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Reviews
Introductory Sicilian Books
Reviewed by
S. Evan Kreider
6/30/02
The Sicilian! An Overview, by Senior Postal
Master Jon Edwards with contributions by IGM Ron Henley (R&D, 1993).
Starting Out: The Sicilian, by GM John Emms (Everyman Chess,
2002).
A while back, I decided that I’d like to learn a little something about the
Sicilian Defense. I wasn’t planning on playing it much, and I certainly had
no aspirations to become an expert on Sicilian theory, but I thought it
would be good to get an overview of the typical lines, strategies, and
tactics of the main Sicilian variations.
Unfortunately, there weren’t a lot of books available to me for this
purpose. True, there are hundreds of Sicilian books in print, but most of
them tend to focus on specific variations. However, I did finally come
across one book which looked perfectly tailored to my needs: The
Sicilian! An Overview.
 This book is part of R&D Publishing’s “Power Play!” series. For those not
familiar with this series, allow me to quote the publisher’s back cover
blurb: “Power Play! is a complete training system designed to help you
understand an opening. Instead of leaving the reader floundering through
endless lines of analysis trying to figure out what’s important and remember
it later, Power Play! identifies the critical positions and helps you
understand them the old-fashioned way, ‘one position at a time.’” This
sounded like a great approach to me, so I purchased the book.
For the most part, I was satisfied, especially given how affordable the book
was (list price: $10.95, as of this writing). It certainly delivers the
promised format. There are 30 key position taken from the spectrum of
Sicilian variations. Each one begins with a short series of moves (usually
about the first 4 to 10) leading up to the key position, demonstrated by a
diagram of that position and a short paragraph or two briefly describing the
characteristics of the position. Then there are about two pages discussing
both White’s and Black’s typical plans and moves, illustrated by two or
three games, either lightly annotated or unannotated (usually at least one
of them is annotated). Like I said, it delivers the promised format.
However, it’s another question how instructive and thorough their use of
this format is.
Although I certainly think that this book provides a nice concise notebook
of the majority of important Sicilian variations along with some of their
typical ideas and plans, it’s less clear how useful it is as an overview for
someone wanting to learn about the Sicilian for the first time. The
explanations are so concise and the annotations are so light that they would
probably only be of value to those who have studied the Sicilian previously,
or who already have a fairly sophisticated understanding of opening and
middlegame strategy. A strong intermediate player would probably find the
book useful for getting an initial taste of the Sicilian, but less
knowledgeable players might be left scratching their heads.
On the positive side, I do like the fact that they take the time to discuss
several important but less common Sicilian systems: the Wing Gambit (1. e4
c5 2. b4), the Smith-Morra Gambit (2. d4 cxd4 3. c3), the Alapin (2. c3),
The Grand Prix Attack (2. f4 d5), the Closed Sicilian (2. Nc3 Nc6 3. g3),
the Nimzowitsch (2. Nf6), the Rossolimo (2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5), and the Moscow
(2. Nf3 d6 3. Bb5+). It can be hard to find sources which teach the basics
of these lines without doing too little or too much. An openings
encyclopedia might give them a line or two line each and other books may be
entirely devoted to any one of them, but most amateurs just want something
in between for systems like these – perhaps a few pages on just the key
variations and ideas – and this book does that nicely.
However, it leaves out several second- and third-tier systems, some of which
are not at all uncommon: the Delayed Grand Prix (1. e4 c5 2. Nc3 Nc6 3. f4),
the Hyper-Accelerated Dragon (2. Nf3 g6), and the O’Kelly Sicilian (2…a6)
come to mind. Since they decided to include many of these kinds of lines,
they should have included them all, and certainly could have without adding
too many more pages. I could see if some of the above were left out, but
certainly NOT the Delayed Grand Prix, which is popular at the club level,
and which even GMs use on occasion.
Furthermore, several important first-tier (or perhaps “first-and-a-half” . .
. ) Sicilians are left out: the Kalashnikov (1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4
4. Nxd4 e5 5. Nb5 d6), the (as far as I can tell) nameless 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3
Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Qb6, and the Four Knights Sicilian (1. e4 c5 2. Nf3
e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 Nc6) are all absent.
