[chessmind] Dennis Monokroussos: The Safest Sicilian, 2nd edition: A review

[Email subscription to blog articles]

Posted by Dennis Monokroussos:
The Safest Sicilian, 2nd edition: A review
http://chessmind.powerblogs.com/posts/1220335118.shtml


   Alexander Delchev and Semko Semkov, The Safest Sicilian: A Black
   Repertoire with 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6, 2nd edition (Chess Stars 2008). 228
   pages. Reviewed by Dennis Monokroussos.
   To my mind, Chess Stars is now the premier publisher of opening books
   in the chess world. While there are other authors outside their stable
   whose work is worth reading (Iâll give Viktor Moskalenko and David
   Vigorito a plug here), Chess Stars (henceforth CS) has done a
   consistently fine job of producing works that are up to date (the
   authors finished this book in July; by August it was in my hot little
   hands), written by very strong grandmasters, well-organized, thorough,
   and with enough explanation for an outside to learn what is and isnât
   important in a given variation. Based on what Iâve seen from the __est
   Sicilian books (Easiest, Safest, Sharpest) and Khalifmanâs âOpening
   According to Anand/Kramnik/Karpovâ series, I feel comfortable at this
   point telling readers from 1900-2000 and up that if CS puts out a book
   on one of their openings, they should probably buy it. (Players below
   this level would benefit more from âStarting Outâ books.)
   This book is no exception. Delchev (the stronger player and primary
   author) and Semov have put together a fine work advocating a
   repertoire based on whatâs loosely called the Taimanov Sicilian,
   though as the authors note the lines employed nowadays often have only
   the most tenuous connection to what Taimanov himself advocated. After
   explaining certain move order finesses and laying out the book
   chapters, the material begins.
   The first two parts cover 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nc6 5.Nb5 d6, and now the
   part 1 addresses the Hedgehog structures that result from 6.c4 while
   part 2 looks at the Kalashnikov-like 6.Bf4 e5. Almost the entire
   remainder of the book examines positions resulting from 5.Nc3 Qc7, and
   Iâll note here that they reject 5â¦a6 on account of the 6.Nxc6 lines.
   Back to 5â¦Qc7: Part 3 turns to the very popular âEnglish Attackâ
   system with 6.Be3 followed by f3, Qd2 and long castling. Part 4 sees
   the Classical System with 6.Be2. Part 5 returns to 6.Be3, but after
   6â¦a6 White plays 7.Bd3 and castles on the kingside. Part 6 offers yet
   another approach with 6.f4, part 7 introduces the fianchetto line with
   6.g3, and then in part 8 we see what happens after 6.Nb5 (hoping to
   exploit the absence of 5â¦a6) or if White plays 6.Nxc6 despite the
   absence of 5â¦a6. Finally, the last three parts of the book examine
   White alternatives to the Open Sicilian after 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6: the
   Alapin (or Sveshnikov) 3.c3, the Kingâs Indian Reversed (or KI Attack)
   with 3.d3, and various lines of lesser importance. (If youâre worried
   about anti-Sicilian lines that begin on move 2, youâre out of luck.)
   The preceding paragraph indicated what they cover; this one will
   describe how they cover the material. Each part is divided into three,
   um, parts: Quick Repertoire, Step by Step, and Complete Games. The
   Quick Repertoire section has two main functions: provide some needed
   general information about the variation to be discussed, and to
   provide the main lines with a minimum of detail. The first function is
   especially valuable, and Iâll offer some excerpts from that portion of
   part 1 below. In the Step by Step section, Delchev gets into the
   theoretical details, but without abandoning verbal explanation, talk
   of themes, positional traps to avoid and so on. Finally, the Complete
   Games are lightly annotated but do a nice job of illustrating key
   positional ideas once the more overtly theoretical phase has passed.
   On a few occasions, the complete games are an occasion to extend the
   theory of a key line a bit more deeply, but the heavy duty material is
   generally confined to the Step by Step section.
   As an example of what we can find in the Quick Repertoire section,
   letâs focus on part 1 (3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nc6 5.Nb5 d6 6.c4). Here the
   authors offer Black three key bits of advice. First, Do not wait
   passively! This is a repudiation of the view that Black can âaimlessly
   [maneuver] for 20+ moves without committing to any concrete action.â
   As an example of the ills that can befall Black play if he acts in
   this way, the position after move 18 in the game C. Ionescu â D.
   Heinbuch, Berlin 1988 is presented. They write: âBeward this setup!
   The hedgehog structure is not bullet-proof. White has a clear pawn for
   a queenside pawn storm. In the diagram position White lately struck a
   very unpleasant for the opponent idea. [Yes, the English isnât always
   perfect. But this is one of the worst examples, and I donât recall
   finding an instance where the meaning wasnât clear.] Beside preparing
   c4-c5, he could capture on e5 and base his play on the clumsy bishop
   pair.â The game continued 19.Bxe5! dxe5 20.c5! Rfd8 21.Qe1 Rxd1
   22.Rxd1 Rd8 23.cxb6 Bxb6, and now they claim that 24.Rxd8 followed by
   25.Na4 gives White a clear advantage.
   The next piece of advice is also negative. Some claim that Black can
   more or less automatically meet Whiteâs opening with the âSaemisch
   maneuverâ (â¦Rc8, â¦Qb7, â¦Bd8-c7) followed by â¦Kh8, â¦Rg8 and â¦g5,
   hoping for a kingside attack. To this, Delchev and Semkov say Forget
   about this plan! They briefly explain why, and then offer their last
   bit of general advice: The slogan of Blackâs campaign should be:
   d6-d5! Thereâs further explanation of why this should be, what is
   likely to be required in achieving this break, and what the results
   might be.
   Thereâs independent analysis in the book, the bibliography covers all
   the expected sources (one exception: James Rizzitanoâs 2006 âChess
   Explainedâ book on the Taimanov isnât included, but Khalifmanâs very
   important Opening for White According to Anand, vol. 9, is), so with
   the bookâs other assets itâs very easy to give this work my
   wholehearted recommendation â if youâre at least 1900 (or a
   correspondence player, or an ambitious player not too far from 1900)
   and are interested in playing either side of the variations he covers.
   One question remains to be answered though: what should one do if he
   already owns the first edition of this book, from January 2006?
   According to the preface, there are important updates and additions to
   parts 3 and 4, a âmajor reconstructionâ of part 5, thereâs some new
   material in part 6 and on the Alapin, with only minor corrections
   elsewhere. So my answer to the Update?/Donât update? Question is that
   is that it depends. If the latest and greatest theory and analysis
   isnât essential, or if youâve kept up on your own and have generated
   your own ideas, then you might not want to spend the money. Still, for
   more serious players in need of the latest ideas, it could well be
   worth the expense. (Maybe the best solution would be some sort of
   e-update for the updated chapters for an intermediate cost.)
   Highly recommended (for stronger readers and correspondence players).