LeeRoth wrote on 07/26/10 at 05:05:36:

Amazon.com actually has new copies in stock. Apparently, it was reprinted in 2009. But now that I see who the publisher is, I won't buy it.

LeeRoth wrote on 07/26/10 at 05:05:36:

I wonder how it would be to pair that with the Starting Out book that I already have. I started reading that last night, and it seems as skimpy on theoretical details as I remember, but it does cover general ideas and plans. It does seem to be better in the Open lines than in the anti-Sicilians like the Grand Prix and Smith-Morra that I was looking at when I bought it. So maybe I could read that for ideas and plans in words, and just skim de la Villa's book for more detailed lines as I have stuff that I want to look up.

Of course, my purchasing decision might end up coming down to what the vendor has with him at the tourney I'm playing this coming weekend.

--Fromper

Levy and O'Connell's How to Play the Sicilian Defense used to be one of the best books for this.  Worth a few bucks if you can find a used copy.  I haven't seen the Starting Out book, so I don't know how they compare.

Also worth getting is David LeMoir's Essential Chess Sacrifices.  IIRC, the first several chapters look at all the big Sicilian sacrifices for White -- Nd5,Bxe6, Nxb5 etc. -- explaining when they do and do not work.   

I would wait on de la Villa for a while, it is theoretical details, more than concepts and ideas.

kylemeister wrote on 07/25/10 at 21:32:29:

Heh. I forgot that I actually own the original version of that book.  

I bought it years ago when I was trying to decide what to play against the Sicilian, but I was afraid of the Open back then, and the coverage of the anti-Sicilians I was looking at is pretty thin, so I didn't like the book. It got dumped in the back of a bookshelf and forgotten. Now that I'm looking, it does appear to show the mainlines and general ideas of the Open, but I still think I'll need something more detailed. This would be a start, though. Thanks for mentioning it!

What references would you all recommend for a 1700 USCF rated player who wants to start playing the Open Sicilian as white? 

I'm not afraid of diving head first into main lines, and I learn better from videos than books. At my level, something that explains the ideas and concepts is better for me than something that hits the latest and greatest theoretical details. Once I get into it, I can worry about updating my knowledge to keep up with theory, but starting out, I need ideas, not specific moves.

I've heard that Jesus de la Villa's "Dismantling the Sicilian" book is good, but if there's a DVD video that covers this stuff, I might learn better from that. Or are there other good books that any of you recommend?

Thanks,

--Fromper