Sicilian Defence - White's Second Move Alternatives

White's Second Move Alternatives

To avoid giving Black the wide choice of systems available after 2.Nf3, White can adopt a number of so-called "anti-Sicilian" lines, including:

• 2.Nc3 may lead to a variety of systems, depending on White's next move, and has been used by even strong players, who intend to play an open Sicilian, for psychological reasons; while 2...Nc6 or 2...e6 are the usual replies, each obviates the possibility of playing the Najdorf. Lines with 3.g3 are known as the Closed Sicilian; 3.Nf3 usually transposes to the Open Sicilian; and 3.f4 transposes to the Grand Prix Attack (see 2.f4 below). White can also keep his options open with 3. Nge2. Andrew Soltis has dubbed that the "Chameleon System", since White maintains the option of playing a Closed Sicilian with 4.g3 or transposing to a standard Open Sicilian with 4.d4 cxd4 5.Nxd4. Two drawbacks are that (a) the Closed Sicilian lines with an early Nge2 are not very challenging for Black, and (b) if Black plays 2...Nc6 3.Nge2 g6, 4.d4 reaches an Accelerated Dragon where White has lost the option of playing c4, the Maróczy Bind, often considered White's best line. In view of possible transpositions to the main Sicilian variations, Black's reply to 2.Nc3 will depend on what he plays in the Open Sicilian. 2...Nc6 is the most common choice, but 2...e6 and 2...d6 are often played. The main line of the Closed Sicilian is 2.Nc3 Nc6 3.g3 g6 4.Bg2 Bg7 5.d3 d6, when White's main options are 6.Be3 followed by Qd2 and possibly 0-0-0, and 6.f4 followed by Nf3 and 0-0.
• 2.c3 is the Alapin Variation or c3 Sicilian. Originally championed by Semyon Alapin at the end of the 19th century, it was revived in the late 1960s by Evgeny Sveshnikov and Evgeny Vasiukov. Nowadays its strongest practitioners include grandmasters Sergei Tiviakov and Eduardas Rozentalis. White aims to set up a classical pawn centre with 3.d4, so Black should counter immediately in the centre by 2...Nf6 or 2...d5. The line 2...Nf6 3.e5 Nd5 resembles Alekhine's Defence, but the inclusion of the moves c3 and ...c5 is definitely in Black's favour. Now White can play 4.d4 cxd4 5.Nf3, when Black has a choice between 5...e6 and 5...Nc6. Another idea for White is 5.Bc4, which is met by 5...Qc7. 2...d5 3.exd5 Qxd5 4.d4 Nf6 5.Nf3 is the other main line, when Black's main options are 5...e6 and 5...Bg4. In this line, White usually ends up with an isolated queen's pawn after pawns are exchanged on d4. A rarer option on Black's second move is 2...e6, with the aim of transposing to the Advance Variation of the French Defence after 3.d4 d5 4.e5.

• 2.f4 is the Grand Prix Attack or McDonnell Attack: the latter name stems from the 14th match game played in London in 1834 between Alexander McDonnell and Charles Louis Mahé de La Bourdonnais, won by Black. According to Jeremy Silman and others, Black's best reply is 2...d5 3.exd5 Nf6!, the Tal Gambit, which has caused the immediate 2.f4 to decline in popularity. Players usually enter the Grand Prix Attack nowadays by playing 2.Nc3 first before continuing 3.f4. The modern main line runs 2.Nc3 Nc6 3.f4 g6 4.Nf3 Bg7. The move 2.Nc3 has been played at high-level grandmaster chess (Gelfand and Short have played it) but only rarely. Here White can play the positional 5.Bb5, threatening to double Black's pawns with Bxc6, or the more aggressive 5.Bc4, aiming for a kingside attack. A less common option is 2... e6, as La Bourdonnais played against McDonnell.
• 2.d4 cxd4 3.c3 is the Smith-Morra Gambit. Declining it by either 3...Nf6 or 3...d5, transposing to the c3 line, is possible, but accepting it by 3...dxc3 is critical. After 4.Nxc3, it is doubtful that White has enough compensation for the pawn; however, it can be dangerous for Black if he is unprepared, as there are many pitfalls for the unwary.
• 2.Ne2 is the Keres Variation, a favourite of Paul Keres, and has similar ideas to the Chameleon System discussed under 2.Nc3 – White can follow up with 3.d4 with an Open Sicilian, 3.g3 with a Closed Sicilian, or 3.Nbc3, continuing to defer the choice between the two.
• 2.d3 signals White's intention to develop along King's Indian Attack lines, and usually transposes to the Closed Sicilian.
• 2.b3 followed by 3.Bb2 is the Snyder Variation, named for USCF master Robert M. Snyder. It has been used occasionally by Nigel Short and is a favourite of Georgian GM Tamaz Gelashvili.
• 2.g3 is the Steinitz Variation, which was sometimes also played by Taimanov, and can transpose to the Closed Sicilian but offers other options such as 2...d5 3.exd5 Qxd5 for Black, and a central buildup with c3 and d4 for White.
• 2.c4 occasionally leads to positions that resemble lines in the English Opening.
• 2.b4 is the Wing Gambit. White's idea is 2. b4 cxb4 3. a3, hoping to deflect Black's c-pawn, then dominate the center with an early d4. However, Black can gain an advantage with accurate play. The Wing Gambit is thus generally considered too reckless. GM Joe Gallagher calls it "a forgotten relic, hardly having set foot in a tournament hall since the days of Frank Marshall and Rudolph Spielmann. White sacrifices a pawn for ... well, not a lot."
• 2.a3 is similar to the Wing Gambit, the idea being to play 3.b4 next move.
• 2.Na3 is an eccentric move recently brought into prominence by GM Vadim Zvjaginsev at the 2005 Russian Chess Championship Superfinal. He used it thrice during the tournament, drawing twice and beating Alexander Khalifman.
• 2.Bc4 is the Bowlder Attack, and though once played at the highest level, is popular today only among club players or beginners who are unfamiliar with the Sicilian and are looking either to attack the weak f7 pawn or to prepare for a quick kingside castle. However, after a move such as 2...e6, Black will soon play ...d5 and open up the centre while gaining time by attacking the bishop. Anderssen–Wyvill, London 1851 continued 2..e6 3.Nc3 a6 4.a4 Nc6 5.d3 g6 6.Nge2 Bg7 7.0-0 Nge7 8.f4 0-0 9.Bd2 d5 10.Bb3 Nd4 11.Nxd4, and now Soltis recommends 11...cxd4! 12.Ne2 Bd7!
• 2.Be2 is the so-called Slow Variation.
• 2.Qh5, threatening the c-pawn as in the Wayward Queen Attack, has been played a few times by Hikaru Nakamura, but the move is considered dubious. Simply 2...Nf6 gives Black a comfortable position after 3.Qxc5 Nxe4, while 3.Qh4 displaces the queen and loses time. Nakamura lost in 23 moves to Andrei Volokitin in 2005, and Neil McDonald criticised the opening experiment as "rather foolish".