Chess Openings: Introduction to the Sicilian Defense Main Lines with 2. ... D6

When white plays 1. e4 in a chess game, black's best scoring move in high level chess is 1. ... c5, the Sicilian Defense. White only scores 52.2% of the games in this defense, compared to the French Defense (the second most popular defense to 1. e4) in which white scores 55.4%. These numbers show exactly why the Sicilian Defense is the post popular defense in high level chess against 1. e4.

Now we'll get into the lines that happen after black chooses 2. ... d6. These openings are the real heart of the Sicilian Defense, and are some of the main ones used in high level chess. After 1. e4 c5, 2. Nf3 d6, 3. d4 cxd4, 4. Nxd4 Nf6, 5. Nc3 black has three main options, and can go into the Dragon variation, the Najdorf Variation, or the Scheveningen Variation. Here we'll take a brief look at each.

The Dragon Variation

The Sicilian Dragon goes 5. ... g6. Black's plan is to develop his bishop with Bg7, to castle kingside, and to try to take advantage of the a1-h8 diagonal. White's plan in the main line is to castle queenside, and push his pawns on the kingside to get a big attack. Play usually goes 6. Be3 Bg7, 7. f3 with white solidifying his center and making g2-g4 possible later on. This also prevents black from playing Ng4, obstructing the e3-bishop. Play continues 8. ... Nc6, 9. Qd2 lining up on the c1-h6 diagonal, and preparing a later Bh6. Black castles 9. ... 0-0, 10. Bc4 Bd7, 11. 0-0-0 Rc8, 12. Bb3 (black's threat was Nxd4, exposing an attack on the c4-bishop) Ne5, and white finally starts his attack with 12. h4.

In this position, white's plan is to play h4-h5 and sacrifice his h-pawn in exchange for an open h-file. Black's plan is to play moves like Qa5, Rc5, Rfc8, and Nc4 to counter-attack on the queenside. This often leads to brutal attack and counter-attack positions where each side is racing towards the other side's king on opposite sides of the board. White has a small edge, but has to be extremely careful.

The Najdorf Variation