Sicilian Defense

The Sicilian Defense, 1.e4 c5, is the most popular answer to 1.e4 and the biggest opening in our data, with more puzzles than any other family. Black fights for d4 with a flank pawn, and after the usual 2.Nf3 and 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 the position is unbalanced: White has more space and faster development, Black has a central pawn majority and the half-open c-file.

That central knight on d4 is behind the three most frequent mistakes in our data. It is defended by the queen, and when Black can play ...Nxd4 followed by ...e5 or ...b5-b4 ideas, any careless White move leaves it short of defenders. After 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 e6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Bc4 b5, the retreat 7.Bd3? loses a piece to 7...Nxd4. In the Scheveningen, after 4...d6 5.Nc3 Nf6 6.Be2 a6 7.O-O Nc6, developing with 8.Bf4? allows the same 8...Nxd4. In the Classical, after 2...d6 3.Nc3 Nc6 4.d4 cxd4 5.Nxd4 Nf6 6.h3 a6, the identical 7.Bf4? is met by 7...Nxd4. The pattern: in the first line the bishop on d3 blocks the queen's defence of d4, so 7...Nxd4 simply wins the knight; in the other two, 8...Nxd4 9.Qxd4 e5 forks the queen and the bishop on f4.

Black's typical mistakes are central pushes made at the wrong moment. In the Najdorf, after 5.Nc3 a6 6.Nf3 Nc6 7.Bc4, the natural 7...e5? allows 8.Ng5, and after 8...d5 9.Nxd5 Black's centre collapses. In the Sveshnikov, after 4...Nf6 5.Nc3 e5 6.Nde2 Bb4 7.f3, the trick 7...Nxe4? does not work: 8.fxe4 and the knight is simply lost.

The Sicilian Defense study covers the main systems and their plans, and the Magnus Smith and Siberian traps have their own pages. The puzzles below train exactly these moments, for both sides of the board.