"Erigabava Sicilian"

by ChessBase
3/23/2026 – A ‘a powerful surprise weapon in classical games, and an even more powerful weapon in rapid and blitz!’, promises Yago Santiago in his article on the Sicilian 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 Bb4!?. This line was long considered a bad choice by Black, but then came Badur Jobava and Arjun Erigaisi… Santiago’s article comprises an overview and seven annotated example games. Take a look at this week’s free CBM sample!
Tata Steel 2026 with analyses by Bluebaum, Giri, L'Ami, Woodward and many more. Opening videos by Kasimdzhanov, Marin and Zwirs. 10 exciting opening articles with new repertoire ideas and much more.
ChessBase Magazine offers first-class training material for club players and professionals! World-class players analyse their best games and explain the ideas behind their moves. Opening specialists present the latest trends in opening theory and exciting ideas for your repertoire. Master trainers in tactics, strategy and endgames show you exactly the tricks and techniques you need to be a successful tournament player! Available as a download (including magazine as a PDF file) or as a magazine with download key by post.
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"Erigabava Sicilian"

Free reading sample from ChessBase Magazine #230

Click on one of the following images to load the sample as a "ChessBase Book" in your web browser.

GM Yago Santiago analyses the following continuations by White after 5...Bb4!?: A) 6.Bd3 – Black continues with 6...Bd6 to exchange the bishop on c3 and place their pawns on the dark squares. B) e5 – ‘The most ambitious move, which for a long time was almost regarded as a refutation of the variation. 6…Nd5! is forced‘ and C) 6.Qd3 – ‘This move looks awkward to me, but was played by none other than Abdusattorov‘. After 6…0-0 and the main continuation 7.Bd2, Black can, for example, equalise with 7…e5!? 8.Nb3 d6 9.a3 Bxc3 10. Bxc3 Be6.

Santiago’s conclusion: ‘Having worked through this article, we have in our hands a powerful surprise weapon in classical games, and an even more powerful weapon in rapid and blitz! Also, our line is quite straightforward, and we enter it on as early as on move 5, which makes our preparation easier and is sure to boost the results.’

Highlights of ChessBase Magazine #230

From Tata Steel 2026 to Rustam Kasimdzhanov's opening video on the Two Knights Game and Dorian Rogozenco's ‘The Fortress’ to Karsten Mueller's training series ‘Fundamental Endgame Knowledge’.

Over 6 hours of video training with Martin Breutigam, Rustam Kasimdzhanov, Jan Markos, Mihail Marin, Karsten Müller, Oliver Reeh, Robert Ris, Dorian Rogozenco and Nico Zwirs.

Top games and master analyses

Tata Steel 2026: At the ‘Wimbledon of chess’ in Wijk aan Zee, the Uzbek top player Nodirbek Abdusattorov was among the leaders in the Masters from the outset and ultimately prevailed with 9 out of 13, ahead of his compatriot Javokhir Sindarov (8.5 out of 13). In the Challengers, the decision was made in the final round, when Andy Woodward prevailed against Erwin L'Ami and Aydin Suleymanli, who had been level on points until then, lost to Velimir Ivic. From a German perspective, Christian Glöckler's triumph in the Qualifiers (8.5 out of 9 – see cover!) is particularly  leasing. In this issue, you will find game analyses by Blübaum, Giri, Nguyen, Suleymanli, Warmerdam and Woodward.

Opening videos

Mihail Marin and Nico Zwirs take two games from the Tata Steel tournament as the starting
point for their opening theory analyses. Aravindh-Blübaum featured the Catalan, while Van Foreest-Giri saw the Sicilian Najdorf Variation. And Rustam Kasimdzhanov reports on his experiment with the Two Knights Game against McShane in the German Bundesliga.

Mihail Marin: Catalan
1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.g3 Be7 5.Bg2 0–0 6.0–0 dxc4 7.Qc2
Nico Zwirs: Sicilian Najdorf
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Be3 e5 7.Nb3 Be7 8.f3 Be6 9.Qd2 Nbd7 10.0–0–0 h5 11.Kb1 Qc7
Rustam Kasimdzhanov: Two Knights Game
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Ng5 d5 5.exd5 Na5 6.Bb5+ Bd7

... and much more!

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<< The Birth of a Journey
Robert Ris' Fast and Furious: The Marshall Gambit of the Slav >>
Topics: Arjun Erigaisi, Badur Jobava, ChessBase Magazine, Sicilian, Yago Santiago
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Video

60m The Two Knights

This entry into the 60 minutes series concentrates on the Modern variation of the Italian game where White opens the centre early : 1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 Bc4 Nf6 4 d4 exd4 5 e5!. This line can be reached by various move orders, most frequently from the Scotch 3 d4 exd4 4 Bc4. It's a sharp variation and Grandmasters such as Evgeny Sveshnikov have used it frequently,with very good results. It's a perfect line for club players to adopt which is relatively easy to learn and which contains many traps. All the main responses are covered here, including 5...d5, 5...Ng4 and 5...Ne4 and the conclusion is that is is difficult for Black to equalize in a straightforward way. Problems are being posed, which over the board might prove tough to solve.