Annotated chess game

Close Sicilian is when W plays d3 and not d4

This used to be an old favourite of mine, but even forty years ago there was a heck of a lot of theory to wade through. In his younger days, Bobby Fischer preferred 6.Bc4, the Sozin Attack - very nearly as aggressive as the text line.

true enough, as Casey Stengel used to say "You can look it up

opposite side castling is the prelude to a pawn storm on the King-side for White

Theory has indicated as far back as the 1960s that 7.Qd2 is by far the strongest continuation. GM Vassily Smyslov used to play 7.Be2 - a quiet developing move. World Champion A. A. Alekhine suggested 7.Nb3 and 7.Bb5, but neither has been shown to offer White very much. A move suggested by Paul Keres is one that I used to play simply because nobody else played it: 7.Qd3 with the idea of bringing the Q over to g3, and developing the bishop at e2 and castling short.

7.Qd3, followed by 8.0-0-0 was played against me in a quickplay today!

Charles delays Be7, because it can wait

Also if Be7 then if he takes on f6, if I recapture with the bishop, he can exchange on c6 and then take on d6. True I can then play Bf6xNc3 and weaken his queen side pawns, but I think white has a slight edge in those positions.

Black is not concerned about the exchange on f6 and the consequent doubling of pawns. Even if he did play ...Be7 now, he might well recapture with the pawn. The King tends to be as safe in the centre as anywhere else in this type of position. +++++ But there is more to it than that. Now that White has castled Q-side, Black is very keen to attack on that wing. And for that, he wants his a- and b- pawns to lead the attack.

They both have pawn chains, as is common in a lot of games, what counts here, Joe, is not the pawn chain itself, but what will the player be able to do with it. How mobile is it?

This move not only supports the e-pawn, but also the g-pawn when (it is not a matter of 'if') it advances. He doesn't want to waste a move by playing h3, because that pawn will be part of the bayonet attack on the K-side.

Also consider the variation I quoted earlier. With the rook on c8 I can recapture on c6 with the rook, protecting c6.

The rook is also on a half-open file at the other end of which stands the White king. This is a consideration not to be dismissed lightly.

10.g4 is also possible. But possibly more development is called for. Mind you, white might merely be getting his advances in early to 'steal a march' on Black when he castles, or maybe even to inhibit castling altogether.

Qe1 is a slight inaccuracy at most.

What has been played here? 11.g4 seems to be worth a look.

The Gameknot World Database has 29 games with 11. Kb1, 19 with 11.g4, 11 with 11. Nxc6, 2 with 11. h5, 1 each for Nb3 and Be3.

It's more about gaining mobility. If B gets in d5 things will start to happen.

Black already has the potential for a strong attack on the Q-side. The possibility of an exchange sac occurring on c3 has to be borne in mind, so White has to be very careful from here on.