SICILIAN DEFENSE: KALASHNIKOV VARIATION with GM Misa Pap

Here’s what you are going to learn: The c4 push early on. How Carlsen, as White, played around his d4-square weakness and made Yifan pay for her weak kingside as Black. (Do pay heed to how Yifan looks after her innate d5-square and d6-pawn weaknesses.) The dicey Alapin. White sure challenges Black’s c5-pawn and also aims for center control. Is it worth it? The White knight can’t go to c3 now! What to do when the Black queen gets harried across the board? Get the answers inside. Rare lines in the Anti-Sicilians. Don’t want to go for the popular Anti-Sicilians such as the Alapin, Moscow, Rossolimo, or the Smith-Morra Gambit? No worries. You learn rare sidelines too, for example, 2.b3. 6.N1c3 blown out of the water! Dubov’s opponent made the mistake of playing 6.N1c3 and fell prey to Black’s a6-b5 pushback. Learn how Dubov pressured White into sacrificing one pawn after another and end up losing the game. White’s 3.Bb5 punished. The move wants to capitalize on the White knight being on g1—and prepare for a kingside expansion with f2-f4. Not so fast, homeboy! See how Black can literally bring the sting out for a quick kill like Aronian in a 2016 match against Luldachev. The Sicilian Defense is easily one of the hardest openings to master—especially when you are playing an “open” line like the Kalashnikov! OUTLINE: CHAPTER 1 Introduction CHAPTER 2 Anti-Sicilians, Minor Lines CHAPTER 3 Smith-Morra (Matulovic) Gambit CHAPTER 4 Grand-Prix Attack CHAPTER 5 Closed Sicilian CHAPTER 6 c3 Sicilian (Alapin Sicilian) CHAPTER 7 2.Nc3 Nc6 3.Bb5 line CHAPTER 8 Rossolimo - 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 line CHAPTER 9 Nf3 and Nc3 Move Order CHAPTER 10 Kalashnikov Sicilian - Rare Lines CHAPTER 11 6.c4 Line CHAPTER 12 6.N1c3 Line CHAPTER 13 Model games 1 CHAPTER 14 Model games 2