Move 5

Brian-E · 2013-08-23, 08:50

What we play now involves a more important decision than our last, very obvious, move did, I think. So we've done well to make sure that we'll all be involved this time, with David returning from holiday tomorrow.

5...d6 is the move which is most frequently played in this position according to the opening explorer on chessgames.com. It's a natural developing move, staking claim to e5.

A move I quite like (biased towards my own style of play) is 5...e6. This immediately prepares the development of the g8-knight on e7 (which, I think, is a better posting than f6 which blocks the g7 bishop) and leaves the possible option open of later playing our d-pawn directly to d5 instead of d6. We need to watch out for the temporary hole on d6 which we create, and the move ...a6 later on may be prudent to stop tricks from White with Nc3-b5-d6 (as well as starting a typical Sicilian queenside expansion).

A much more unusual possibility is 5...e5, going for a very tightly closed centre. There is then a hole on d5 in our position, but we might intend to break out later with ...d5, prepared initially by ...Nf6 and ...Nd7. This, too, is a style of play which I like personally.

That's just three candidate moves for now anyway, and there are certainly others too.

paulunderwood · 2013-08-24, 11:05

The "opening explorer" at [url]http://www.chessgames.com[/url] is very interesting. :smile:

I like e6, although it blocks our queen's bishop, but that can be fianchettoed later maybe. It also prevents white knight moving onto d5. It also lets our king's knight to mover to e7, a central position, attacking some white squares, and allowing us to castle king's side if we choose to do so soon.

richs · 2013-08-24, 16:52

I like e6 and d6, with a slight preference to e6. These are the two most common responses that I have seen with the closed Sicilian. Let's see how David feels.

henryzz · 2013-08-24, 19:16

Like richs I like both d6 and e6.
It seems to me that very often on this move either is made and the next move the other is played.
I like having the ability to move the knight to e7.
White can easily force d6 with Be3(their best reply to e6 IMO)

I use [url]http://chesstempo.com/game-database.html[/url] as a chess database. It can be very interesting switching between the different rating levels to see which move a rating region uses. It looks to me like there is a best move order here and lower rated players often miss the order.

Brian-E · 2013-08-24, 20:47

Good to see you back, David. I hope you had a great time on your cycling trip.

I agree with you that ...d6 and ...e6 are often both played with the order not mattering too much, but we could also note that after 5...e6 6.Be3 we are not absolutely forced to play 6...d6 immediately if at all: 6...Nd4 is playable, also 6...b6 with a queenside fianchetto as suggested by Paul. So 5...e6 still leaves them guessing what we are going to do with our d pawn.

My current preference is 5...e6 after reading everyone's contributions so far. The more conventional 5...d6 is also fine by me.

paulunderwood · 2013-08-24, 21:17

Their threat of Be3 and Qd2 can be countered by us with h5. But that opinion is a little premature. :smile:

richs · 2013-08-24, 23:37

It appears the consensus is e6? I say let's fire away! :smile:

paulunderwood · 2013-08-24, 23:45

If we do e6 and they counter with 6 Be3 we will need to defend c5. I am happy with e6, but someone else announce the move please, and pm Batalov. :smile:

Brian-E · 2013-08-25, 16:33

I'm happy with 5...e6 too.

Generally we let David, as the team captain, judge if and when the consensus is there and then play the move. Now that he's back from holiday, I guess we can go back to that state of normality.:smile:

2013-08-23, 08:50	#1
Brian-E "Brian" Jul 2007 The Netherlands CCE₁₆ Posts	Move 5 What we play now involves a more important decision than our last, very obvious, move did, I think. So we've done well to make sure that we'll all be involved this time, with David returning from holiday tomorrow. 5...d6 is the move which is most frequently played in this position according to the opening explorer on chessgames.com. It's a natural developing move, staking claim to e5. A move I quite like (biased towards my own style of play) is 5...e6. This immediately prepares the development of the g8-knight on e7 (which, I think, is a better posting than f6 which blocks the g7 bishop) and leaves the possible option open of later playing our d-pawn directly to d5 instead of d6. We need to watch out for the temporary hole on d6 which we create, and the move ...a6 later on may be prudent to stop tricks from White with Nc3-b5-d6 (as well as starting a typical Sicilian queenside expansion). A much more unusual possibility is 5...e5, going for a very tightly closed centre. There is then a hole on d5 in our position, but we might intend to break out later with ...d5, prepared initially by ...Nf6 and ...Nd7. This, too, is a style of play which I like personally. That's just three candidate moves for now anyway, and there are certainly others too.

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2013-08-24, 11:05	#2
paulunderwood Sep 2002 Database er0rr 5·937 Posts	The "opening explorer" at [url]http://www.chessgames.com[/url] is very interesting. :smile: I like e6, although it blocks our queen's bishop, but that can be fianchettoed later maybe. It also prevents white knight moving onto d5. It also lets our king's knight to mover to e7, a central position, attacking some white squares, and allowing us to castle king's side if we choose to do so soon.

2013-08-24, 16:52	#3
richs "Rich" Aug 2002 Benicia, California 6B6₁₆ Posts	I like e6 and d6, with a slight preference to e6. These are the two most common responses that I have seen with the closed Sicilian. Let's see how David feels.

2013-08-24, 19:16	#4
henryzz Just call me Henry "David" Sep 2007 Liverpool (GMT/BST) 3·23·89 Posts	Like richs I like both d6 and e6. It seems to me that very often on this move either is made and the next move the other is played. I like having the ability to move the knight to e7. White can easily force d6 with Be3(their best reply to e6 IMO) I use [url]http://chesstempo.com/game-database.html[/url] as a chess database. It can be very interesting switching between the different rating levels to see which move a rating region uses. It looks to me like there is a best move order here and lower rated players often miss the order.

2013-08-24, 20:47	#5
Brian-E "Brian" Jul 2007 The Netherlands 2·11·149 Posts	Good to see you back, David. I hope you had a great time on your cycling trip. I agree with you that ...d6 and ...e6 are often both played with the order not mattering too much, but we could also note that after 5...e6 6.Be3 we are not absolutely forced to play 6...d6 immediately if at all: 6...Nd4 is playable, also 6...b6 with a queenside fianchetto as suggested by Paul. So 5...e6 still leaves them guessing what we are going to do with our d pawn. My current preference is 5...e6 after reading everyone's contributions so far. The more conventional 5...d6 is also fine by me.

2013-08-24, 21:17	#6
paulunderwood Sep 2002 Database er0rr 5·937 Posts	Their threat of Be3 and Qd2 can be countered by us with h5. But that opinion is a little premature. :smile:

2013-08-24, 23:37	#7
richs "Rich" Aug 2002 Benicia, California 3266₈ Posts	It appears the consensus is e6? I say let's fire away! :smile:

2013-08-24, 23:45	#8
paulunderwood Sep 2002 Database er0rr 4685₁₀ Posts	If we do e6 and they counter with 6 Be3 we will need to defend c5. I am happy with e6, but someone else announce the move please, and pm Batalov. :smile:

2013-08-25, 16:33	#9
Brian-E "Brian" Jul 2007 The Netherlands 2·11·149 Posts	I'm happy with 5...e6 too. Generally we let David, as the team captain, judge if and when the consensus is there and then play the move. Now that he's back from holiday, I guess we can go back to that state of normality.:smile: