The Bb5 Sicilian: A Dynamic and Hypermodern Opening System for Black: Detailed Coverage of a Thoroughly Modern System (Everyman Chess) [Englisch] [Taschenbuch]

Richard Palliser is one of my favorite chess authors. His books on various openings are generally worth the money and the time.

I do not regret getting this book, but it certainly has room for improvements. The chief issue is that it is intended to serve as a companion volume to Fighting the Anti-Sicilians: Combating 2 c3, the Closed, the Morra Gambit and other tricky ideas (Everyman Chess), which does not cover the 2...Nf3 3...Bb5 and 2...Nf3 3...Bc4 anti-Sicilian lines. As such, skipping the latter and focusing on the former through the entire book just seems a wasted opportunity to me. I am not really interested in the 5 dozen variations at the 25th move. Just lead me through the first 10 and 12 moves and explain the general game plans for the mid-game. But, of course, I am speaking as a 1200-1400 player. People at 2000 may find this book perfect for their level.

This is a very "easy to read and understand" book. Intermediate and above players will recieve much from this book. Even high masters should really love this book. The book is divided into 10 main chapters and this format is sufficient if you wish to find any particular variation.

This book does not give all the theoretical variations after 3.Bb5 but no book could possibly do this. It is interesting to compare this book with similar Sicilian Bb5 books. If you happen to be a serious player - having 3 or 4 similar books will give you "options" at early stages in the opening and thus you can pick the "option" most geared to your style.

With a good knowledge of Sicilian 3. Bb5 lines you will look forward to playing against the Sicilian Defense!

To say I'm shocked that there are few reviews on this fine book is an understatement. Even though my ELO is stuck under 2200 (and as an old guy, my memory is not that great anymore anyway), it's a well established fact that the Sicilian still offers many lines that step you out of even the most advanced Engine's calculation algorithms, with "illogical" moves like pieces for pawns and minors for Rooks with unexpectedly violent endgames (known recently as strategic, as apparently opposed to tablebase endings), that leave Fritz and its ilk reeling. Hiarcs 12 does well against the Sicilian, but still accepts gambits that betray its preference for points over position when the lines get complex. If you play HIARCS at its lowest level (12 has been dropped from 1400 to 1250), playing the open Sicilian will give you many wins, and improve your game against various Terminators including Shredder and Chessmaster. (BTW: Please note the difference between a GUI (Graphic User Interface) and an Engine. Free GUI's (like Arena) are needed to run engines like Hiarcs, or other GUI's (like Fritz) can also run other engines, like Hiarcs. If you import Hiarcs into Arena, for example, you'll need to right click on the bottom of the Hiarcs window to get engine options (like analysis) instead of GUI options in the top (Arena or Fritz) menus). But we digress. Some critics say that the Sicilian is not an option for club play, because the traps are now too well known, but there is a subtle mistake here: 1. Many, many do not study the very subtle and often unique deviations and 2. The Jury is out among GM's as to that assumption, with the Informant showing many still using and winning with the OS as well as other closed versions. If you are a 1400 or higher rated player looking to "specialize" -- please at least consider the Sicilian. Even if you decide against it, you will have participated in what may be the last great Morphy-like battleground of creativity and aggression vs. the unrelenting grind of the machine! I don't just mean today's pawn value machine, I mean tomorrow's agent-based pattern crusher too. If you do go for it, here are a few you'll enjoy: Taming the Sicilian: A Repertoire for White Against the Most Popular Black Opening, Dangerous Weapons: The Sicilian: Dazzle Your Opponents, Alexei Shirov: My Best Games in the Sicilian, Chess Opening Software DVD. The other "greats" in getting you over 2000 include, in my experience, Simple Chess: New Algebraic Edition, How Chess Games are Won and Lost, Secrets of Modern Chess Strategy and JUST ABOUT ANYTHING ELSE by John Watson-- he is astonishing, clear, and REALLY helps the rating without getting into too many sidelines. PS: Several emails asked curiously why I was advocating playing black against Hiarcs. Actually, it's not a bad idea, but that's not what I had in mind. If you play any of the GM level engines, and start with 1.e4 as I assume most of you do when white, I'm amazed at how many engines now almost uniformly answer with 1. ...c5. Knowing these lines will both help you as white, and with the "anti Sicilians" like the closed, grand prix, Alapin, Wing, Smith-Morra, etc. While I'm at it, one emailer asked what I thought was the "greatest chess book ever written." That of course is totally relative to your selection criteria, and of course there is a whole lot of deep analysis (maybe too much) in The Garry Kasparov on My Great Predecessors, Part 1 classic series. HOWEVER, I'd personally have to pick Chess Openings for White, Explained: Winning with 1. E4 (Alburt's Opening Guide, Book 1) AND Chess Openings for Black, Explained: A Complete Repertoire (Revised and Updated) as overall favorites in the openings genres. Why? Not because they are "just another opening" compendium, but because of their ASTONISHING publishing philosophy: a. plenteous boards, so you don't need three sets and a screen to follow the analysis; b. no analysis that requires page turning; and c. Wonderful clarity of PRACTICAL REASONS behind the variations. If you're new to chess and want to study openings, these are among the best. If you're just getting back into it, this is a GREAT place to start! And by the way.... 1. e4 IS their white recommendation, and thus a major focus of their black responses in the second volume. NOTE: the subtitle of the Palliser book is "a dynamic and hypermodern opening system for Black" -- which of course refers to the Sicilian itself rather than Bb5! Bb5 (as in the Lopez) is a great RESPONSE by white. Especially if (as white) you don't relish the sharp and complex Open Sicilian variations changing daily, and used often by Hiarcs and shredder, Bb5 is a great (white) defense/offense to one of today's most common (over 40% of computer responses to 1. e4) defenses by black (ie: 1. ...c5).