Robert Ris' Fast and Furious: Alive and kicking: The Taimanov Sicilian

by Robert Ris
9/6/2024 – In his new Fast & Furious episode, Robert Ris takes a look at a critical line of the Taimanov Sicilian - an exciting response to 1.e4, and the basis for a repertoire Robert proposed in a recently published ChessBase course. | Fast & Furious is available on-demand with a ChessBase Premium Account. You can register a Premium account here.
Looking for a realistic way to play for a win with Black against 1.e4 without taking unnecessary risks? The Taimanov Sicilian is a reliable system, and hence one of the best options out there!

Recently my two-volume Black repertoire based on the Sicilian Taimanov got released! As a fan of this opening, it was great to see it featured multiple times in the Niemann-Bacrot match. In most of the games, Niemann employed the setup with 6.Be3 and 7.Qf3, which prompted me to take a closer look at Black's options in this line.

Although White scored well, the games were far from straightforward. Additionally, my recommendation of 7...h5!? hasn't been tested yet, so Black players don't need to panic just yet!

Question: White has voluntarily doubled his pawns on the e-file. How should Black react?

H. Niemann - E. Bacrot, Match Paris 2024, Game 4
Black to play

Feel free to move the pieces on the live diagram!

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Robert is an International Master who mostly spends his time training and coaching talented youngsters. On the PlayChess server The Fast and the Furious is a popular show where he explains sharp opening lines for a wider audience. He is also a well-known ChessBase author who produced numerous DVDs and regularly contributes to ChessBase Magazine as well. Since 2015 he is the organizer of the Dutch Rapid Championships in his home town Amstelveen. He has started a YouTube channel with chess analysis as well.

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