Even worse, several important variations within the most important Sicilians
are missing: in the Dragon (1. e4 c5 Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3
g6) they include the Yugoslav Attack (6. Be3), but not the Levenfish (6. f4)
or the Classical (6. Be2); in the Classical (1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4
4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 d6) they include the Richter-Rauzer (6. Bg5) and the
Sozin-Velimirovic Attack (6. Bc4 e6 7. Be3), but not the Boleslavsky (6. Be2
e5), the Classical Sozin (6. Bc4 e6 7. O-O), or the Anti-Sozin lines (6. Bc4
Qb6); in the Scheveningen (1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3
e6), they include the Main Line (6. Be2) and the Keres Attack (6. g4), but
not the English Attack (6. Be3); in the Najdorf (1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4
cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6), they include the Main Line (6. Bg5 e6 7. f4
Be7) and the Fischer Attack (6. Bc4), but not the Poisoned Pawn variation
(6. Bg5 e6 7. f4 Qb6), the English Attack (6. Be3), or the Classical Main
Line (6. Be2). Again, leaving out some of these is perhaps acceptable, but
not all of them, not by a long shot, especially not the English Attack
against the Scheveningen and Najdorf, nor the Poisoned Pawn Najdorf – if any
variations qualify as necessary, these certainly must.
Overall, I found it an interesting and helpful little book to a certain
degree, and given the low cost of the book, I felt I had gotten my money’s
worth, but I was still left having to do a lot more research to really get a
feel for the Sicilian, even in an broad overview kind of way. Fortunately
for me, Everyman Chess has published a book which makes this much easier for
me: GM John Emms’ Starting Out: The Sicilian.
 First of all, a word about the production of the book: excellent. The book
is slightly larger than the Everyman books I’m used to, but it fits nicely
in my rather average-sized hands, it lays open more easily than most books
(with minimal stress on the binding), the pages are made from a
heavier-than-usual-stock paper, the print quality of the text and diagrams
is perfect, there is very little unnecessary blank space, and the book has a
slick, sturdy cover with an attractive design. All this, and for a list price
(at the time of this writing) of only $16.95 US! That’s less than the $20 or
so I’m used to paying for quality chess books.
The book begins with a bibliography and a brief introduction. The
introduction takes the time to explain the basic strategic idea behind 1. e4
c5 and the Open Sicilian pawn structure (the most common of Sicilian pawn
structures). This gives enough information so that even novices will be able
to follow the book’s later discussions on specific lines. Emms concludes the
introduction by summarizing the variations he intends to discuss, which I
will now lay out in detail:
Chapter 1 (20 pages): The Dragon Variation. Includes “the Yugoslav Attack,”
“the Classical Variation,” “the Levenfish Attack,” and “White Plays g3.”
Chapter 2 (22 pages): The Najdorf Variation. Includes “the Main Line: Bg5”
(mainly the Main Line with 7…Be7, but briefly discussing the Poisoned Pawn
variation), “the English Attack,” and “White Plays Be2.” Emms notes that 6.
Bc4 is covered in the Scheveningen chapter (under “the Fischer Attack”). I
guess I found that a little odd, since I associate the Fischer Attack with
the Najdorf more than the Scheveningen, but it doesn’t really matter since
they can transpose, and Emms does a fine job covering it regardless of which
chapter he decided to place it in.
Chapter 3 (22 pages): The Scheveningen Variation. Includes “the Keres
Attack,” “the English Attack,” “White Plays Be2,” and “the Fischer Attack.”
Chapter 4 (15 pages): The Sveshnikov Variation. Includes “the Opening
Moves,” “White Plays 9 Bxf6,” and “White Plays 9 Nd5.”
Chapter 5 (17 pages): The Classical Variation. Includes “the Richter-Rauzer
Attack,” “the Sozin and Velimirovic Attack,” and “the Boleslavsky
Variation.”
