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Playing with White after 1.e4 against the Sicilian defence is not always a pleasure. If you want to play for an advantage, you have to be very familiar with systems as varied as the Najdorf variant, the Dragon, the Scheveningen, Sveshnikov and Kalashnikov and more, as you will encounter specialists of in these systems at all levels.
How much easier is it to do without 3.d4 and instead put your own stamp on the game with an early deviation. The move 3.♗b5 has established itself as a very useful weapon and it's adaptable — you can play 1.e4 c5 2.♞f3 ♞c6 3.♗b5 or 1.e4 c5 2.♘f3 d6 3.♗b5.
Thirty years ago, 3.d4 was virtually obligatory in response to the Sicilian defense, but 3.♗b5 is now also considered a fully-viable alternative essayed by the players of the highest calibre including World Champion Magnus Carlsen who used the opening several times during the last World Championship match in London in 2018.
The FritzTrainer menu
Jan Werle presents his own ideas on 3.♗b5 after either 2...♞c6 or 2...d6 on two new FritzTrainer volumes and also suggests some devious and fresh novelties.
Just how highly 3.♗b5 scores is shown by some contemporary GM games from recent tournaments:
Pairs well with the new Powerbook 2020 and Powerbase 2020 updates!
Translation from German: Macauley Peterson
