12/3/2012 – "Dutch GM Loek van Wely shows White how to bypass the Open Sicilian. The main ideas of the 60-minute series is to arm the listener with something to play which will to some extent avoid surprises (at least fatal ones) and yet keep enough content in the position to make for interesting play. Ideally you should have a long-term weapon without needing to track recent developments." Review.
new: ChessBase 16 - Mega package Edition 2021
Your key to fresh ideas, precise analyses and targeted training!
Everyone uses ChessBase, from the World Champion to the amateur next door. It is the program of choice for anyone who loves the game and wants to know more about it. Start your personal success story with ChessBase and enjoy the game even more.
Your key to fresh ideas, precise analyses and targeted training! Everyone uses ChessBase, from the World Champion to the amateur next door. It is the program of choice for anyone who loves the game and wants to know more about it. Start your personal success story with ChessBase and enjoy the game even more.
Enjoy the best moments of recent top tournaments (World Cup, Isle of Man Open) with analysis of top players. In addition you'll get lots of training material. For example 10 new suggestions for your opening repertoire.
€19.95
Loek
van Wely: An Anti-Sicilian Repertoire in 60-minutes
Review by John Watson
An Anti-Sicilian Repertoire in 60-minutes is Loek van Wely's attempt to show
White how to bypass the Open Sicilian. First, I'm going to quote the ChessBase
copy on their own product:
"Tired of spending hours and hours on the boring theory of your
favourite opening? Then here is your solution, play an Anti-Sicilian with
3.Bb5 against 2...d6 or 2...Nc6, and 3.d3 against 2...e6. In 60 minutes you
will get a crash course in how to avoid mainstream theory and in understanding
the ideas of this Anti-Sicilian setup. After these 60 minutes you should be
able to survive the Sicilian for a long time, without being bothered by new
developments found by engine x supported by an x-core machine. Now that it
finally comes down to understanding, let's play chess!"
As you might guess, there's some overstatement here. You're not going to fool
people these days with 3 Bb5+ or 3 d3, and unfortunately there's quite a bit
of theory attached to these lines. What's more, a minority of chess devotees
enjoy 'spending hours and hours on the boring theory of [their] favourite opening'.
Nevertheless, I think this description captures one of the main ideas of the
60-minute series, which is to arm the listener with something to play which
will to some extent avoid surprises (at least fatal ones) and yet keep enough
content in the position to make for interesting play. Ideally, as the advertising
spiel indicates, you should have a long-term weapon without needing to track
recent developments.
Okay, the idea that 'you should be able to survive the Sicilian' is a pretty
sad goal; a player of the white pieces shouldn't have to merely 'survive' after
Black makes his first move! But an advertising blurb isn't definitive, of course,
and it's interesting to hear what Van Wely himself says in his introduction,
roughly (approximate quote:) "Chess has changed. In the good old days you
had to study on your own, you had to study the games..... Today [because of
lengthy computer analysis chess] understanding has become less important than
it used to be." He says that the featured systems are more strategical
and can produce "Interesting games not based upon computer analysis and
memory." Van Wely discusses the many strong GMs who have used Bb5(+) versus
2...Nc6 and 2...d6. About 3 d3 versus 2...e6, he says (apologetically?) that
it's a little slow, but that "If you're going to win the marathon, you
don't have to win the hundred metre dash first"! After 1 e4 c5 2 Nf3, there
are three main moves. Here's a very superficial overview of what's presented:
In the second clip (after the Introduction), van Wely analyses, in limited
detail, the line 1 e4 c5 2 Nf3 d6 3 Bb5+ Nc6 4 Bxc6+
4 d4 cxd4 5 Qxd4 is an aggressive way that some grandmasters have used, but
it has never caught on as a main line; ceding two bishops is a risk. 4...bxc6
5 0-0. Black plays either 5...Bg4, running into 6 h3 Bh5 7 e5!, or
5 ..e5, when White can be satisfied with 6 c3 Nf6 7 Re1 Bg4 8 h3 Bxf3 9 Qxf3
Be7 10 d3 and a small edge.
[Event "?"] [Site "?"] [Date "2012.11.03"] [Round "?"] [White "Moscow 2...d6
3 Bb5+"] [Black "with 3...Nc6 and 3...Nd7"] [Result "*"] [ECO "B51"] [Annotator
"Watson,John"] [PlyCount "35"] [SourceDate "2012.08.10"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6
3. Bb5+ Nc6 (3... Nd7 4. d4 cxd4 5. Qxd4 a6 6. Bxd7+ Bxd7 7. Bg5 ({instead of}
7. Nc3 e5 8. Qd3 h6 {, which van Wely considers okay for Black}) {. For example,}
7... Rc8 8. Nc3 h6 9. Bh4 e5 10. Qd3 (10. Bxd8 exd4) 10... g5 11. Bg3 {with
the ideas of h4 and Nd2-f1-e3, hitting f5 and d5.}) 4. Bxc6+ (4. d4 cxd4 5.
