Learn the The Open Sicilian

B56-B99 · a repertoire for white · 6 chapters · 56 annotated lines

"Meet every Sicilian with 3.d4 and one attacking plan"

The Sicilian is Black's proudest defence, and the Open Sicilian — 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 and 3.d4 — is White's principled, ambitious answer to all of it. Instead of dodging into a quiet Anti-Sicilian, you take the centre and play for the initiative. This course hands you one coherent, aggressive, engine-checked system against every mainstream Sicilian: the English Attack (Be3, f3, Qd2, O-O-O and the g4-g5/h4 pawn storm) against the Najdorf, Scheveningen, Taimanov and Kan; the Yugoslav Attack against the Dragon; the Richter-Rauzer against the Classical; the 7.Nd5 bind against the Sveshnikov; and the Maroczy Bind against the Accelerated Dragon. You will learn one set of ideas — pawn storm the castled king, blockade the d5-square, own the space — and apply it to the whole Sicilian jungle.

What's inside

• Chapter 1: The Najdorf — The English Attack
  Lines: The Main Line — 6.Be3 e5 and the g4 Avalanche, The 6...e6 Scheveningen — Same Setup, Same Storm, The 8...h5 Line — When Black Stops g4, Blockade d5, The Queenside Rush — 8...Nbd7 and ...b5 Before Castling, The ...e6 Scheveningen with ...Nc6 — Storm Anyway, The ...Qc7 Scheveningen — ...b5 and ...Bb7 Meet g5, The 6...Ng4 Tactic — Chase the Knight, Keep the Structure, The 11...Nb6 Sideline — Storm On Regardless, The Scheveningen with ...Nbd7 and ...O-O — Storm It
• Chapter 2: The Dragon — The Yugoslav Attack
  Lines: The Yugoslav Main Line — Bc4, O-O-O and h4, The ...Qa5 Counterattack — Prophylaxis First, The Early ...Nxd4 — Trade the Knights, Keep the Attack, The Chinese Dragon — ...Rb8 and ...b5, The ...Nxd4 and ...Qa5 — Pressure on c3 Meets Kb1, The ...Na5 Manoeuvre — Trade the Bishop, Storm On, The ...Nc4 Exchange — Trade Off, Then Fire the h-Pawn
• Chapter 3: The Classical — The Richter-Rauzer
  Lines: The Rauzer Main Line — Bg5, Qd2, O-O-O, The ...Be7 Line — Central Recapture with Qxd4, The ...h6 Line — Bxf6 and the Bishop Pair Doesn't Matter, The ...h6 Retreat — Be3 and the English Attack Storm, The Classical ...Be7 — Nf3, Then e5 Wins a Piece, The Early ...Nxd4 — Recapture with the Queen, The ...e5 Break — Qxf4 and the Open f-File, The ...Be7 and ...O-O — the e5 Break Strikes, The ...h6, Be3 and ...Nxd4 — the Long Diagonal Bishop
• Chapter 4: The Taimanov & Kan — English Attack vs ...e6
  Lines: The Taimanov — Be3, Qd2, O-O-O and g4, The Kan — Same Scheme vs ...a6 and ...Qc7, The Taimanov ...Ne5 — Storm Past the Centralised Knight, The Early ...b5 — Fianchetto Meets the Storm, The ...Bb4 Sortie — f3 Holds, Then Reroute, The Kan with Early ...b5 — Same Storm, The Kan-Scheveningen — ...Nf6 and ...d6 Meet g4, The Taimanov ...h5 — Stop g4, Switch to the Bind, The Kan Hedgehog — ...Nbd7 and ...b5 Meet the Storm, The Kan ...Bb4 — Bd2 Breaks the Pin, Nb5 Wins the Argument, The ...Bb4 with ...O-O and ...b5 — Ncxb5 Just Wins, The ...Bb4 and ...d5 Break — Recapture with the Bishop, Then Meet ...Qe5+
• Chapter 5: The Sveshnikov — The 7.Nd5 Bind
  Lines: 7.Nd5 and the Eternal d5 Outpost, The 8...Ne7 Reroute — Same Bind, Same Plan, The 8...Nb8 with ...Be7 — Leave the Knight on b5, The 8...Ne7 with ...Bd7 — Castle First, Retreat Later, The Fianchetto Defence — ...g6 and ...Bg7 vs the Bind, The 8...Nd4 Sortie — Just Win the Pawn
• Chapter 6: The Accelerated Dragon — The Maroczy Bind
  Lines: The Maroczy Bind — 5.c4 and Why ...Ng4 Helps You, The Gurgenidze — Meeting ...Nxd4 and ...Bc6, The ...Nd7-c5 Regroup — f3 Holds the Bind, The ...Nxd4 and ...Be6 — Pressure on c4 Meets Rac1, The Hedgehog Set-Up — ...b6 and ...Bb7 vs the Bind

