The Anti-Sicilian Bible

We must be trained not only in specific opening moves, but in the mid-game, the end and the tactical part of an opening in question. And this is exactly what this book offers: a complete structural think-tank on the closed systems of the Sicilian Defence. There are no good or bad openings: there are openings you understand and openings you don't. And understanding comes from studying and applying absorbed knowledge!

Not all chess players are prepared to face a dangerous opening like the Grivas Siciliana, or any other open form of the Sicilian Defence, of course, so there is an alternative setup in the hunt. White has a lot of options after 1.e4 c5. Some choices are sometimes pretty solid and some are just garbage!

Shorter time controls (lightning and fast) "favor" safer, unforced and not too deep and long theoretical continuations, so White has a good point for avoiding the open versions of the Sicilian Defence. Especially in the "colera years", as I call the years 2020-2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, chess players had to stay home, avoid travel and test our real game online.

This general fear demanded as "compensation" a lighter approach to the game and some strange and unsolid opening options were on the daily menu. That's fine, of course, for the ambitious, well-trained chess player who sits behind the black pieces!

It is also true that this book is quite "heavy" and contains many, many lines that are almost impossible to remember in their entirety. But chess is learned subconsciously, so repeated motifs and ideas guide our choices and help us remember important lines.

Efstratios Grivas (1966) is an experienced chess coach and author. He has been awarded by FIDE the titles of IGM, Senior Coach, International Chess Arbiter and International Chess Organizer. His main successes on the board are the Silver Medal at the 1988 Olympics (3rd board), the Gold Medal at the 1989 European Team Championship (3rd board) and the 4th place at the 1985 Junior U20 World Championship.