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The Sicilian Defence undoubtedly stands for a fight to the death. Nowadays there is no top tournament in which the Sicilian Defence does not play some role - and there is hardly a more charming way of telling your opponent that you are playing to win with Black!
But the same question always plagues us: which Sicilian is best? Which one is best suited to our wishes and needs? If you believe one of the most polarising personalities in modern chess history, namely the grandmaster Evgeny Sveshnikov, who died in 2021, then it's the Sicilian variation now known as the Kalashnikov Variation.
Sveshnikov, with whom most people primarily associate the variation 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 e5, described the La Bourdonnais or Kalashnikov Variation after 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 e5! as the best for Black and later even wanted to write a book about it ("...which today, I consider Black's best", cf. the introduction to his 2013 title The Grand Prix Attack, published by New in Chess).
It is interesting to note that today - more than ten years later - this assertion may well turned out to be true! Because the modern Kalashnikov Sicilian seems to combine the best of all Sicilian worlds.
Master the Kalashnikov Sicilian
Dive into the fascinating world of the Sicilian Kalashnikov variation! We will uncover the secrets of this explosive opening from the very first moves: 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 e5.
What are the advantages of the Kalashnikov Sicilian compared to the most common Sicilian variations such as the Najdorf, Scheveninger, the Dragon or the Sveshnikov Variation?
Back in 2012, ChessBase published Try the Sicilian Kalashnikov by GM Dejan Bojkov, which took a first interesting look at this rare Sicilian. In 2019, GM Nicholas Pert followed up with A Sicilian Stunner - Kalashnikov and showed the latest developments and black strategies in the Kalashnikov variation.
Since then, a lot has actually happened in the variation, which is also clearly reflected in the number of games played with this system. It's a good thing that the French grandmaster and Kalashnikov expert Fabien Libiszewski has recently published a great new Fritztrainer, Master the Kalashnikov Sicilian!
So explore the modern perspective of this opening if you're looking for a Sicilian addition to your repertoire. Let GM Fabien Libiszewski, a true expert on the Kalashnikov for almost two decades, show you the way.
After the introduction, the main lines after 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 Nxd4 4.Nxd4 e5 in the fifth move can be found: i.e. 5.Nf3, 5.Ne2, 5.Nb3 and 5.Nf5.
From there, GM Libiszewski works his way from the minor to the major variations, i.e. all the lines that arise after 5.Nb5 d6 - 6.Lg5, 6.Le2, 6.Lc4. Of course, he does not forget the mostly positional approaches after 6.g3, 6.Le3, 6.a4 or the critical 6.c4, which became the once feared main line in the 1990s thanks to several repertoire recommendations - including those of the British grandmaster John Nunn.
The lines arising from 6.c4 in particular have probably seen the most significant innovations, for which modern engines are partly responsible. Until 2020, Black almost routinely played 6...Be7 at this point - there are almost 4,500 games recorded in my database. An exciting new position was found for the f8-bishop on g7, namely after 6.c4 Be6!? 7.N1c3 a6 8.Na3 g6!
This position is only found under 150 times in my database and gave the player with the black pieces an impressive 56%!
The alternative 6.N1c3 a6 7.Na3 Be6 8.Nc4 Rb8!? has also given rise to new ideas, which GM Libiszewski analyses in detail.
The fact that such uncompromising grandmasters as Radjabov, Shirov and, more recently, Maghsoodloo and Nakamura are flying the flag for the Kalashnikov Sicilian clearly speaks for the quality of this revitalised variation.
A Black Repertoire versus the Anti-Sicilians
In this video series Pert gives a strong and practical Black repertoire against the Anti-Sicilians such as the Bb5 Sicilian, the Grand Prix Attack, the Alapin and many more, from my years of experience playing the Sicilian.
Let GM Libiszewski initiate you into the subtleties of this Sicilian in over 5 hours, enjoy the interactive video training with direct feedback from the author, play through the database with over 300 instructive sample games and practise your newly acquired opening knowledge with the ChessBase apps!
A remarkable extra: GM Fabien Libiszewski has also given an interesting 33-minute update on his recommended setup with 6.N1c3 a6 7.Na3 Be6! in the recently published ChessBase Magazine Extra #221, which has now established itself as the modern main variation. Using recent games by Andreikin, Le Quang, Oparin and others as examples, he illustrates the latest trends in tournament practice and compares them with his recommendations from Mastering the Kalashnikov Sicilian. His conclusion is:
Despite all efforts, Black can achieve dynamic counterplay in all lines and play unperturbed for the full point!
And finally: for those who are irritated by the possible anti-Sicilians, above all the Alapin, the Rossolimo, the Morra and the like, on the way to the Kalashnikov Sicilian, we warmly recommend A Black Repertoire versus the Anti-Sicilians by GM Nicholas Pert.
Master the Kalashnikov Sicilian
Dive into the fascinating world of the Sicilian Kalashnikov variation! We will uncover the secrets of this explosive opening from the very first moves: 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 e5.
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