I think in the ...e6 variation the best plan for white is displayed in the game Vachier Lagrave- Moiseenko, Biel 2013. Aagaard barely touches this in his article (Experts vs the Anti-Sicilian).

PANFR wrote on 11/20/14 at 15:44:32:


I notice that once upon a time Sveshnikov had that as leading to +=, but only giving one bit (a game Kotliar-Birnboim).  A possibility is to transpose to the old line 1. e4 c5 2. c3 Nf6 3. e5 Nd5 4. g3 (I associate this with Rozentalis) d6 5. ed e6 6. Bg2 Bxd6 7. Nf3 0-0 8. 0-0 Nc6 9. d4 cd 10. Nxd4 Nxd4 11. Qxd4 Qc7 which has been considered equal.

Yes, that's one of the improvements I alluded to.

Still, Black being able to equalise with accurate play in a little known variation may be acceptable to some, so I thought it worth mentioning. The majority of games follow 10...dxe5.

I didn't know Esserman suggested this line but Sveshnikov also covers it in his book on the Alapin.

I agree that 4...d6 is a good move, especially for cc. I'm surprised how rare it is in practice.

White can still pick the type of game he wants to play though, which is typical for the Alapin and a large part of what makes it a good practical weapon OTB.

after 5.d4 cxd4 6.cxd4 we're in the main lines after either 6...e6 or 6...Nc6 7.Bc4 Nb6 when White can choose 8.Bb3!? with interesting gambit play or 8.Bb5 when Black will be playing to equalise for a while. I suspect the reason 5.d4 has a 43% score is that lower rated players go for 8.Bb5 trying to draw and get gradually out-played.

Another idea against this particular move order is 5.d4 cxd4 6.Qxd4!? e6 7.Nbd2 when the natural line 7...Nc6 8.Bb5 Bd7 9.Bxc6 Bxc6 10.Nc4 dxe5 11.Ncxe5 is pleasant for White. This approach has been used with success by a number of 2.c3 specialists but Black does have possible improvements.

The 4...d6 line, to my mind at least, is an argument to play via the 4.Bc4 move order. Arguments against 4.Bc4 are another topic

tipau wrote on 11/04/14 at 13:13:10:


Yes, this thread was about as close as I could get to a relevant discussion on an anti-Sicilian opening for white, so my apologies for it being about d6 instead of Nc6.

Nevertheless, my point remains the same that white has nothing out of this opening. I think 4...d6 really shows black is already quite fine here, especially in cc.

In fact, consider white's performance after 4...d6 in modern cc play:

5.d4  -- 43%
5.Bc4 -- 43%

That's terrible, and is effectively throwing away white's advantage.

As a weak player with otb ratings of national German < 2000 and FIDE > 2000 I don't see your point. This seems to me being an endgame with white playing for two results in otb games.

Thank you guys. I know that I should play a3 before Bd3. But the real point is that in move order from my 1st I have bishop already on c4 so it kinda destroyed my repertoire