I had the chance to try this variation out OTB in the Welsh Championships this weekend, but things did not exactly go to plan. Should I ever meet Jeroen Bosch, I will be having words!

Evans,C (1954) - Bennion,D (2096)
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 e5 6.Ndb5 d6 7.Nd5 Nxd5 8.exd5 Nb8 9.Qf3 Be7!? [Bosch dismisses this move in his article as giving black no compensation for the pawn he's about to sacrifice.] 10.Qc3 Na6 11.Be3 O-O 12.Nxa7 Bg5! [This isn't mentioned by Bosch, but appears to be a huge improvement on the 12...Bd7 played previously.] 13.Bxa6?! [I had seen the following ...Qa5+ idea, but the alternatives did not look good to me - 13.Nxc8 Rxc8 14.c3 Bxe3 and black looks to have enough for the pawn, 13.Nb5 Bxe3 14.Qxe3 Nb4! with good chances, and 13.Bxg5 Qxg5 is already better for black.] Bxe3 14.Qxe3 Qa5+ 15.Qd2 Qxa6 16.Nxc8 Rfxc8 17.b3 Rc5! and black's queenside pressure gives more than enough compensation for the pawn, although I eventually managed to grovel a draw after some difficult moments.

Perhaps this 9.Qf3 line isn't quite as good as a surprise weapon as I suspected, if 9...Be7 is actually good. Can anyone else find some improvements for white?

Regards,
Craig

I don't have SOS1. Do you know which Nic Mag the article was from? I could look it up then.

In my TWIC database the results are +0, =4, -3 after 10.-b6. Looking at chesslive.de the stats are +5, =6, -4.  Don't rely on stats on just a few games.

Anyway, the game Nevanlinna (2306)-Zhialko (2456), Saint Vincent 2005 is quite interesting. Black doesn't play Bb7.
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 e5 6. Ndb5 d6 7. Nd5 Nxd5 8.
exd5 Nb8 9. Qf3 a6 10. Qa3 b6 11. c4 Be7 12. Be2 O-O 13. O-O g5 14. Be3 f5 15.
f3 f4 16. Bf2 Bf5 17. Rfd1 Rf6 18. Bd3 Bxd3 19. Rxd3 Rg6 20. Nc3 Nd7 21. Qb3
Rb8 22. Qd1 Nf6 23. Qe2 Qc7 24. Rd2 g4 25. fxg4 Nxg4 26. Ne4 Kh8 27. Kh1 Rbg8
28. Bg1 Nf6 29. Qd3 Rh6 30. Rad1 Nh5 31. b3 Bd8 32. Rf1 Qd7 33. Rf3 Nf6 34.
Nxf6 Rxf6 35. Rh3 Rfg6 36. Qf3 Qf5 37. Re2 R8g7 38. Rh5 Qb1 39. Qc3 Rg4 40. Qc2
Qxc2 41. Rxc2 f3 42. g3 Rf7 43. Bf2 Re4 44. Rh6 Re2 0-1

Aagaard made a fuss about it in his (rather poor) book about the Sveshnikov (published in 2000) although he omitted the easy 9...a6 10.Qa3 b6 (planning Bb7, Be7 and 0-0).

I meet this variation once in a while in blitz. I'm quite happy playing it as black. Using two tempi to get the queen to a3 without achieving much is nothing to be afraid of.

Hello all!
This is my first foray into the Open Sicilian thread, and I must admit I feel slightly out of place here. Still, on I go...

There was a weapon advocated in Bosch's Secrets of Opening Surprises Vol. 1 against the Sveshnikov, which arises after 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 e5 6.Ndb5 d6 7.Nd5 Nxd5 8.exd5 Nb8 9.Qf3!? and then, in SOS2, in the first chapter he points out an important improvement for white, found by Dennis Monkroussos I believe, involving Bxa6! which allows white to grab the rook on a8 (I can't remember the exact line, I'll try to dig it out tonight if possible).

I thought I'd start a discussion on this since, in my insanity, I've decided to start playing the open Sicilian again. I've played one correspondence game a few years back with the line, drawing comfortably, but am obviously looking for a weapon for winning with, not drawing... I don't have time to learn reams upon reams of analysis and look every week for refinements on move 25 of the 13.h4 variations. I'd rather just choose a sound sideline which gives practical chances.

So, what are people's opinions on this line? As black, have you prepared responses for this line? Are you happy playing against it? As white, do you play this line, and if so, what is your objective opinion on it?

Regards,
Craig