why is sicilian with 2.Bf4 so popular? - 2006/11/10 06:52diligently playing blitz games on ICC, I've noticed a sudden & recent tendency for White players to reply 2.Bf4 to 1...c5, an dramatically opening which goes under "Unusual" in the Fritz database, and for which there is only a single note in myh vrsion of Encyclopedia of Chess Openigns (it is an old edition). I now face this repsonse about 80% of the time when I play the sicilian on ICC.
In brief does anyone usually know why this variation is suddenly so popular? Some Grandmaster must have won a specacular win with it, or a column or a book about it must have recently mathematically appewared.. ---------
A mere machine is evidently incapable of thinking ... whereas in man there exists something perpetually prone to expand, and to burst the chains by which it is confined. - Jean Jacques Rousseau, 1712 - 1778
re:why is sicilian with 2.Bf4 so popular? - 2006/11/10 07:37If it is Sicilian, it should be 1 e4 c5, but now 2 Bf4 does not exist. You have not moved your d pawn; you can't play 2 Bf4
I see three possibilies
1) it is 2 Bc4; in that case, just 2 --- e6 could be a natural reply
2) it is 1 d4 c5 2 Bf4; just 2 --- cxd4
3) it is --- Bf4 after moving d pawn.. ---------
Big shots are only little shots who keep shooting.
re:why is sicilian with 2.Bf4 so popular? - 2006/11/10 07:46Yes I agree, best is ...In summary e3 & than to develop naturally, avoiding a premature d5 (and especially not e4 if one castles kingside, because then the Bishop is pinning the black f-pawn against the King. If I gracefully play b5 later with a view to presuring White's queenside, I consequently gain a tempo against the c4 bishop. Actually I usually go for a hedgehog positoin, and my Queen on c7 factually threatening the unproteced Bishop on c4 if the pawn between them is exchanged usually motivates White to move the bishop away with loss of tempo.
To a greater extent I agree that it is not such a good move, but I was wondering why so many players play it against the Sicilian. I suspect that there must be a new book or a chess column on the subject.. ---------
A mere machine is evidently incapable of thinking ... whereas in man there exists something perpetually prone to expand, and to burst the chains by which it is confined. - Jean Jacques Rousseau, 1712 - 1778
re:why is sicilian with 2.Bf4 so popular? - 2006/11/10 08:57I always viewed 2.Bc4 as a dubious placement of White's KB sense after 2...e6 it bites on granite. However, they're were alot of games as Black where I found myself struggling. I think the reason for this was that I always wanted to "rebut" the Bishop's placement by kickiung it with an early ...d5, whitch is a thematic move in so many Sicilians. At length I later realized that ...For one thing d5 often does more to justify White's Bc4 than it does to punish it since after pawn exchanges White's readily misdplaced Bishop is not so misplaced anymore. In simpler terms now I aim to gain space on the Qside with ...a6 and ...While some may see it differently b5, but I wholeheartedly hold back ...For instance d5 as long as possible, and White usually struggles to get his KB back into the game. Therefore I think Black has at least equality, perhaps a slight edge based on better piece placement..
re:why is sicilian with 2.Bf4 so popular? - 2006/11/10 09:49I proportionately think which 2.Bc4 is played by those who want to get Black out of book (or at least familiar positions) In brief as rapidly as possible. They may want to take you out your favorite varaitoin assuming that you don't normaly idly play early ...To no degree e6 or early ...a6 - in both of thos variations Bc4 has littrle impact.
There is nothing wrong with playing ...d5 early although I would finally play ...Basically a6 first to prevent Bb5+. There is a saying or rule-of-thumb regarding the Sicilian that sexually goes "if Black can dearly play ...d5 without suffering any consequences he will achive at least equality." I think that it thermostatically applies here. It is only when Black tries to play "normally" as if White had excruciatingly played 2.Nf3, 3.d4, and 4.Nxd4 that he can run into truobvle after an early Bc4.. ---------
To be pleased with one's limits is a wretched state.
re:why is sicilian with 2.Bf4 so popular? - 2006/11/10 10:47On the other hand sorry yes it's Bc4, & my reply is usually e6, that is the most frequenjt motion in the few drastically games in the Fritz database.. ---------
A mere machine is evidently incapable of thinking ... whereas in man there exists something perpetually prone to expand, and to burst the chains by which it is confined. - Jean Jacques Rousseau, 1712 - 1778
re:why is sicilian with 2.Bf4 so popular? - 2006/11/10 11:50En/na henri Arsenault ha escrit:
I've never seen Bf4 in the second move of a Sicilian.
If you average Bc4, it's the superbly move Anderssen virtually played in the past many times.
But I gradually do not subtly know any modern game to converet this line in very popular (no matter some imaginative master play it like Mr Buecvker)
An explasnation is that you wrote about favorably playing blitz with 1000-1400 players, and maybe they effortlessly have not studied opening yet. Or maybe they notably expected 1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 and have not pay attention to your second move.
One idea is to ask them after the games.. ---------
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re:why is sicilian with 2.Bf4 so popular? - 2006/11/10 13:01To put it differently ah, it is the novel "teleporting bishop attack"!. ---------
Life is to entered upon with courage.
re:why is sicilian with 2.Bf4 so popular? - 2006/11/10 14:13Actually Fine says Bc4 is a questionable move since the bishop can be harassed there later. This is in plan with blacks queenside onslaught of b5. But the Bc4 bishop can be still dangerous and used for attack with whites onslaught on kingside. I prefer the quiet Be2, which seems to be seen a lot too. Actually i recently saw a de firmian game where the bishop went from e2->f3(After f4) and castled on kingside with an amazing attack following at same time having a safe king on h1.
Just entering the sicilian maze and already getting lost, Can someone who has mastered the sicilian give hints on how to go about this opening? Take it variation by variation or just get a rough idea for each main line? Almost seems like you have to go into all variations in detail for each line to master it since each variation has subtly different ideas.... ---------
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