Understanding Before Moving 3.2: Sicilian Structures

The first volume dealt with the Najdorf and Scheveningen variations, and now it is time to pay attention to three other extremely popular systems: the Taimanov, Kan and Richter-Rauzer variations. After careful consideration within the Thinkers Publishing, we decided it made sense to group these variations. In particular, the first two are closely related and share the characteristic that, in both cases, Black plays... e7-e6 and... a7-a6 at an early stage. Usually they have the idea of retaining more options for their king's bishop by postponing... d7-d6 (or even omitting it altogether). The bishop can go to b4 or c5 on different lines.

The Richter-Rauzer is, in theory, just one of the possible developments of a classical Sicilian. We've already dealt with some games that started with the Classic and where Black played briefly... e7-e6; and 6.Ac4 (the Sozin variation) was treated correctly in the Scheveningen pages. However, it is clear that the most popular white count, the Richter-Rauzer variation (6.Ag5) deserves special attention.

As I looked at the variation structure of Kan and Taimanov and decided which game model to use, I noticed many possible transitions to the "Hedgehog" structure. The key features are white pawns on e4 and c4, and at least four black pawns on a6, b6, d6 and e6. This structure is ideal for the task of playing to win with black, due to the complicated intermediate games that arise. (And often complicated intermediate games are needed to have a better chance of 'converting' a qualifying advantage!) The hedgehog is definitely a structure rather than a variation, but it has such a distinctive character that I decided to examine it. first in chapter 2. This simplifies further discussion of Taimanov and Kan variations by eliminating the need to discuss all possible ways of entering a Hedgehog structure.

A few more comments on the hedgehog. This way of placing the pieces simply in the two back rows, with four "spikes" directly in front, has been used by many strong players, including world champions. (This is because it can also be used in several other openings, including symmetric English or Queen's Indian.). As for me, this setup has long been one of my favorites, and from my first knowledge of the structure I was immediately mesmerized by the possibilities for a rich strategy game. It is fascinating to see how strong players manage to outsmart their sometimes equally esteemed opponents, even from so far within their own territory. In that sense, one can draw a parallel with the famous Catenaccio” style in which the Italian national football team (soccer) played.

Catenaccio is the Italian word for "chain" and the style is associated with a well-organized defense, to neutralize opponents' attacks before they begin. The moment the opponent finally tries to enter the fortifications, a counterattack will come with impressive speed. The same goes for Hedgehog in chess. The blacks stay in the last rows and the whites, who have more space, sometimes fall into a trap. When the position suddenly opens, very often the small latent weaknesses in White's field will prove to be his undoing. In this book I give a schematic representation of the plans developed by both sides over the years, illustrated through model sets. Very often, authors will say that "they could write an entire book" on one of their topics; in this case, the richness of the strategy game in Hedgehog drove me to do just that. In "Key Concepts of Chess - The Hedgehog", the first in a new series (from the same publisher), you will find this fascinating beast examined in greater detail, if you are interested.

In each chapter, most of the space deals with the discussion of model games. This is exactly what I also did in previous volumes of this series and it represents a fundamental principle of the philosophy of Understanding Before Moving. The main idea is that the reader can thus increase their understanding of the practical intermediate games that actually arise from the variation in question and, in doing so, also develop a better idea of how to handle the opening responsibly.