Opening Lanes looks at the ...e5 Anti-Anti-Sicilian

International Master Gary Lane runs a very informative, interesting, and entertaining column at ChessCafe.com called Opening Lanes, in which he answers reader questions about various chess opening variations. 

In this month's column, he answered a question I posed, about the variations 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 e5 and 1.e4 c5 2.Bc4 e5. I was excited to see a titled player look at these variations, especially a Bishop Opening's specialist like IM Lane (Since 1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 c5 transposes).

You can read his analysis in PDF format.

I have been posting analysis on meeting Anti-Sicilians with ..e5. There were not many games to be found featuring this move, and very little freely available analysis. I already have surveyed 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 e5, and will return to this line in more depth in the future. I am also going into more depth with 1.e4 c5 2.Bc4 e5 (which could also arise from the Bishops Opening).

I may eventually pen a larger response to IM Lane's analysis, although I doubt there is much to be critical of (after all, he's hundreds of rating points stronger than I, and probably has more time and resources to boot!). That being said, after 1.e4 c5 2.Bc4 e5 3.f4, the only third move he analyzed for White, I would prefer 3…exf4 over either 3…d6 or 3…Nc6 (the options he covered in his article).

My analysis on 1.e4 c5 2.Bc4 e5 3.f4 will be posted in the near future, since it is anyway the next option in my series of 1.e4 c5 2.Bc4 e5 (It will be line D).

Please check out IM Lane's column, and let me know what you think!

(The pictures above are from Chesscafe.com; I claim no right on them, providing them only for aesthetic pleasure.)

Combating Anti-Sicilians with ..e5: Anti-Rossolimo

This post is a continuation in a larger series, providing here some opening analysis, statistics, and games. Please see the previous post for an introduction to the topic of meeting the Anti-Sicilians with an immediate …e5

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 e5

White has several plans in this position. They can try to exploit the d5 square with Nc3, or the d6 and d5 squares with Na3-Nc4, possibly followed by Nc4-e3-d5. They can try to achieve the pawn break c3 and d4, hoping for a trade that will undermine Black's structure. Some players will attempt to trade on c6, and others still will rely on a slight lead in development by playing O-O, delaying selection of one of the above plans until Black commits.

Out of 259 games starting from this position, White scores ~61% (128 wins, 58 draws, and 73 losses). A more telling statistic, however, is the average rating of each player and their performance; if the White players from this sample are consistently stronger, then it is to be expected that the will win more often.

Average ratings and performance

White rating: 2285 (200 games); White performance: 2330 (59% vs 2265)
Black rating: 2265 (195 games); Black performance: 2190 (37% vs 2285)

The performance differential is also in White's favor. One should keep in mind, however, that this is still a fairly small sample size of games, and even if the statistics are unfavorable, it doesn't indicate that the line is unplayable. Furthermore, quite of number of the Black losses occur late in the game, after Black has already equalized (that assessment is my own, coupled with confirmation from SCID's engine).

You can download the full SCID opening report (in PDF format), which includes a theory table, as well as the PGN file containing the games. In addition, I've condensed the lines presented here (with annotations) into one single PGN file, available for download.

In most of the variations below, I will include statistics and reports on those specific lines, despite the fact that the small sample size for some makes them almost meaningless. Again, keep in mind that statistics aren't everything.

These variations will be split up into 4 different sections:
A) Miscellaneous 4th moves from White
B) 4.Bxc6
C) 4.c3
D) 4.O-O

This is my first large analysis post, and so you can expect updates to the lines (as mistakes are found) as well as updates to the format. Read ahead, and make sure you check back often!