Answers.Body: <p>No, <strong>6. Qd4</strong> is not a dubious move. In the variation that you mentioned, the moves that are actually dubious are <strong>7...Ng8</strong> and <strong>8. e6</strong></p>
  
  <p><strong>8. e6</strong> is dubious because it "forces" Black to develop his knight to a good square (!) and also gives up White's strong central pawn on <strong>e5</strong>, which could have hindered the development of Black's knight on <strong>g8</strong>. After <strong>9. exf7+</strong>, it may seem that Black is robbed of the castling option, but that is just superficial. Black can easily develop his bishop to <strong>g7</strong> and bring the h8 rook to e8 or f8 as needed. None of White's pieces can really exploit Black's king position on <strong>f7</strong>, so White gains nothing from giving up the e-pawn. </p>
  
  <p><strong>7...Ng8</strong> is dubious because there is a better square for the knight - <strong>d5</strong>. Also, after <strong>7...Ng8</strong>, White isn't forced to play <strong>8. e6</strong>, so the knight will have to waste another tempo for development. </p>
  
  <p><strong>6. Qd4</strong> is playable. It has been played by players of the calibre of former world champion <a href="http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1028158" rel="nofollow">Emmanuel Lasker</a> and also Grandmaster <a href="http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1758622" rel="nofollow">Beliavsky</a>. After 6...Nf6 7. e5 Nd5, the position is equal but playable for both sides. </p>
  
  <pre><code> [FEN ""]
   [White "6.Qd4"]
   [Black "Playable"]
  
   1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 g6 5. Nxc6 bxc6 6. Qd4 Nf6 7. e5 Nd5 (
   7... Ng8?! 8. Nd2! (8. e6?! Nf6 9. exf7+ Kxf7) 8... Bg7 9. Nf3 d6 (9... f6 10. e6
   dxe6 11. Bc4 Qxd4 12. Nxd4 e5 13. Nxc6 Bb7 14. Bb5) 10. Bf4) 8. Nc3=
  </code></pre>
  
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2014-11-21T01:25:08.513Z
Answers.LastActivityDate: 2014-11-21T01:33:31.437Z
Answers.LastEditDate: 2014-11-21T01:33:31.437Z
Answers.UserDisplayName: NM Wesley Falcao
Answers.Body: <p>'Dubious' is a vague term. Rauan's answer would seem to suggest that an engine would have little trouble defending the position as either side, but there's a little more to it than that.</p>
  
  <p>Firstly, an engine being able to hold a position does not necessarily mean that it is not 'dubious' - it may be extremely difficult for a human to play without the resourcefulness of an engine, and probably means that you would be playing for a draw against a strong human. </p>
  
  <p>Secondly, with the move Qd4 you have given up almost all of white's initiative because the queen will lose time once attacked. As white you generally want to be pushing for a win and be able to make as much use of the first move advantage as possible, but that advantage has just been lost. As expected, engine analysis goes from a (very) small plus for white to more or less equal.</p>
  
  <p>Finally, Black has a much easier time finding moves from this position - his plan of developing pieces while gaining time where possible on the queen, then moving the kind to safety, making use of the half-open files and occupying the center gives him several options at every turn. By comparison, white will likely spend much of the next few moves reacting to black's choices while hoping that long-term kingside safety is enough compensation for the lead that black should get in development, central control and attack.</p>
  
  <p>Objectively you are not worse in this position (engine searches eventually give a small minus score, but so small as to be negligible), but that does not mean that Qd4 was a good move when you had a small advantage beforehand. This is not to say that <em>you</em> shouldn't play it if you find that the resulting games are enjoyable, but it is hard to argue that it is objectively the right decision.</p>
  
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2014-11-20T23:15:22.107Z
Answers.LastActivityDate: 2014-11-20T23:15:22.107Z
Answers.UserDisplayName: DTR
Body: <p>I have used this opening some times and I won.But sometimes I was almost destroyed.Is the move 6.Qd4 dubious or am I doing something wrong later?   </p>
  
  <pre><code>[FEN ""]
  
  1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 g6 5.Nxc6 bxc6 6.Qd4 Nf6 7.e5 Ng8 8.e6 Nf6 9.exf7
  </code></pre>
  
Comments.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Comments.CreationDate: 2014-11-20T18:24:03.277Z
Comments.Text: Wikipedia calls this the _Passmore Variation_ of the accelerated dragon, incidentally, but I can't find any other meaningful references to it online under that name.  It seems like Black should have 6...f6 and ...e5 as a possibility too, but it's very possible that that leaves their structure far too open (and Black is certainly underdeveloped here)
Comments.UserDisplayName: Steven Stadnicki
Comments.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Comments.CreationDate: 2014-11-21T00:51:38.747Z
Comments.Text: Holy smokes Black will need some brass barnacles to play that!
Comments.UserDisplayName: Tony Ennis
Comments.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Comments.CreationDate: 2018-04-07T09:11:47.443Z
Comments.Text: Nxc6 is dubious :)
Comments.UserDisplayName: CSharper
Tags: <opening><sicilian-defense>
Title: Is this Sicilian opening dubious?
ThreadText: # Is this Sicilian opening dubious?
  
