Sicilian Daze

Diagram 1

White has an extra pawn and his bishops are working somewhat while Black's rooks are spectators and his queen is on the back rank defending, all is not what it seems though 1...Be2! Black's bishop rightly goes on the attack into the White camp to see if the Whiter pieces are alive 2.Rde1 (2.Rd2 Bh6 is great for Black, pinning the rook) 2...b5! why not attack White's queen when the opportunity is their 3.Qc2 (3.Nxb5 loses a piece after 3...Bxb5 4.Qxb5 Nxd4) 3...Nxd4 4.cd Bd3! clever 5.Qc5 desperation (5.Qxc8 allows 5...Bh6+ 6.Kd1 Raxc8 with mate to follow while 5.Qc3 b4! is dubious too) 5...d6! a nice subtle move 6.Qc3 Bh6+ 7.Kd1 Qg4+ leads to checkmate 0-1


Diagram 2

Material is even, White has the h and g files to conduct play on and Black is positioned fairly well at the moment, but Black's next move comes as a shock 1...Nxc2! breaking through White's main fortress 2.Nxc5 Na3+ checks are handy to have to decide on what to do next 3.Ka2 Qxc5 the queen is now positioned powerfully 4.Na4 Nc2!! a stylish finish, if White captures the queen then he is mated on b2 5.Kb1 Qa3! Black is about to get White while White's two rooks are busy talking to each other 6.Qxc2 Rfc8 7.Qd2 Qxa4 8.Bd1 Qa3 Black's rooks and queen are too dominating 0-1 once again the game has been decided in a short series of moves, White was not expecting any of these moves but the lesson is that one should consider capturing pawns with the pieces!


Diagram 3

White threatens both bishops with the same queen and has his own bishops talking to each other, probably about things unrelated to chess, so Black sees ahead with his next move 1...Rhg8! Black will threaten checkmate and sacrifice a bishop for something special 2.Qxh5 Rxg2+ 3.Kf1 Bd4!! outstanding (3...Rxf2+ 4.Kxf2 Qh2+ 5.Kxf3 Rg8! also gives Black a winning tactic) 4.cd Qh2! the point of the above moves since Black threatens checkmate and hovers his queen near the White monarch 5.Qxf3 Rg1+ 6.Ke2 Nxd4+ 7.Kd1 Rxe1+ 8.Kxe1 Qg1+ 9.Nf1 Nxf3+ 0-1 queenless and with his pieces immobile White's game is finished, the speed of the queen in the attack is like a lightning strike, sometimes unexpected.


Diagram 4

Black is down a pawn but has some lines for his bishops and can castle whereas White is threatening to win a pawn with Nxd4 and Qxd4, but Black has something in mind 1...Bg4! the only great option of play and far better than (1...Nxb5?) 2.Qd2 the queen is forced forward (2.f3 Bh4+ and 2.Qxg4 Nxc2+ lead to a rapid defeat) 2...Bg5! the second bishop enters the fray and makes his presence felt 3.Ne3 Bxe3 4.fe Qh4+ the Black queen uses its might 5.g3 Nf3+ forking the king and queen with a check sure helps 6.Kf2 Qf6 Black had this backward move in reserve making it hard for White to see it 7.Qb4 Rc8! the finishing move and (8.Qxg4 Nxh2+ wins White's queen) 8.Bd3 Rc2+! a final move that ends White's resistance 9.Bxc2 Nd4+ 10.Ke1 Nxc2+ wins White's queen and the game 0-1 creative moves in the Sicilian are the highlight of the opening, many deep and complicated moves are to be found, its not your usual 1.e4 e5


Diagram 5

Black has an ideal Sicilian setup with rooks, bishops and queen on active squares, whereas White's queen is on the starting square and his king has only pawns for protection 1...Bxd5 exchanging the central knight 2.ed Rxc2!! incredible, the rook leads the way in the sacrifice 3.Kxc2 Qxa2 now 3...Rc8+ is threatened 4.f4 this move doesn't stop Black 4...Rc8+ 5.Kd2 Bxf4+ all of Black's pieces have joined in the hunt for the king 6.Ke2 Qxb2+ the queenie is getting her way 7.Kf3 Rc1 8.Qe2 Qc3+ an open check 9.Kf2 Bg3+ 10.Kg1 Rxe1 Black has won easily now 0-1 this was an example of having Black's pieces on their best squares whereas White left his bishop and rook on their starting squares, not a way of contesting Black in the Sicilian!


Diagram 6

White has just played a combination winning two pawns and it seems that White is okay with his queen powerful, however a deeper assessment of the position is usually needed in chess 1...Bd4+! posting the bishop in the centre 2.Kh1 Rf6! attacking the queen and gaining time 3.Qxa7 c4 the trap sprung, White's queen has nowhere safe to go 4.Qxb8 Qxb8 now Black has a queen, whereas White doesn't 5.Bxd5 cd 6.cd Bxb2 7.Nxb2 Qxb2 Black is materially up 8.g4 Qd4 queen centralized, Black's too strong 9.Be4 Ne3 10.a5 Rxf4! the result is beyond doubt 11.a6 Rxf1+ 12.Rxf1 Nxf1 Black wins 0-1 White fell for a deep trap and some openings are full of them - the Sicilian being one of the main famous ones.


Diagram 7

After 30 moves in a Sicilian opening, material is even and Black's rook is better than White's at the moment, Black has to decide whether to exchange queens 1...Qe4 there will be no trade as Black centralizes the queen 2.Rc1 c3! 3.Qe1 (3.Rxc3?? Qb1+ wins the game) White is defending but is defending on the back row! 3...Qg4+ 4.Qg3 Qe2 5.Qe1 Qg4+ 6.Qg3 Qe4 Black patiently centralizes the queen knowing the position is favourable for him 7.Qe1 Rf5! the winning move is this 8.Qxc3 Qg4+ 9.Kh1 Qf3+ wins 0-1 this game highlights the "staying power" in the Sicilian that exists if Black can stay calm until the 30th move and beyond.


Diagram 8

This is a position in which a past world champion was Black and features the great complexity of the opening that is typical of its nature 1...Kd8! Black is assessed as better here with White a piece down, though it isn't clear 2.c3 Ra6 3.a4 fe an exchange and win policy 4.f5 Bb7 5.Ra2 e3 6.Nxe3 Qe4 centralize the queen! 7.Re1 Nxb4 Black gives his piece back to hold onto the advantage 8.cb Bh6! this is a common handy move, getting the bishop active 9.Kh1 Bxe3 10.Qe2 Rc6 the e3 bishop is untakeable because Black would checkmate on the back rank 11.a5 Qxb4 12.Nxd6 Rxd6 13.Qxe3 Qd4 14.Qc1 Qd5 the g2 square is just too weak and undefended and all of Black's pieces are working well together 0-1 I definitely recommend the Sicilian! I think that in Sicilian games White is dazed!