The July edition of Chess Life has some great coverage of the USAT Playoffs this month. A few games in particular struck my eye as excellent illustrations of how to the play the Fischer-Sozin (B87) variation of the Sicilian Defense. The games I want to analyze are by FM Bruci Lopez (2455), the strongest player in the playoffs. Lopez plays this opening twice with White and both times provides a textbook illustration of how White should use the initiative to build up an attack. Chess Life comments on Lopez’s success, “This game might attract new adherents to the Bc4 systems.”
This statement proves very interesting and has prompted my interest in this opening. According to Chessgames.com this version of the Sicilian Defense has waned in popularity since the 70’s. Lopez’s results are fairly impressive given the overall record for this opening:
The Keres Attack (B81) is considered the most dangerous attack available
to white when Black plays for the Scheveningen pawn structure in the Sicilian Defense. This variation for white is named after GM Paul Keres
who championed the move 6.g4 after reaching the set-up: 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3
d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 e6
The attacking move 6. g4 is made possible by the fact that Black has cut
off his white bishop from the g4 square when he made the advance e6.
White’s intention with this move is to make the push g5 and force
Black’s knight to retreat. Black is able to adequately defend his
position with the pawn move 6. … h6. While, this is a defensible
position for black some may try to avoid the g4 thrust by waiting on e6
and playing 5. … a6. This is a natural move in the Sicilian Defense as
it begins the queenside pawn storm as well as taking away b5 as an
outpost for white knights.
This compact way of playing the Sicilian Defense is characterized by a superior, tight, flexible pawn structure for Black with pawns on d6 and e6. This defensive formation allows Black to develop nicely and prepare to fight on the queenside by pushing his a and b pawns. The diagram to the left illustrates the Scheveningen pawn structure and helps simplify some of the ideas involved in this type of system. Black has the half-open c-file to work down while maintaining a solid space advantage in the center.
In this system it will be difficult for white to improve his pawn structure without leaving holes in his defense. For example, white’s lone e pawn can become and object of attack and bolstering its defense by f3 leaves the White king exposed.
Another major consideration in this Sicilian Defense structure is when to push the Black’s d or e pawn. Black needs to be very careful should he need to play e5 as the d5 square then becomes a potentially lethal outpost for a white knight. From the diagram you can see that after e5, a white knight on d5 cannot be forced out by a pawn. This would also leave Black’s d pawn backward and vulnerable to attack.
In this following video I play through and provide my commentary on a great example of how to play this particular version of the Sicilian Defense by the great Kasparov.
This compact way of playing the Sicilian Defense is characterized by a superior, tight, flexible pawn structure for Black with pawns on d6 and e6. This defensive formation allows Black to develop nicely and prepare to fight on the queenside by pushing his a and b pawns. The diagram to the left illustrates the Scheveningen pawn structure and helps simplify some of the ideas involved in this type of system. Black has the half-open c-file to work down while maintaining a solid space advantage in the center.