fling wrote on 01/21/11 at 18:18:24:



This to me is one of the KEY lines White needs to think about in the c3. I've played 9.Re1, 9.a3 and 9.Qe2 at times.

John's selection of games show that you don't have to follow the main line after Qe2 - you can play a4 and Bd2 and still play for a win. Sveshnikov in his book says he believes that Bd2 is superior to Qe4 in the mainline.

I'm not sure that the line with John barely escaped with a draw as Black against a 2200 team-mate has been resolved (where d5 and Qd4 happened) and Black players seem laregely unaware of it (though it appeared here in an update Jan? 09?

And the Sam Collins CB DVD recommends a slow approach with a3 Qd3 Bd2 and then Nc3 (quoting some Howell games)

Plenty to think about - what do other c3 practitioners play here and why?

Paul

buffos wrote on 10/27/10 at 06:58:09:


There are many ways to reach an engine-evaluated equal position against 2 c3!
.
Sveshnikov himself says that 2...Nf6 is the most reliable 2nd move if Black wants to equalize.

The line 1. e4 c5 2. c3 Nf6 3. e5 Nd5 4. d4 cxd4 5. Nf3 d6 is fairly unusual - 5...Nc6 is much more common. 

5...d6 gives White the extra option of 6. Qxd4 e6 7. Nbd2 Nc6 8. Bb5 Bd7 9. Bxc6 Bxc6 10. Nc4, which Sveshnikov considered to be an advantageous version of the 5 Qxd4 variation; still, White has other options on moves 4, 5, 6 and 7, so although you do us a favor by mentioning the possibility now of 10...f6, which does indeed pose White some difficult problems if he is seeking an advantage, I would not let that put me off obtaining the book or playing 2 c3!

I am not sure it is worth relying on such a line as Black, which cannot be forced and in which high-class experience is rather lacking. To me it looks rather unclear. I analyze:

1. e4 c5 2. c3 Nf6 3. e5 Nd5 4. d4 cxd4 5. Nf3 d6 6. Qxd4 e6 7. Nbd2 Nc6 8. Bb5 Bd7 9. Bxc6 Bxc6 10. Nc4 f6 and now:
a) 11. Nxd6+ Bxd6 12. exd6 e5! with decent counterplay.
b) 11. exf6 Qxf6 (or ...Nxf6!?) 12. Bg5 Qxd4 13. Nxd4 Bd7. Black has three pawn islands vs 2 but also has the bishop pair.
c) 11 dxe6 b5 might be the critical line to examine: 12. Qe4! and now:
(i) 12... Bd7?! 13.Ne3 Nb6 14. O-O Bxd6 15. Nf5 - or 15. Rd1 - 15... Bf8 16. Be3 looks an edge for White to me. 
(ii) 12...Qc8 13. Na5 Bd7 is probably best. Black might well be OK, but I would hardly call it a clean equalizer.

But I agree that, if Sveshnikov was aware of 10...f6 he should indeed have mentioned it, since it is clearly an important and challenging move, albeit in a fairly rare variation. Thanks for pointing it out! 

Could you please say what were three games you found? I found only one, Motwani-Rechlis.

Daniel wrote on 10/13/10 at 13:03:56:


It is indeed slightly updated, but those looking for the latest hot theory will mostly be disappointed. It's really not that sort of book, and doesn't set out to be so. The emphasis is on understanding. He does say what he thinks of the various defences, and points the reader towards what he considers to be the most promising lines for White, but it's not a repertoire book. It's full of great chess though and I think it's very instructive; it teaches you far more than just the c3 Sicilian!

I cannot comment on the whole book, but when i got it, the first thing i did was browse for a certain variation.

1.e4 c5 2.c3 Nf6 4.Nf3 d6 {?! he says} 5.d4 cxd4 6.Qxd4 e6 7.Nbd2 Nc6 8.Bb6 Bd7 9 Bxc6 Bxc6 10.Nc4 and now he mentions  dxe5 and goes on to show a variation where white is indeed better.

There are 3 games though with the correct 10...f6 which is the engine's choice too, the perfectly equalize the position, and at least should be mentioned. 

Ofcourse f6 changes the evaluation of 4..d6 from ?! to perfectly playable (if not good)

Didnt have a chance to look at the rest of the book though

I received the book last week.  Here is a brief overview from browsing through it:

Sveshnikov has updated it as it has annotated games from 2010.

The English edition uses a larger page format with smaller text than the Russian version so that is why this edition apparently has less pages.

There were no ECO tables in the original Russian edition.

I am pleased to say that Part 1 of the newly published "The Complete c3 Sicilian" is (barring some editing) my "long-lost" translation, which I completed for Chessgate in 2005 but then the project was aborted for some reason. Part 2 is translated by Steve Giddins. Unfortunately, neither of is acknowledged in the book itself, but we do get a mention in the Errata section at the New in Chess website.

I am not sure yet how much updating has taken place but with a work of this type that should not necessarily be a "deal-breaker". In this electronic age, it is easy for a player to find relevant games played since the book was written. The whole emphasis is to teach the reader the various position types and typical tactical and strategic themes and even endings that can arise from the Alapin. The presentation of material in this massive book is similar to Sveshnikov's book(s) on the French Advance, which I translated for Olms, except that there are no ECO-type tables. I think the annotated games are very instructive; my impression is that, although somewhat dogmatic, Sveshnikov is a very honest writer who holds nothing back. Since he is still probably the leading expert on 2 c3, his opinions and advice regarding the various lines are well worth our attention.

By the way, I do not receive commission for any extra sales these comments might generate!

The PDF sample has some information about 1.e4 c5 2.c3 b6 3.d4 Bb7 4.Bd3 Nf6 5.Nd2 cxd4 6.cxd4 Nc6 7.Ne2 and here it appears that Sveshnikov only analyses 7...g6 and 7...Nb4. Since I knew that Frank Zeller had written a book on 1.e4 c5 2.c3 b6 (Anti-Anti-Sizilianisch), I had a look at the PDF sample of that book as well. The index shows that Zeller chooses 7...e5 as his main line.
Neither author seems to mention (1.e4 c5 2.c3 b6 3.d4 Bb7 4.Bd3 Nf6 5.Nd2) 5...e6 with a direct transposition to Owen's defence. Then 6.Ngf3 cxd4 or 6...d5 is OK for Black. Trickier is 6.Ne2!?, a rare continuation that is not easy to meet.

Maybe sweshnikov feels old the other possibility is mistranslation from russian to english.