the a7-g1 diagonal.
• 11... d6 — The keystone. ...d6 builds the small, bomb-proof centre, takes the e5 square, and prepares ...O-O, ...b5 and ...Bd7/...b7. A textbook Scheveningen structure where Black knows exactly what to do.
• 12. f4 — White grabs kingside space and dreams of an e4-e5 or f4-f5 break.
• 12... O-O — Black castles into safety. The plan from here writes itself: ...b5 to gain queenside space, ...Bb7 or ...Bd7, ...Nbd7 or ...Rac8, and counterplay down the c-file. The engine calls it dead level — exactly what the Kan promises.

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