Free sample: the main line, move by move

• 1. e4 — The Open Sicilian starts with the most combative first move: claim the centre and invite the fight.
• 1... c5 — The Sicilian — Black's most ambitious reply, fighting for the centre from the flank.
• 2. Nf3 — Develop and prepare d4. This knight is the spine of the whole repertoire; it goes to d4 next move against everything.
• 2... d6 — The Najdorf/Classical move order, keeping ...Nf6 and ...e5 or ...e6 in reserve.
• 3. d4 — The Open Sicilian break. You trade a wing pawn for a centre pawn and open the position for your pieces — this is the whole point of 2.Nf3.
• 3... cxd4 — Black must take; otherwise White plays dxc5 with a comfortable pull.
• 4. Nxd4 — Recapture with the knight, which now sits proudly in the centre eyeing b5, f5 and e6. Every Open Sicilian flows through this square.
• 4... Nf6 — Black develops and hits e4, forcing you to defend it.
• 5. Nc3 — Defend e4 and complete the spine: knights on d4 and c3, ready to support everything to come.
• 5... a6 — The Najdorf — Black's flexible waiting move, ruling out Nb5 ideas and preparing ...e5 or ...e6 with ...b5 to follow.
• 6. Be3 — The English Attack. The bishop eyes the a7-g1 diagonal and, crucially, supports the whole scheme: f3, Qd2, O-O-O and the pawn storm. This one move announces your entire plan.
• 6... e5 — The classical Najdorf strike, grabbing central space and hitting the d4 knight.
• 7. Nb3 — Retreat to b3, not f5 or e2. From here the knight eyes a5 and c5, keeps an eye on d4, and stays out of the way of your f3-g4 storm.
• 7... Be6 — Black develops the problem bishop and covers the d5 hole and the c4 square.
• 8. f3 — The keystone. f3 props up e4, denies Black's pieces the g4-square, and — most importantly — clears the way for g2-g4-g5. The English Attack is now unmistakable.
• 8... Be7 — Black develops and prepares to castle into the coming storm.
• 9. Qd2 — The queen takes her English-Attack square: she connects the rooks for O-O-O, supports a later Bh6, and stands ready to swing to the kingside behind the pawns.
• 9... O-O — Black castles — and by doing so tells you exactly where to aim the pawns.
• 10. O-O-O — Castle queenside. Now the kings live on opposite wings, which means the game becomes a pure race: whoever's pawn storm lands first, wins. Yours is already loaded.
• 10... Nbd7 — Black brings the last knight into play, eyeing c5 and b6 and supporting the ...b5 advance.
• 11. g4 — The avalanche begins. The g-pawn will hit g5 to kick the f6 knight and pry open the h-file — every tempo now is a tempo toward Black's king.
• 11... b5 — Black races back, aiming ...b4 to chase your c3 knight and open the b-file against your king.
• 12. g5 — Push on. The f6 knight is evicted, the h-file opens after h4-h5, and your attack rolls first because you started it. This is the position the English Attack was invented for.
• 12... b4 — Black hurls the pawn onward, chasing the c3 knight to open the b-file against your king. The race is now flat out.
• 13. Ne2 — Sidestep to e2, not b1 or a4. The knight stays active — it eyes g3, d4 and f4 — and remains a defender of your king's shelter while your storm rolls on.
• 13... Ne8 — Black tucks the f6 knight back to e8, out of the g5-pawn's reach, planning ...Nc7-b6 or the ...f5 counter-break.
• 14. f4 — Reload. f4 strikes at e5 and clears f3, so that f5 next will freeze Black's kingside and pry the position open exactly where his king lives. Every white pawn now points at the enemy king — this is the English Attack in full cry.

Learn the The Open Sicilian — start your 7-day free trial →