I read of this sicilian variation, but couldn't find any games to review. At my level, where we make vague threats while looking for a fork with no real positional awareness, landing a rook on the 7th early in the match could be very desirable. Also if black tries to blockade instead of taking the pawn(s), white can still load up on kingside pressure because of blacks passive line. All of this will keep the fight on the kingside, and keep black from countering on the queenside. It seems like a great line, but I have only tried it a few times and have no frame of ref. Anybody with experience playing this line?

Are you talking about this: 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 d6 6.g4?

Most people don't play the Scheveningen (sp?) which would allow the Keres attack.

They usually transpose into it via the Classical/Najdorf defenses.

nezhmet.wordpress.com has some keres attack stuff I believe. Warning: If you are u1600, the stuff will be hopelessly over your head, as will basically any source on this opening.

The keres is a fine line but requires some specific knowledge for something you rarely get to play.

OP - if you need a simple, straightforward system vs the Sicilian, consider the English/Yugoslav setup. (Yes, at good levels it is very complex, but some of the basic ideas are very powerful and easy for anyone to grasp) Simplest idea is to support e4 with f3 then pawn storm the kingside with g4, h4, g5, h5, etc. Goes something like 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cd 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 (a6, e6, g6) 6. f3 7. Qd2 8. 0-0-0 9/10/11. g4 If black plays e5 your knight normally goes to b3.



White is ready to start storming the kingside with g4.

Thanks everyone

Swingdoc, i like the looks of that. I don't have much experience castling queenside vs the sicilian, but it does look very playable vs 1000-1200 players. I know that at my level I should be concentrating on tactics, but having a good understanding of openings can save me a lot of time early in the game. When I get down on time is when I blunder the most, and since it's tough to get a game longer than 10 min the less time i spend saying 'wtf is this guy doing?' the better.

I'm a Scheveningen player.
Don't fear the Keres that much, although white results in the old good 6.g4 h6 7.h4 Nc6 8.Rg1 h5 9.gxh5 have recently favoured white. But I feel quite confortable with 8. ...d5
Check Movsesian's games for that line, esp. the Volokitin-Movsesian game (2008).

I think that the most annoying line against the Schevy is the English attack, mentioned by swingdoc.
Personally, I don't waste time in playing 6. ...a6.
I feel that black is OK after something like 6.Be3 Be7 7.f3 Nc6 8.Qd2 00 9 g4 (or 000) 9. ...d5
Also, there is less theory to study than after the ...a6 lines, which are quite wild, esp. if black plays the Nbd7 line.

But the point is that if your opponents rating is lower than 2000, you are probably not going to face the Schevy that much.

Bob147,

That setup is certainly more than "playable", and not just against 1000-1200 players! GMs Nigel Short, John Nunn, and many others enjoyed significant success with it.