Pentala Harikrishna - Chessable Lifetime Repertoires: Taimanov Sicilian

[Event ?] [Site ?] [Date ????.??.??] [Round ?] [White Introduction] [Black Introduction] [Result *] { In this lifetime repertoire against 1. e4, I present you The Taimanov Sicilian, named after World Championship candidate and world-class concert pianist Mark Evgenevich Taimanov. It is my first Lifetime Repertoire on Chessable, and it took me six months to complete it! It gives me immense satisfaction to present this course as I have covered all major alternatives of White starting from move 2. One of the primary differences between my Taimanov course and many others is that I covered the Scheveningen-system arising after 6. Be2. Thanks to this extensiveness, the number of trainable variations is quite high, and I believe the course will serve you as a comprehensive guide to different structures and themes arising in this rich opening.

I tried my best to keep true to the spirit of my first French Toast course, being as honest and objective as possible in both the text section and the more descriptive video part. I have used the latest engines, correspondence game databases, and books as reference. You might find that sometimes I did not choose the top variation of the engine to keep the course as human as possible. However, at times I had no choice but to follow the top lines, going into great depth and forcing lines. There isnt a single line I would fear using, even against the strongest opponents, and I have already played many of the variations in this course at various super events. Studying the course might feel overwhelming at first, given the mass of variations presented.

My suggestion would be to start lightly, familiarize yourself with the layout of the course in the Quickstarter section, and then slowly work your way through the detailed main repertoire. I will also briefly discuss the main ideas and important points in the video at the end of each chapter. There is no shame in taking your time to learn everything - they did not build Rome in a day, and even after spending years of studying the Taimanov there are many nuances even I fail to grasp firmly. } 1. e4 c5 2. d4 cxd4 4. d4 cxd4 4.

Nxd4 Nc6 5. Nc3 Qc7 { While we will deal with several sidelines as early as move 2, this is the root position of modern Taimanov lines. Interestingly, Mark Evgenevich himself preferred the Paulsen/Kan set-ups more @@StartBracket@@characterized by playing a6 on move 4 or 5 instead@@EndBracket@@ in his practical games. He started publishing his works on the Taimanov Sicilian quite late into his career, only after he turned 50. Nevertheless, his brainchild withstood the test of time much better, and modern theory regards his flexible Qc7 set-up much higher than the committal Paulsen/Kan variations. I hope my Lifetime Repertoire will bring you many sweet victories, familiarize you with a host of fresh strategical and tactical ideas, and that you simply will enjoy the studying experience.

While I tried my best to be as objective in evaluations and as thorough in explanations as possible, there is always room for improvement. Do not feel shy to write a review or ask questions if you have doubts about any position. And now, let us start exploring the ultimate answer to 1. e4! } * [Event ?] [Site ?] [Date ????.??.??] [Round ?] [White Quickstarter] [Black 2nd Move Options (2. f4)] [Result *] 1. e4 c5 { White has a host of various options on move 2 - in the main part of the course we will perform an almost exhaustive analysis at this point.

Most of them are not really dangerous, though. Id mainly like to focus your attention at sacrificial, gambit lines, as in the other lines you are unlikely to get an opening disadvantage even if you come empty handed and just play healthy chess. } 2. f4 { seems very aggressive but you will succeed in taming Whites initiative with } 2 d5 { when things get very easy for Black. Pushing the pawn forward gives White a strange version of the French defence, where Black does not have the typical problem of developing his light-squared Bishop at all, as he did not play e6 yet. exd5 Nf6 { ensures Black of full equality too. exd5 Nf6 { ensures Black of full equality too.

We will recapture on d5 with a Knight @@StartBracket@@so that our Queen is not under attack after Nb1-c3@@EndBracket@@ and holding the extra pawn with } 4. Bb5+ Bd7 5. Bxd7+ Qxd7 6. c4 { gives us tremendous compensation thanks to } 6 e6 { It is quite difficult to play with all the weak squares on d-file and both analytical and practical results are rather bad for White, e.g. } 7. dxe6 Qxe6+ 8. Qe2 Qxe2+ 9.