  (Asked by: username_0 on 2014-11-20)
  
  I have used this opening some times and I won.But sometimes I was almost destroyed.Is the move 6.Qd4 dubious or am I doing something wrong later?   
  [FEN ""]
  
  1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 g6 5.Nxc6 bxc6 6.Qd4 Nf6 7.e5 Ng8 8.e6 Nf6 9.exf7
  
  **Tags:** opening, sicilian-defense
  
  > **Comments:**
  > **username_1**: Wikipedia calls this the _Passmore Variation_ of the accelerated dragon, incidentally, but I can't find any other meaningful references to it online under that name.  It seems like Black should have 6...f6 and ...e5 as a possibility too, but it's very possible that that leaves their structure far too open (and Black is certainly underdeveloped here)  
  > **username_2**: Holy smokes Black will need some brass barnacles to play that!  
  > **username_3**: Nxc6 is dubious :)  
  
  ---
  
  ## 2 answers
  
  ### Answer by username_4 on 2014-11-21. Score: 4
  
  No, 6. Qd4 is not a dubious move. In the variation that you mentioned, the moves that are actually dubious are 7...Ng8 and 8. e6
  8. e6 is dubious because it "forces" Black to develop his knight to a good square (!) and also gives up White's strong central pawn on e5, which could have hindered the development of Black's knight on g8. After 9. exf7+, it may seem that Black is robbed of the castling option, but that is just superficial. Black can easily develop his bishop to g7 and bring the h8 rook to e8 or f8 as needed. None of White's pieces can really exploit Black's king position on f7, so White gains nothing from giving up the e-pawn. 
  7...Ng8 is dubious because there is a better square for the knight - d5. Also, after 7...Ng8, White isn't forced to play 8. e6, so the knight will have to waste another tempo for development. 
  6. Qd4 is playable. It has been played by players of the calibre of former world champion Emmanuel Lasker and also Grandmaster Beliavsky. After 6...Nf6 7. e5 Nd5, the position is equal but playable for both sides. 
   [FEN ""]
   [White "6.Qd4"]
   [Black "Playable"]
  
   1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 g6 5. Nxc6 bxc6 6. Qd4 Nf6 7. e5 Nd5 (
   7... Ng8?! 8. Nd2! (8. e6?! Nf6 9. exf7+ Kxf7) 8... Bg7 9. Nf3 d6 (9... f6 10. e6
   dxe6 11. Bc4 Qxd4 12. Nxd4 e5 13. Nxc6 Bb7 14. Bb5) 10. Bf4) 8. Nc3=
  
  
  ---
  
  ### Answer by username_5 on 2014-11-20. Score: 3
  
  'Dubious' is a vague term. Rauan's answer would seem to suggest that an engine would have little trouble defending the position as either side, but there's a little more to it than that.
  
  Firstly, an engine being able to hold a position does not necessarily mean that it is not 'dubious' - it may be extremely difficult for a human to play without the resourcefulness of an engine, and probably means that you would be playing for a draw against a strong human.
  
  Secondly, with the move Qd4 you have given up almost all of white's initiative because the queen will lose time once attacked. As white you generally want to be pushing for a win and be able to make as much use of the first move advantage as possible, but that advantage has just been lost. As expected, engine analysis goes from a (very) small plus for white to more or less equal.
  
  Finally, Black has a much easier time finding moves from this position - his plan of developing pieces while gaining time where possible on the queen, then moving the kind to safety, making use of the half-open files and occupying the center gives him several options at every turn. By comparison, white will likely spend much of the next few moves reacting to black's choices while hoping that long-term kingside safety is enough compensation for the lead that black should get in development, central control and attack.
  
  Objectively you are not worse in this position (engine searches eventually give a small minus score, but so small as to be negligible), but that does not mean that Qd4 was a good move when you had a small advantage beforehand. This is not to say that *you* shouldn't play it if you find that the resulting games are enjoyable, but it is hard to argue that it is objectively the right decision.
  
  
  ---
  
  