The BEST Chess Opening Against The Sicilian Defense – Every Move is a Trap!

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🔹 Crush the Sicilian Defense: Unknown & DEADLY TRAP for White –

In this video lesson, GM Igor Smirnov shows you how to crush the Sicilian Defense as White with a solid yet tricky opening variation. It is the delayed Alapin variation which happens after the following moves: 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.c3.

This seemingly simple move is so powerful as it helps you to establish strong central pawns. And not just that, there are so many tricks, traps, and pitfalls along the way and Black would end up losing if they are not careful.

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► Chapters

00:00 Crush the Sicilian Defense as White
00:38 3.c3 Delayed Alapin Variation
04:04 Why delayed Alapin Variation?
06:05 Deadly traps and tricks
09:15 Key move you should remember
11:47 Can you find the best continuation?
12:05 Final variation

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82 Comments

  1. Dear GM Smirnov..it will be much more useful if you can show the correct moves from black side also

  2. I love this video – thank you. I always play e4 planning to play the bishop's opening but then I don't know what to do against the Sicilian. This has given me some ideas.

  3. I know it's quite a common practice in the US to call the opponent for "they", but I never get used to regard an opponent as a multitude of players. Is it in order to avoid gender issues that this strange habit has formed? Or is it some kind of weird imitation of for example the Spanish, where we have las blancas y las negras, both of which work perfectly fine in that language but sound odd, to say the least, when applied as "they" to an Anglo-Saxon linguistic context.

  4. 11:56 I couldn't find any crushing idea. Bxf6 Bxf6 bishop takes bishop check queen takes then white Queen takes on f6…Rf8 forced then take on e5 check then I am stuck. I can't see the mate.
    And a question here, what if I go d5 after C3…you played delayed alapin so I thought Playing delayed d5??

  5. Qe6+ Qe7(Block); Bd7+ Kd8 or Kf8; Ideas; Rxb7, Rook to D1

  6. Hey igor can u do a lesson about the rosslimo attack and the grand pix againat sicilian

  7. Bxf6, followed by Bxf6, followed by Bxd7, Qxd7 and then Qxf6, winning a pawn.

  8. 11:57 Bishop takes! can't recap with a Queen coz his light square bishop hangs nor can he recap with his dark square Bishop because of in between move Bishop x Bishop then his dark square bishop hangs

  9. at 9:10 Black’s Queen can grab the d5 pawn and if Rb1 he can also grab the a2 pawn, which not only leaves him 3 pawns up, but prevents Qa5+. How don’t know how we can say that’s almost winning. Especially against strong opponents.

  10. This opening is already what I play against 2. d6 in the Sicilian, so it was great to learn a few extra traps and attacking ideas!

  11. @11:53, (I think) white's best is Qe6+ : if … Qe7, Bd7+ leaves white a piece up, since white has time to save his B on g5 (plus, saving with Bc1 threatens Ba3!). If … Kf8, Bd7 fxg5 (or white is a a piece up) Rfd1 is crushing: white threatens Rb7, as well as Ba4-b3 with mayhem at f7. What else can black do? If … Qe7, Qc4(!) allows … Rb8 (to hold b7) Bc8 – with Rd7 coming.

  12. There are so many openings that can transpose into a "sicilian", though.

  13. At 12:00 I play Rfe1. Most of black move, I'll Rxe5+. I can't list all variations but I believe covered all situations. Tell me if black has a way to survive these. Let's see after Rfe1, if black:

    1. fxg5 Rxe5+ Bxe5 Qxe5+ if black:

    1.1 Qe7 Qxh8+ if black:

    1.1.1 Qf8 Re1+ Kf7 Bc4+ Be6 Bxe6+ game over by 1 bishop diff and still non stop checks.

    1.1.2 Kf7 Bc4+ Be6 Bxe6+ Qxe6 Qxa8 game over (black almost counter checkmate!)

    1.2 Kf8 Qxh8 Ke7 Qg7+ Kd6 Rd1+ Ke6 Bxd7+ game over

    1.3 Kf7 Bc4+ Be6 Rxb7+ game over

    2. Bxb5 Rxe5+ if black:

    2.1 fxe5 Bxd8 game over

    2.2 Kf7 Qe6+ Kf8 Bc1! Qa5 Rb3 game over

    3. Qe7 Rxe5 Qxe5 Bxd7+ if black:

    3.1 Kd8 Qxe5 game over

    3.2 Kf7 Be6+ Qxe6 Rxb7+ mate in 2

    4. Rg8 Rxe5+ Kf7 Bc4+ Be6 Bxe6+ Ke8 Bc4+ fxe5 Bxd8 game over

    5. Bf8 Rxe5+ fxe5 Qxe5+ Be7 Qxh8+ Kf7 Bc4+ Be6 Qxh7+ Kf8 Bxe6 mate in 1

    6. Kf7 Bc4+ Be6 Qxe6+ Kf8 Qf7#

  14. Igor, I hope that ginger cat is aliveeeee, I've never seen it moving…?!

  15. Does anyone have any aggressive recommendations if black plays 2. e6?

  16. 1.Qe6+ Qe7
    2.B×d7 + Kd8/Kf8 (bishop up)

  17. Nice video plz make me your follower

  18. At 11:55 minute,the sequence it's:
    1. Qe6+,Kf8
    2.Bxd7,fxg5
    3.Rxb7,Qe7
    4.Qa6,Bf6
    5.Ba4,Kg7
    6.Rb1,Re8
    7.Bxe8,Rxe8
    8.Qxa7,Kf8
    9.Rxe7,Bxe7
    10.Qd7,Rd8
    11.Qxd8+,Bxd8
    12.Rb7,g4

  19. These are all great counters, mostly against Black's pawns. What if after White plays Nf3, Black plays Nf6 (Sicilian, Nimzovich-Rubinstein Variation)? How would you counter that?

  20. I enjoyed your video. my name is Sean. want to play sometime on lichess? What's your name there?

  21. I always play e6 rather than d6 when playing the Sicilian and so do most of my opponents. Do you have any videos on how to respond to e6? Usually I'll play Smith-Morra against the Sicilian, but I'm starting to consider g4 as an alternative response to the Sicilian.

  22. @Remote Chess Academy. Looking at time 7:36 in your video. After white Nc3, black does not trade. They play Nb4.
    This variation seems to throw off whites options for attack. And explanation on this variation seems very interesting.

  23. Such a venomous opening. I'll try it out.

  24. Really like your videos, great job (and hope you make a killing out of them $$$)

  25. SLOW DOWN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  26. noticed a way to play Bc4 instead of Be2 1) e4 c5 2) Nf3 d6 3) c3 Nf6 4) Bc4 Nxe4 5) Qa4ch Bd7 6) Bxf7ch KxB 7) QxN

  27. Once he done on the video c3 I knowed the opening it is called ponziani
    Or pawnziani

  28. I normally play ponziani so this should be easy to remember, cuz similar traps

  29. I played delayed Alapin and won a game in a tournament against a FIDE rated player. Really wonderful. Thank you Igor

  30. 12:02 is the variation Bxd7 ? trade off the pieces and ending up with a Rook on the 2nd rank ?

  31. What happens in the third move black plays e4

  32. The answer is Qe6 if black plays Qe7 then bishop x bishop.

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