I'm afraid the Barlov and Jovicic is mainly 'stuffed' with variations and Light on explanation/wording. 

However there are some introductions to each of the lines they reccomend and though the book is mainly analysis based they don't overwhelm you with superfluous information. 

More bad news, the Barlov book like most repertoire books on the Sicilian reccomend the Keres Attack against the Schevenigen. While the Keres is indeed perhaps the most promising line against the Schevenigen, I appreciate that it would not be to everyone's taste.

Now some good news  John Nunn's very first 'Beating the Sicilian' manual along with the Keres Attack also recommends Be2! against the Schevenigen. Admittedly the book is rather old now, but the wording/explanatory prose is 'TopNotch'. If you are really keen on the Be2 system, that is the book to get, bearing in mind that over time analysis and evaluations may change but the important themes, ideas and plans seldom do.

If you are looking for a complete repertoire against the Sicilian featuring predominantly Be2, then I strongly recommend you study the games of the late great GM Efim Geller, as this was his weapon of choice.

Lastly, there is a Najdorf book written by GM Danny King or GM Daniel King, I can't recall the title at the moment, but it has an excellent chapter on the Be2 variation, with lucid explanations of all the key moves and plans for both sides. This is a good book overall, and if you like me, appreciate a nice balance between theory and excellent verbal explanation then this book is a must have.

That reminds me, I gotta get that book back from the guy I lent it to some years ago. I could do with a refresher course myself. 

I hope that helps

Over and out

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Perhaps I will eventually get into the nitty gritty of why I think Bg5 is so great against the Najdorf.  

But for now and unlike in my Dragon thread I will withhold the fruits of my analytical labor till I rake in some of the elo benefits and perhaps norm possibilities.

In the meanwhile you should heed the implications of GM Kosten's post.

Bg5! is a sleeping killer just waiting to be reawakened, there is little more I can add to what I have already posted. And I well and truly stand by it.

I hope Tony shares the content of Vigorito's email in his next update, as it sounds as if it could be a bombshell. 

Bye bye for now.

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The very fact I have been playing 6.Bg5 and the KG for 30+ years shows that instead of following the whims of fashion I happen to be quite stubborn.

For the 6.Bg5 discussion to be of value, either its basic philosophy or concrete variations should be discussed.

Let's consider the Sicilian Defence developments:

5...a6 was born as a means of playing ...e5 without allowing a knight to b5. So 6.Bg5 was developed as a means of avoiding ...e5 (it is the only white 6th move, together with 6.Bc4 that achieves this).

Decades of practice has shown both moves to put everything on the attack. If the attack fails, white's position has problems.

The g4 push came later. As it turns out, the g5 bishop is on the way...

I did a list of my white losses in the last 10 years. Loads of KG's and 6.Bg5 Najdorfs... Funnily, the overal score with the KG remained like 60-70%, I could not say the same about 6.Bg5...

Although I must admit I would love something better than the lines I have studied as an alternative to it...

As far as variations, the 7...Be7 line could be an starting point....

TopN:

Let's face it, 6.Bg5 is pretty dead. There were a lot of Nd5 sacrifices that scared ****less a lot of black players due to the level of understanding of previous decades, but currently is suffering badly in many lines.

I view it as the King's gambit. Black has to know extremely well not to get blown off the board, but his position is sound enough, and can choose between a number of interesting and promising lines...

My problem is that 6.Be3 has tons of theory. But it is certainly what top players are ALL playing at the moment

TN: I reckon you just love to be controversial and step in when everybody else is stating otherwise  8) 

I have seen this thread from time to time, but could not make up my mind whether to respond or not. Ok here goes.  

Experts vs The Sicilian is an absolutely fantastic book!!
If I had an extra thumb, I would give it three thumbs up.

Unfortunately there is no pleasing all chessplayers. Chessplayers expect so much from a single book that it is ridiculous. Alrighty now that I have got that off my chest I will make some observations and points regarding this book.

With 10 different authors each assigned a chapter devoted to creating headaches for Sicilian practitoners, there is bound to be a clash of writing styles and inconsistency regarding depth of coverage.

Overall this books presumes a high level of chess understanding and in some cases knowledge of the lines presented. This is not 'A Starting Out' book, although some of the authors try to strike a balance between explanation of the typical plans and actual analytical content.

The Accelerated Dragon was particularly well done by Peter Heine Nielsen. Mikhail Golubev also did and excellent Job with the Dragon. 

I was also particularly impressed with Sune Berg Hansen's treatment of the Taimanov and Kan set ups. However and this may seem strange considering the many critcisms, but I believe the Najdorf chapter done by Thomas Luther to be one of the best in the book.

Luther does not mix matters or waste words he delves right into the lines that are on the cutting edge of Bg5 theory and promise White the best chances of an advantage. However in order to do this effectively he has had to make some compromises, such as dispensing with a lot of old theory or explaining what has lead to the selected lines being considered the most effective.  

When I played the Open Sicilian as White, which I rarely do these days, I also employed the Bg5 line vs the Najdorf. So you could say that I am also sort of  specialist in it, and trust me on this when I say that there is enough dynamite in Luther's Najdorf chapter  to level a City block. For instance the risky Polugayevsky variation which is still popular at Club level is delt a death blow, the coverage there alone is worth the price of admission.

Those of you new to the Bg5 line vs the Najdorf  will definetly need to supplement this chapter with other sources in order to fill in the blanks. Nevertheless this is your lucky day, as I will tell you where you can find the information to fill in the blanks so that you may playing Bg5 vs the Najdorf with confidence:

"The Complete Najdorf by John Nunn" - This is a must have for Bg5 practitioners, do not let the title fool you, its all about the Bg5 line. Here you will find all the information neccessary to supplement Luther's work.

"How to play against the Sicilian Defence" by Dragan Barlov and Milos Jovicic - This one is not a must have, however it is an excellent repertoire booklet which has quite a good chapter on the Bg5 line. Despite its small size it is jammed pack with powerful ideas and analysis, you would not be disappointed.

To conclude it is my opinion that "Experts vs The Sicilian" is to date by far the most powerful, effective and convincing repertoire book available to combat 1...c5. And I say this having read all three of John Nunn's 'Beating the Sicilian' series and Nigel Davies 'Taming the Sicilian' among others.

I hope this post has proved useful

Best regards

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Can someone tell me what is reccomended against the Svesh and the Kan/Taimanov please.

Alumbrado has described the book very well, a collection of ideas, not as consistent as Beating the Sicilian (3) . (Number 3 is the only I have!) Although there, 6.f4 against the Najdorf was perhaps not the best choice...

These days of super specialisation it looks like white has to find his/her own way through databases and various sources. A truly comprehensive book is impossible, even for black! (Repertoire books are getting more and more usual)

But really, short cuts as white (2.Bc4 against 1...e5, 2.Nc3 in the sicilian, etc... like Lane advocates) are rather lame. Although I used his beating the French for a while, the Advance is quite OK for black....

I am afraid Khalifman is not going to provide (at least me) the answer to many sicilians. He is already struggling with other defences.... (theoretically the Sicilian volume was due in 2004)