Qxd4 {is an aggressive approach that some grandmasters have used, but it has
never caught on as a main line; ceding two bishops is a risk.}) 4... bxc6 5.
O-O Bg4 (5... e5 6. c3 Nf6 7. Re1 Bg4 8. h3 Bxf3 9. Qxf3 Be7 10. d3 {a small
edge, e.g.,} O-O 11. Nd2 Ne8 12. Nc4 $14) 6. h3 Bh5 7. e5 $1 dxe5 8. g4 e4 (8...
Bg6 9. Nxe5) 9. gxh5 exf3 10. Nc3 $1 (10. Qxf3 $6 Qd5 { is at least equal.})
10... Rc8 11. Qxf3 e6 12. d3 Qf6 13. Qg3 Qf5 14. Re1 $1 Qxh5 15. Re5 Qg6 16.
Rg5 Qf6 17. Ne4 Qd8 18. Bf4 {and White has great pressure, with ideas of Re1,
Nd6+ and even Rxg7 in some cases. Black's pieces are all on the first rank.}
*
The third clip deals with 3...Nd7 and 3...Bd7.
3...Nd7 4 d4 has long been thought to be more comfortable for White, one key
line going 4...cxd4 5 Qxd4 a6 6 Bxd7+ Bxd7 7 Bg5 (instead of 7 Nc3 e5 8 Qd3
h6, which van Wely considers okay for Black), e.g., 7...Rc8 8 Nc3 h6 9 Bh4 e5
10 Qd3! g5 11 Bg3. 3...Bd7 is considered Black's safest move, when a traditional
main line is 4 Bxd7 Qxd7 5 c4 Nc6 6 d4 cxd4 7 Nxd4 Nf6 8 Nc3 g6 9 0-0 Bg7 10
Nde2 0-0 11 f3. Here van Wely likes White's control of the position, even if
it's theoretically balanced.
[Event "?"] [Site "?"] [Date "2012.11.03"] [Round "?"] [White "Moscow 3 Bb5+
Bd7"] [Black "?"] [Result "*"] [ECO "B52"] [Annotator "Watson,John"] [PlyCount
"21"] [SourceDate "2012.08.10"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. Bb5+ Bd7 4. Bxd7+ Qxd7
(4... Nxd7 5. c3 Ngf6 6. Qe2) 5. c4 ({Van Wely isn't thrilled with White's
position following} 5. c3 Nf6 6. Qe2 Nc6 7. d4 cxd4 8. cxd4 d5 9. e5 Ne4)
5... Nc6 (5... Qg4 {can famously be met by } 6. O-O Qxe4 7. d4 cxd4 8. Re1
{with a powerful attack.}) (5... Nf6 6. Nc3 g6 7. d4 cxd4 8. Nxd4 Bg7 9. f3
Qc7 10. b3 Qa5 11. Bb2 Nc6 12. O-O O-O 13. Nce2 { was the course of the recent
game Carlsen-Anand, Sao Paulo/Bilbao 2012. Anand also lost to Fabiano Caruana
in this variation.}) 6. d4 cxd4 7. Nxd4 Nf6 8. Nc3 g6 ({White keeps a small
but meaningful initiative after} 8... Qg4 9. Qxg4 Nxg4 10. Nxc6 bxc6 11. Bf4
{, e.g.,} Rb8 12. h3 Nf6 13. O-O-O Nd7 14. Rhe1 g6 15. e5 dxe5 16. Rxe5 Nxe5
17. Bxe5) 9. O-O Bg7 10. Nde2 O-O 11. f3 {Here Van Wely likes White's control
of the position, even if it's theoretically balanced.} *
In the fourth clip about 1 e4 c5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 Bb5,
we see how 3...e6 4 Bxc6 bxc6 can get Black into early trouble. In the 5th
clip, he analyses the complex lines with 3...g6 4 Bxc6 bxc6 5 0-0 Bg7 6 Re1
followed by c3 and d4. In the 6th clip, we arrive at 4...dxc6 (instead of 4...bxc6),
when van Wely shows a loss of his as Black to Leko following 4 ..dxc6 5 d3 Bg7
6 h3 Nf6 7 Nc3 Nd7 8 Be3 e5 9 Qd2 h6!? (van Wely seems to prefer 9 ..Qe7, when
10 Bh6 is nothing special) 10 0-0 Qe7 11 Nh2 Nf8 12 f4 exf4 13 Bxf4 Ne6 14 Bg3,
and now van Wely was surprised to find that the simple plan of e5 and Ne4 was
strong, e.g., 14...Nd4 15 e5 Bf5 16 Rae1 0-0-0 17 Ne4 Bxe4 18 Rxe4 with the
idea Ng4. White has played this way in may subsequent games with an excellent
record.
