What is Sicilian defence?
The '''Sicilian defence''', usually called just ''the Sicilian'', is a [[chess]] [[List of chess openings|opening]], which starts with these moves: *1. e4 c5 In competitive chess, it is by far the most frequently played reply to the King's Pawn opening (1.e4). {{Chess diagram small | tright | The open Sicilian |rd|nd|bd|qd|kd|bd|__|rd |pd|pd|__|__|pd|pd|pd|pd |__|__|__|pd|__|nd|__|__ |__|__|__|__|__|__|__|__ |__|__|__|nl|pl|__|__|__ |__|__|nl|__|__|__|__|__ |pl|pl|pl|__|__|pl|pl|pl |rl|__|bl|ql|kl|bl|__|rl | }} *Open variations 1e4 c5 2Nf3 followed by 3d4. A typical line is :1.e4 c5 :2.Nf3 d6 :3.d4 cxd4 :4.Nxd4 Nf6 :5.Nc3 Now Black decides where to put his KB: on e7 or g7; his QN will probably go to c6. {{Chess diagram small | tright | The closed Sicilian |rd|__|bd|qd|kd|__|nd|rd |pd|pd|__|__|pd|pd|bd|pd |__|__|nd|pd|__|__|pd|__ |__|bl|pd|__|__|__|__|__ |__|__|__|__|pl|pl|__|__ |__|__|nl|pl|__|nl|__|__ |pl|pl|pl|__|__|__|pl|pl |rl|__|bl|ql|kl|__|__|rl | }} *Closed variations 1e4 c5 2Nc3 not followed by d4. A typical line is :1.e4 c5 :2.Nc3 Nc6 :3.f4 d6 :4.Nf3 g6 :5.Bb5 Bg7 :6.d3 Instead of 3.f4, a slower game with 3.g3 followed by Bg2 and d3 could be chosen by White. *ECO code B20–B99. ECO is the ''Encyclopaedia of chess openings''. {{wikibooks|Chess Opening Theory/1. e4/1...c5}}{{Chess}} [[Category:Chess openings]]