Nxe2 Nc6 10. O-O O-O-O { intending g6 & Bg7, with clearly sufficient compensation for the pawn. It is much easier to play such positions for the second player. } * [Event ?] [Site ?] [Date ????.??.??] [Round ?] [White Quickstarter] [Black 2nd Move Options (2. b4)] [Result *] 1. b4 cxb4 3. a3 { trying to get quick development and some kind of positional compensation, hoping Black will play some combination of e6 & d5, getting a French-like structure. } 3 e5 { is quite unpleasant, though. } 3 e5 { is quite unpleasant, though.

If White plays something offbeat, you should always seriously think about strengthening your centre. } 4. Nf3 Nc6 5. Bb2 Nf6 { This is the simplest solution, returning the material for full equality. Remember, you can always refer to the main chapter for more details. } 6.

Nxe5 Qe7 7. d4 d6 { All simplifications are more or less forced. } 8. Nxc6 Qxe4+ 9. Qe2 bxa3 10. Qxe4+ Nxe4 11.

Nxa3 bxc6 * [Event ?] [Site ?] [Date ????.??.??] [Round ?] [White Quickstarter] [Black 2nd Move Options (2. d4)] [Result *] 1. e4 c5 { If you are looking for an easy way of demoralizing Morra-Gambit players, I heartily recommend } 2. d4 cxd4 3. c3 Nf6 { because White has nothing better than transposing into the Alapin with } 4. } * [Event ?] [Site ?] [Date ????.??.??] [Round ?] [White Quickstarter] [Black 2nd Move Options (2. g3)] [Result *] 1. e4 c5 { White has a host of various options on move 2 - in the main part of the course we will perform an almost exhaustive analysis at this point. e4 c5 { White has a host of various options on move 2 - in the main part of the course we will perform an almost exhaustive analysis at this point.

Most of them are not really dangerous, though. Id mainly like to focus your attention at sacrificial, gambit lines, as in the other lines you are unlikely to get an opening disadvantage even if you come empty handed and just play healthy chess. } 2. g3 d5 { This is the only exception from the sharp lines we will investigate. It is quite handy to know the correct response to 2. Nc3 e6 3. g3 d5 line we will see later on. } 3. exd5 Qxd5 4. exd5 Qxd5 4.

Nf3 Nc6 { White was not well prepared for opening the long diagonal and a timely check on e6 will be quite unpleasant for him, especially if he fianchettoes his Bishop to g2. But even } 5. Nc3 Qe6+ 6. Be2 { Is not so great for White anymore due to } 6 Nd4 { intending to win the Bishop pair advantage. One fine point is that } 7. Nxd4 cxd4 8.

Nb5 { is met by } 8 Qc6 { stopping White from castling in view of Bh3. And } 9. f3 Qb6 { is extremely awkward, the b5-Knight is misplaced and Black will proceed with grabbing space in the centre with e5. Note that } 10. O-O { blunders material due to } 10 d3+ * [Event ?] [Site ?] [Date ????.??.??] [Round ?] [White Quickstarter] [Black Nc3 Sicilian: #1] [Result *] 1. e4 c5 2.

Nc3 e6 { There have already been too many victims of } 3. f4 d5 4. exd5 exd5 5. Bb5+ { it is imperative that you do NOT play Bd7 here! } 5 Nc6 { Beware 5Bd7 ? 6.Qe2+ ! Ne7 7.Nxd5 +- and it is just over. } 6. Nf3 Nf6 { Now we just develop normally, we do not have to care about our doubled pawns after } 7.

Bxc6+ bxc6 8. O-O Be7 { thanks to the Bishop pair and Whites overextended f4-pawn. } * [Event ?] [Site ?] [Date ????.??.??] [Round ?] [White Quickstarter] [Black Nc3 Sicilian: #2] [Result *] 1. e4 c5 2. Nc3 e6 { White can also include Nb1-c3 and only then start being funky. g3 d5 { In principle there are three scenarios when such d5xe4 tension situation arises with White fianchettoing his Bishop to g2. g3 d5 { In principle there are three scenarios when such d5xe4 tension situation arises with White fianchettoing his Bishop to g2.