[Event "Dortmund SuperGM"] [Site "Dortmund"] [Date "2005.07.08"] [Round "1"]
[White "Leko, Peter"] [Black "Van Wely, Loek"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B31"]
[WhiteElo "2763"] [BlackElo "2655"] [Annotator "Watson,John"] [PlyCount "33"]
[EventDate "2005.07.07"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventRounds "9"] [EventCountry
"GER"] [EventCategory "19"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2005.09.26"]
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 g6 4. Bxc6 dxc6 5. d3 Bg7 6. h3 Nf6 7. Nc3 Nd7
8. Be3 e5 9. Qd2 h6 $5 ({Van Wely seems to prefer} 9... Qe7 {, when} 10. Bh6
Bxh6 11. Qxh6 f6 {is nothing special.}) 10. O-O Qe7 11. Nh2 Nf8 12. f4 exf4
13. Bxf4 Ne6 14. Bg3 {This plan was successfully used in numerous subsequent
games.} Qg5 $5 ({Here van Wely was surprised to find that the simple plan
of e5 and Ne4 was strong, e.g.,} 14... Nd4 15. e5 Bf5 16. Rae1 O-O-O 17. Ne4
Bxe4 18. Rxe4 { , with the idea of Ng4. White stands better.}) 15. Qe1 Nd4
16. Qf2 O-O 17. Bd6 {Here Black is struggling and eventually lost.} 1-0
Unless I missed something, I don't think van Wely actually goes over the 2
Nf3 e6 3 d3 lines, although there is some very brief analysis in the game files.
Even with that omission, this video is a very useful introduction to a method
for White to bypass main-line Open Sicilians.
Sampler: Loek van Wely – An Anti-Sicilian Repertoire in 60 Minutes
Loek
van Wely: born in 1972, learned chess at the age of 4 and was soon
recognized as one of the greatest talents in the Netherlands ever. After becoming
Grandmaster in 1993, he steadily climbed up the Elo ladder to reach a peak of
2714 and a place among the top ten in the world in 2001.
From the years 2000 to 2005, 'King Loek' won the Dutch national championship
six time in a row. His reputation as an uncompromising fighter with a merciless
will to win make him a most welcome guest in tournaments all over the world.
Among van Wely's greatest successes are his triumphs at the Berlin Open in
1991, the World Open in Philadelphia in 1992 and the New York Open in 1995.
Van Wely, who has represented his country at 10 Olympiads, was the top board
of the victorious Dutch team at the European team championship in 2001 (Leon)
and 2005 (Gothenburg).
Naturally, a universal approach using ...Nf6, ...g7-g6 and ...d7-d5 as the base would be very useful for players of all classes, saving time and energy and promising a fluid, dynamic position.
Anniversary issue with several extras! "My favourite young Carlsen game": 22 authors annotate. Pearls from Wijk: Jorden van Foreest and Anish Giri comment on their best games. Plus 11 opening articles, 3 opening videos, "Carlen's strategy" and much more!
Fat Fritz 2.0 is the successor to the revolutionary Fat Fritz, which was based on the famous AlphaZero algorithms. This new version takes chess analysis to the next level and is a must for players of all skill levels.
Videos by Jan Werle ("Latest trends in King's Indian Saemisch Variation") and Mihail Marin ("Ruy Lopez with 6.d3"). "Lucky bag" with analyses by Adhiban, Ganguly, Mikhalchishin, Bartel et al. Over 44,000 new games for your database.
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.
€29.90
We use cookies and comparable technologies to provide certain functions, to improve the user experience and to offer interest-oriented content. Depending on their intended use, analysis cookies and marketing cookies may be used in addition to technically required cookies. Here you can make detailed settings or revoke your consent (if necessary partially) with effect for the future. Further information can be found in our data protection declaration.
Pop-up for detailed settings
We use cookies and comparable technologies to provide certain functions, to improve the user experience and to offer interest-oriented content. Depending on their intended use, cookies may be used in addition to technically required cookies, analysis cookies and marketing cookies. You can decide which cookies to use by selecting the appropriate options below. Please note that your selection may affect the functionality of the service. Further information can be found in our privacy policy.
Technically required cookies
Technically required cookies: so that you can navigate and use the basic functions and store preferences.
Analysis Cookies
To help us determine how visitors interact with our website to improve the user experience.
Marketing-Cookies
To help us offer and evaluate relevant content and interesting and appropriate advertisement.