Learn the Sicilian Taimanov

B44-B49 · a repertoire for black · 5 chapters · 52 annotated lines

"The thinking player's Sicilian — flexible, sound, and lethal"

The Taimanov is the thinking player's Sicilian: with 4...Nc6 Black keeps every pawn structure on the table and refuses to commit to the concrete, heavily-analysed battlegrounds of the Najdorf or the Sveshnikov. The queen comes to c7, the pawn to a6, and Black develops with maximum flexibility — choosing the ...Bb4 pin, the ...d6/...e5 centre, or the Hedgehog depending on what White reveals. It has been a lifelong weapon for Kasparov, Anand and Carlsen precisely because it is sound against everything and forces White to play real chess rather than fire off a memorised knockout. This course builds the whole repertoire against the main tries — the English Attack, the Be2 and fianchetto systems, the critical 5.Nb5, the Maroczy Bind and the exchange — with every Black move checked by the engine. Learn the ...Qc7/...a6/...Nf6 formation once and play it against every Open Sicilian for the rest of your life.

What's inside

• Chapter 1: The English Attack — The ...Bb4 Pin
  Lines: The g4 Storm — Answer It with ...d5, The ...d5 Break — ...Ba5 Keeps the Pin, 10.Nb3 d5 — Resolving the Pin, the ...Nd5 Outpost, 10.g4 h6 11.h4 — Answering the Full Storm, 10.Nde2 d5 11.exd5 — The Central Trade, The Early g4 — Counter with ...b5, 10.a3 — Trade on c3 and Break with ...d5, 10.Kb1 — Trade on c3, then ...d5, 7.Bd3 — The Short-Castle English Attack, 7.Qf3 — The Queen-First English Attack, 7.Nb3 — The Retreat, Met by ...Bb4 and ...d5, 7.Be2 — The Quiet Move Order, Answered by ...d5
• Chapter 2: The Classical and Fianchetto Systems
  Lines: 6.Be2 — The Classical Setup, 6.g3 — The Fianchetto, 6.Be2 — The 10.Nxc6 Trade, 6.Be2 — The 8.a3 Anti-...Bb4, 6.g3 — The 9.Nxc6 Trade, 6.g3 — The 9.Re1 Setup, 6.g3 — The Double Fianchetto (9.b3)
• Chapter 3: The Critical 5.Nb5
  Lines: 5.Nb5 d6 6.Bf4 e5 — The Sveshnikov Centre, 5.Nb5 d6 6.Bf4 e5 7.Be3 Nf6 8.N1c3 — ...b5 and the ...Nd4 Plan, 5.Nb5 d6 6.Bf4 e5 7.Be3 Nf6 8.Bg5 a6 9.Bxf6 — The gxf6 Structure, 5.Nb5 d6 6.Bf4 e5 7.Bg3 — Keeping the Bishop, 5.Nb5 d6 6.Bf4 e5 7.Be3 Nf6 8.Bg5 a6 9.N5a3 Be7 10.Nc4 — Hit the Knight, 5.Nb5 d6 6.N1c3 — The Slow Knight Tour
• Chapter 4: The Maroczy Bind and the Exchange
  Lines: 5.Nb5 d6 6.c4 — The Maroczy Hedgehog, 5.Nxc6 bxc6 6.Bd3 — The Exchange and ...d5, 5.Nxc6 bxc6 6.Bd3 d5 7.exd5 — The Symmetrical Release, 5.Nxc6 bxc6 6.e5 — Punishing the Space Grab, 5.Nxc6 bxc6 6.Nc3 — The Main Line ...d5, 5.Nxc6 bxc6 6.Nc3 d5 7.e5 — Clamping the Centre, 5.Nxc6 bxc6 6.Bc4 — The Same Recipe, With a Tempo, 5.Nb5 d6 6.c4 — The Maroczy ...Ne5 Manoeuvre, 5.c4 — The Direct Maroczy Grab
• Chapter 5: White's Sidelines and Move-Order Tries
  Lines: 6.Ndb5 — The Bastrikov Chase, 6.f4 — The Aggressive Wedge, 6.Bc4 — The Sozin Bishop, 6.Nxc6 — The Early Exchange, 6.a3 — The Prophylactic Wait, 6.Nde2 — The Modest Retreat, 6.Bd3? — The Natural Move That Loses a Piece

