Anti-Sicilians for White: free opening course

Key ideas

• In the Alapin, c3 prepares d4 so you can recapture with a pawn and keep a full centre; against ...Qxd5, develop with tempo by hitting the queen (Nc3).
• With an isolated d4 pawn (Alapin 2...d5 lines), keep pieces on and play actively: Nc3, Bd3 or Be2, Re1 and a later d5 break.
• In the Smith-Morra, the pawn buys a lead in development: put rooks on c1 and d1, the queen on e2, and look for e5 or Nd5 breaks.
• In the Grand Prix, f4 and a fast Bc4 or Bb5 prepare a kingside attack with f5, Qe1-h4 and Bh6.
• In the Rossolimo and the Moscow, Bb5 trades a bishop to damage Black's pawns or to slow down Black's development, giving you a comfortable middlegame without theory battles.
• Watch for Black's tricks too: in the Morra, ...Nd4 and ...Qh2# (the Siberian trap) can punish a careless h3.

The 6 variations in the course

• Alapin 2.c3 d5: 1. e4 c5 2. c3 d5 3. exd5 Qxd5 4. d4 Nf6 5. Nf3 Bg4 6. Be2 e6 … — Black takes on d5 with the queen. White develops with Nf3, Be2 and O-O, accepts an isolated d4 pawn and gains time on the queen with Nc3, reaching an active middlegame.
• Alapin 2.c3 Nf6: 1. e4 c5 2. c3 Nf6 3. e5 Nd5 4. d4 cxd4 5. Nf3 Nc6 6. cxd4 d6 … — Black hits e4; White pushes 3.e5 and after 3...Nd5 builds a centre with d4 and Nf3. In the main line White chases the knight with Bc4 and Bb5 and gets a lead in development.
• Smith-Morra Gambit: 1. e4 c5 2. d4 cxd4 3. c3 dxc3 4. Nxc3 Nc6 5. Nf3 d6 6. Bc4 e6 … — White gives a pawn for rapid development: Nxc3, Nf3, Bc4, O-O, Qe2 and Rd1. Black must defend accurately; White's pieces aim at d6, f7 and the open c- and d-files.
• Grand Prix Attack: 1. e4 c5 2. Nc3 Nc6 3. f4 g6 4. Nf3 Bg7 5. Bc4 e6 6. f5 Nge7 … — White plays Nc3, f4, Nf3 and Bc4, then breaks with f5 to open lines toward Black's king. Black fianchettoes and counterattacks on d4; White aims at a kingside attack with Bg5, Qe1-h4 and Bh6.
• Rossolimo 3.Bb5 vs 2...Nc6: 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 g6 4. Bxc6 dxc6 5. d3 Bg7 6. h3 Nf6 … — Against 2...Nc6, White plays 3.Bb5 and after 3...g6 gives up the bishop on c6 to double Black's pawns. White then sets up d3, h3, Nc3, Be3 and Qd2, and tries to trade off the Dragon bishop with Bh6.
• Moscow 3.Bb5+ vs 2...d6: 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. Bb5+ Bd7 4. Bxd7+ Qxd7 5. c4 Nc6 6. Nc3 g6 … — Against 2...d6, the check 3.Bb5+ usually leads to a bishop trade on d7. White then builds a Maroczy bind with c4, Nc3 and d4, getting a solid space advantage with very little to memorise.

Traps you will learn (3)

• Morra: the e5 and Bxf7+ trap — A trap for White to spring. In the Morra with ...d6 and ...Nf6, White pushes e5. If Black grabs the pawn with the c6 knight, the trade on e5 opens the d-file and Bxf7+ wins the queen.
• Alapin: ...Bxf3? and Nxd5! — A trap for White to spring. When Nc3 attacks Black's queen on d5, Black must move the queen at once. Trading first with ...Bxf3? fails because White doesn't recapture — Nxd5 takes the queen.
• Siberian trap (Morra) — A warning for White. In the Morra with ...e6, ...Qc7 and ...Nf6, Black's ...Ng4 looks harmless. If White chases the knight with h3??, ...Nd4! attacks the queen and after Nxd4 Black mates with ...Qh2#.

How the opening courses work

Each course teaches an opening in a few main variations. For every move you read why it is played, which other moves are good, and which tempting moves are mistakes and why. Each course also shows the traps of the opening: the ones you can set and the ones to avoid.

After a lesson you play the moves yourself in a drill. The lines you learn go into your review, which brings them back when you are about to forget them (spaced repetition). 30 line courses add many short lines per opening, a few new ones a day, and every named opening, more than 3,800 lines, has a lesson of its own.