Chapter 6 (28 pages): Other Open Sicilians. Includes “the Taimanov
Variation,” “the Accelerated Dragon” (including both the Marcozy Bind and
the 5. Nc3 variations), “the Four Knights Variation” (including a brief note
on the not-so-sound “Pin Variation” (a.k.a. “Sicilian Counter-Attack): 1. e4
c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 Bb4), “the Kan Variation,” and
“the Kalashnikov Variation” (including a brief note on the Lowenthal
Variation: 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 e5 5. Nb5 a6).
Chapter 7 (12 pages): Bb5 Systems. Includes “the Rossolimo Variation” and
“the Moscow Variation.”
Chapter 8 (13 pages): The c3 Sicilian. Includes “Black Plays 2… d5” and
“Black Plays 2…Nf6.”
Chapter 9 (15 pages): Other Systems. Includes “the Closed Sicilian,” “the
Grand Prix Attack,” and “the Morra Gambit.”
Emms does not discuss absolutely all of the minor variations I listed in the
first part of this review. For example, his coverage of the Grand Prix only
covers the 1. e4 c4 2. Nc3 Nc6 3. f4 lines. He mentions the 1. e4 c5 2. f4
line, but doesn’t examine it. This line isn’t entirely uncommon at the
amateur level, so I feel that it deserved at least one annotated game. He
also mentions 1. e4 c5 2. g3?!, but also doesn’t examine it. Again, a single
annotated game, or even a partial game in a footnote would help the Black
player know what to do against it should it arise. I also wouldn’t have
minded seeing a little something on the Wing Gambit, the Hyper-Accelerated
Dragon, the O’Kelly, and especially the Nimzowitsch, which can pack a bit of
a sting if White is unprepared.
However, Emms does make it clear in the introduction that he doesn’t intend
to give a comprehensive account of the Sicilian, but only to give an
introduction to the main lines. With that in mind, Emms provides more than
sufficiently broad and thorough coverage. Perhaps a second edition could
include one more short chapter with a single annotated game on each of these
minor variations, just to give players an idea of what they might face; but
overall, I’m perfectly satisfied with the breadth of coverage.
I’m extremely pleased with the format and content of this book. Each
variation begins with a list of the moves leading up to the key / defining
position of the variation (much like the R&D book), followed by a few
paragraphs briefly characterizing the opening and usually a little about the
history of each major variation and some of the great chess players who have
used it. This is followed by a “Strategy” section of (on average) two or
three paragraphs in length; then a “Theoretical?” paragraph which indicates
if the line can be played according to general principles or if it requires
detailed theoretical knowledge (or somewhere in between); then a
“Statistics” paragraph stating the average results in the line; then two or
three annotated games illustrating the important strategies, tactics, traps,
transpositions, plans, and ideas in the line; finally, a brief “Summary”
section characterizing all the lines in terms of their soundness, the type
of games in which they result, the style of player best suited to them, etc.
Where the book really shines is in the illustrative games. Emms does an
incredible job of annotating the games for maximum instructive value. They
are extremely clear and explicit, so that players of all levels will be able
to understand what is going on – much like Reuben Fine’s Ideas Behind the
Chess Openings, but dedicated solely to the Sicilian. Especially
important points are clearly indicated by bold text and an icon in the
margin (a clipboard icon to indicate important ideas; a skull and crossbones
for warnings of typical errors to avoid). I couldn’t possibly have hoped for
more in this regard.
I do have one serious criticism, however: there’s no index of variations in
the back of the book! I’m not sure why Everyman continues to leave this out
of their books. Chess players and authors alike have made this criticism for
years. Everyman made up for this to a degree in most of their past books by
having partial indexes at the end of each chapter, but this book doesn’t
even have that! In an opening book, especially one on the Sicilian, an index
of variations is an absolute necessity. Shape up, Everyman!!! :-)
In conclusion, I’m extremely pleased with this book. Everyman has several
other Starting Out titles planned for the near future, and I look
forward to seeing them. They will fill a serious gap in the current chess
literature, and I’m sure they will be extremely popular with amateur chess
players.
Copyright 2002 S. Evan Kreider. Used with
permission.
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