Free sample: the main line, move by move

• 1. e4 — The Open Sicilian. White takes the centre and invites the fight Black is happy to have.
• 1... c5 — The Sicilian. Instead of mirroring in the centre, Black stakes a claim on the queenside and unbalances the game from move one — the winning-est answer to 1.e4 there is.
• 2. Nf3 — White develops and prepares d4.
• 2... e6 — The Taimanov/Paulsen move order. ...e6 is flexible: it supports a future ...d5, keeps the c8 bishop's options open, and refuses to tell White anything 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... Nc6 — The defining Taimanov move. Black challenges the d4 knight at once and keeps every structure available — ...d6, ...Bb4, ...Bc5 or the Hedgehog. This is our committed choice: we always play 4...Nc6.
• 5. Nc3 — White develops naturally and defends e4.
• 5... Qc7 — The heart of the Taimanov. The queen takes her ideal square: eyeing c-file pressure, controlling e5, and preparing ...a6 and ...Bb4 or ...Nf6. Play this in nearly every Taimanov game.
• 6. Be3 — The English Attack. White builds for Qd2, O-O-O and a kingside pawn storm.
• 6... a6 — The universal Taimanov prophylaxis. ...a6 takes the b5 square from White's pieces, prepares ...b5, and keeps the position flexible before we commit a piece.
• 7. Qd2 — White connects for queenside castling and eyes the h6 square.
• 7... Nf6 — Develop with tempo — the knight hits e4 and forces White to spend a move on f3, the very move that later gives our ...d5 break its bite.
• 8. O-O-O — White castles into the attack. The race is on: White storms the kingside, Black strikes in the centre — and the centre always beats a wing.
• 8... Bb4 — The main line and the point of the whole setup. The bishop pins the c3 knight against the d2 queen — and c3 is both the anchor of White's centre and the shield in front of his king. That pin is what makes the coming ...d5 break work.
• 9. f3 — White props up e4 and prepares g4 — but concedes that the c3 knight is pinned and the king a touch airier.
• 9... Ne7 — The key regrouping. The c6 knight steps aside to e7, unblocking the centre for ...d5 and rerouting toward g6 or back into the middle. Black gets ready to meet whatever White throws with a central break.
• 10. g4 — The storm. White hurls the g-pawn forward to prise open Black's kingside — but every flank attack invites a counter in the centre.
• 10... h6 — The brake. ...h6 stops g4-g5 in its tracks, so White must spend more time (h4, Rg1, Nb3) before the storm rolls — time Black spends preparing to blow open the middle.
• 11. Nb3 — White repositions the knight, clears the d-file and readies the g- and h-pawns.
• 11... d5 — The golden rule in action: answer a wing attack with a central break. ...d5 rips open the middle exactly when White has committed pawns to the flank, and the engine confirms Black is doing fine. If White grabs it (exd5 Nxd5) the c3 knight and e3 bishop come under fire; if White pushes past with e5, Black gets a beautiful blockade — either way, the g4 storm loses its purpose.
• 12. e5 — White clamps the centre and gains space, hitting the f6 knight.
• 12... Nd7 — The knight reroutes with purpose — from d7 it eyes c5 and the ...f6 break against the e5 spearhead, while White's advanced kingside pawns are as much a target as a threat.
• 13. f4 — White bolsters the e5 pawn and reaches for more kingside space.
• 13... b6 — Black prepares the queenside fianchetto — ...Bb7 will rake the long diagonal and hit e4 through the pawn, and the pin on c3 keeps White honest.
• 14. h4 — White renews the storm, but with the centre stabilised Black is ready to liquidate.
• 14... Bxc3 — The moment to cash in the pin — trading on c3 damages White's queenside and defuses the attack before White can whip up threats.
• 15. Qxc3 — White recaptures with the queen.
• 15... Qxc3 — Black offers the queen trade, the surest way to take the sting out of White's pawn storm.
• 16. bxc3 — Forced, leaving White with a shattered queenside.
• 16... Bb7 — Black completes the plan. Be accurate about the verdict: with queens off and every minor piece still on, this is a queenless middlegame where White's space and the e5 wedge are worth a small pull — the engine says a shade under half a pawn — while Black's crippled-c-pawn targets and the ...f6 break give completely comfortable play. That is a fine outcome: White's whole attacking army has been traded into a structure Black can hold and pick at, and the wing attack has been answered and outlived.

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