9/3/2023 – 2...d6 is Black's favourite Sicilian. In the new CBM #215 Christian Braun presents a concept for White with 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.e5!? that is attractive in various respects: White immediately forces the pace, leads the game into terrain that is often unknown to the opponent and gets "dynamic and powerful play" with little risk of his own. You don't need to learn too many variations by heart in this straightforward system either. Take a look at the article in CBM #215 and then do a first practical test on the chess server right away!

6/4/2022 – At the Tata Steel Masters 2022 Jorden van Foreest got the opportunity to conduct a long-planned opening experiment: In the Sicilian with 2.Nc6 he surprised his opponent Praggnanandhaa with 3.Bc4?! "Finally, here it was. There aren't all that many good reasons for why I like the move, the main probably being the fact that it looks so stupid :-)", writes the young Dutchman at the beginning of his analysis in the new CBM Extra #207. And the game continued no less exceptionally: after 3...e6 4.0-0 d5 5.Bb5! dxe4 6.Ne5 Qc7 7.Nxc6 bxc6 8.Bc4! White hast lost a pawn and moved his bishop three times in the opening! In the end, with a bit of luck, Van Foreest still won the game. It's "The brillancy" in CBM Extra #207. On top of that, the new edition offers no less than 56 annotated games and over an hour of video training with Elisabeth Pähtz and Ivan Sokolov.

1/30/2022 – When Boris Spassky, World Champion from 1969 to 1972, had to play the Sicilian with the white pieces, he seemed to get particularly inspired. Today, the living legend from Leningrad turns 85, and to celebrate him we share a selection of brilliant games he played with 1.e4 c5 during his illustrious career. | Photo: Gerhard Hund

6/18/2021 – Our ChessBase Magazine subscribers recently received a particularly interesting offer: a theme tournament with Spyridos Kapnisis! "Play the Author" lets readers play against their favourite author in a round-robin tournament. Another attraction is the set opening that is played in each round. In this "Play the Author" episode, the Richter-Rauzer Variation in the Sicilian was the chosen setup.

1/13/2021 – The Sicilian is the most popular opening against 1.e4 because it is theoretically sound but offers Black double-edged play at the same time. Whilst you must know how to handle the main line (2. Nf3 and 3.d4), sidelines are also very important. In this video series, Nicholas Pert gives a strong and practical Black repertoire against these sidelines such as the Bb5 Sicilian, the Grand Prix Attack, the Alapin and many more, from his years of experience playing the Sicilian.

10/14/2020 – English Grandmaster Chris Ward is an expert in the Sicilian Dragon, and wants to share his knowledge, debuting as a Fritztrainer. The British Championship Master's fun, entertaining spirit, and his soothing voice, keeps us hooked to his first part on how to play the Sicilian Dragon with plenty of current variations. The popular opening was recently played by Hikaru Nakamura, but also Veselin Topalov has used the powerful system in his best times with his very own variation. GM Ward doesn't want to dissect the variations too much, but rather give interesting new ideas for strong attacking play, creative moves and solid defending.

6/15/2020 – Do you find the Sicilian difficult to cope with? Are you afraid to play the Sicilian with White because you do not want to learn a huge amount of variations by heart? Well, Roeland Pruijssers and Nico Zwirs can help. The two Dutchmen have created a complete repertoire against the Sicilian based on the Open Sicilian. A repertoire that is easy to learn.

2/4/2020 – Do you lack the time to follow the latest and most aggressive developments in the main lines of the Sicilian but still want to be able to obtain comfortable positions with White? With its solid but venomous main and sidelines, the Rossolimo Variation is just the ticket.

7/16/2019 – If you play e4, you have to have a good weapon against the Sicilian Defence, and unless you want to hide behind sidelines, you have to reach for 3.d4. On this three-volume set video series from Grandmaster Victor Bologan, you'll discover how to clear a path through the Sicilian's theoretical thicket. Check it out this week only for a special price!

6/27/2019 – Looking for a great attacking weapon against the Sicilian Rossolimo? You better come and watch this episode of the Fast & Furious show! The live show at 17:00 UTC (19:00 CEST / 2 PM EDT) is free to watch, and available on-demand for ChessBase Premium account holders (but FREE for a limited time!). To chat, please visit videos.chessbase.com/live or login via Playchess for Windows.

6/13/2019 – Today IM Robert Ris tackles Sicilians from Poikovsky on his Fast & Furious Show! The live show at 17:00 UTC (19:00 CEST / 2 PM EDT) is free to watch, and available on-demand for ChessBase Premium account holders (but FREE for a limited time!). To chat, please visit videos.chessbase.com/live or login via Playchess for Windows.

3/7/2019 – Today's topic: Highlights from the Icelandic Team Championships, live at 18:00 UTC (19:00 CET 1 PM EST) The live show is free to watch, and available on-demand for ChessBase Premium account holders (but FREE for a limited time!). To chat, please visit videos.chessbase.com/live or login via Playchess for Windows.

2/21/2019 – Today's topic: The Carlsen Line (1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Qxd4 Nc6 5.Qd2!?) against the Sicilian. Thursday, at 16:00 UTC (17:00 CET, 11 am EST), IM Robert Ris shows sharp and double edged opening lines. If you fancy sacrificing or playing gambits, this show is a must see. Not only will you profit from specific opening ideas but you'll learn a lot of interesting general opening concepts too. The live show is free to watch, and available on-demand for ChessBase Premium account holders (but FREE for a limited time!). To chat, please visit videos.chessbase.com/live or login via Playchess for Windows.

10/16/2018 – 110 years ago, on October 16th, 1908, the Soviet Master and famous opening theoretician Vsevolod Rauzer was born in Kiev, Ukraine. Rauzer died in 1941 but during his short career, he discovered a number of new ideas in the opening and the endgame. Rauzer was convinced that 1.e4 is better than 1.d4 and wanted to prove that with all his might. | Diagram: The starting position of the Richter-Rauzer Attack

5/2/2018 – CHESS Magazine reviewer SEAN MARSH finds Andrew Martin's "surprising Sicilian" quite persuasive, and "rife with dangers for both sides". Find out why, along with a sample game and video from Martin's latest DVD video series.

3/7/2018 – In the modern game, a player has to be ready to play almost any opening variation at short notice. The plan is to interrupt the preparation of the opponent at every turn. A knowledge of dynamic and slightly unusual lines could well score many,many points for the resourceful player. The Kveinys Variation : 1 e4 c5 2 Nf3 e6 3 d4 cxd4 4 Nxd4 Qb6! is surprisingly little-played, yet gives Black excellent chances and on this new ChessBase DVD, Andrew Martin explains how the system works.

11/29/2017 – The road to mastery is a difficult one, but one aspect everyone agrees on, is related to how mastering some pawn structures can help us grow as chess players. Here we have a repertoire to use against the usual frenemies we play against in tournament, and a pawn structure whose deep understanding will bring us to a new level. Davide Nastasio has the review...

10/4/2017 – The Najdorf Sicilian is one of the most popular openings and top players such as Maxime Vachier-Lagrave or Ian Nepomniachtchi win game after game with it. But you do not have to be a top player to enjoy this opening. On his DVD "The complex Najdorf" Viktor Bologan offers a balanced and comprehensive introduction to the Najdorf. Christoph Menezes had a look.