Reviews

Advanced Sicilian Books

Reviewed by S. Evan Kreider

7/7/02

The Taimanov Sicilian, by FM Graham Burgess (Gambit, 2000).

The Sicilian Sozin, by GM Mikhail Golubev (Gambit, 2001).

Last week, I looked at two introductory Sicilian books. This week, I’ll move to the opposite end of the spectrum and look at two advanced Sicilian books: FM Burgess’ The Taimanov Sicilian and GM Golubev’s The Sicilian Sozin.

Both books are relatively recent publications by Gambit, arguably one of the top two or three publishers of chess books. Both books live up to Gambit’s consistently high standards of production: sturdy pages and cover, attractive design and clear printing, and a double-column layout for maximum content and minimum blank space. Both contain a clear table of contents, a bibliography, and a thorough index of variations. The Taimanov Sicilian has 208 pages and lists at $21.95 US (at the time of this writing). The Sicilian Sozin has 272 pages and lists at $22.95 US (again, at the time of this writing).

The Taimanov Sicilian

For those readers new to chess (or who have been living in a cave . . . ), FM Graham Burgess is a respected author and editor of chess books, not to mention the holder of the world record for marathon blitz chess-playing. In addition to writing other Gambit books such as The Gambit Guide to the Torre Attack and The Slav (a personal favorite of mine), he is also a co-author of Nunn’s Chess Openings (perhaps the best single-volume openings encyclopedia available), as well as the Editorial Director of Gambit Publishing itself. His work is well-known and respected by chess amateurs and professionals alike, especially his conscientiously thorough, detailed, and often original opening analysis.

Burgess’ The Taimanov Sicilian begins with a brief (four pages) introduction discussing the variations and set-ups he intends to cover and a brief strategic characterization of each, as well as the details of the research methods and tools he used when writing the book. He also clarifies certain problems of nomenclature which arise when talking about the Sicilian, especially the inter-related Taimanov, Paulsen, and Kan systems. Burgess makes it clear that for his purposes he refers to 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nc6 as “The Taimanov,” while referring to …Nge7 treatments as “The Pure Taimanov” and …Qc7 treatments as “The Paulsen,” both of which are covered in his book. He does not cover the Kan (1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 a6), but does spend time identifying transpositions to the Scheveningen and treating Scheveningen-type lines which may arise from a Taimanov move order but which are not usually covered in texts on the Scheveningen itself.

The rest of the book is devoted to intense, concise, detailed coverage and analysis of the opening lines:

Chapter 1: Early Deviations and the Anti-Taimanov.
Chapter 2: The Marcozy Set-Up (5. Nb5 d6 6. c4).
Chapter 3: Black Wants a Scheveningen (5. Nc3 d6).
Chapter 4: 5. Nc3 a6: Unusual Replies and the ‘Pure’ Taimanov.
Chapter 5: The Popular 5. Nc3 a6 6. Nxc6.
Chapter 6: 5. Nc3 Qc7: Miscellaneous Replies and 6. f4.
Chapter 7: 5. Nc3 Qc7: The Fianchetto Line 6. g3.
Chapter 8: 5. Nc3 Qc7: The Flexible 6. Be2.
Chapter 9: 5. Nc3 Qc7: The Sharp 6. Be3.
Chapter 10: Paulsen Main Line: 5. Nc3 Qc7 6. Be3 a6 7. Be2.

There is very little in the way of prose-style explanation of strategies, ideas, plans, etc.; instead, the focus is on brute lines and evaluations, often coupled with game references.

The Sicilian Sozin

The name “GM Mikhail Golubev” may not be as familiar as “Graham Burgess” to most readers of English chess books – it certainly was not to me. To paraphrase the brief bio on the back cover, Golubev is a Ukrainian Grandmaster who plays extensively in the eastern and central European tournament circuit and who is regarded as an expert in a variety of sharp openings, including the King’s Indian Defense, the Sicilian Dragon, and (of course) the Sicilian Sozin. He is also the author of the Easy Guide to the Dragon, a book which apparently has received a great deal of praise for its original analysis. Though I had not heard of Golubev previously, I felt entirely confident relying on Gambit’s reputation for hiring quality authors and producing quality chess books.

Golubev’s The Sicilian Sozin begins with a 14 page introduction which contains an excellent (though necessarily brief) overview of the history, theory, and strategy of the Sozin. Clarification of nomenclature is also required for the Sozin, which Golubev provides. “The Sozin” can be used as a general term for any of a variety of White’s king-side attacking schemes against the Sicilian involving an early Bc4. Used more specifically, the Sozin refers to a line used against the Classical Sicilian: 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 (or Nc6) 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 Nc6 (or d6) 6. Bc4, including the Classical Sozin (6…e6 7. O-O), the Velimirovic Attack (6…e6 7. Be3), and the Anti-Sozin lines (6…Qb6 or …Bd7); but this book also covers the Fischer Attack, which is essentially a Sozin set-up against the Najdorf (1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Bc4). Golubev also covers the Sozin set-up against the Scheveningen: 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 e6 6. Bc4. He points out that about fifty percent of the games which start out this way transpose to one of the lines above after 6…a6 or 6…Nc6, but that Black has a much stronger plan in 6…Be7, which takes a lot of the sting out of the Sozin set-up, and which tends to turn aggressive White players towards the Keres Attack (6. g4) instead.

As with the Burgess book, the rest of the book is devoted to detailed coverage of the opening lines:

Chapter 1: 6. Bc4 Scheveningen (5…e6 6. Bc4 Be7)

Chapters 2 through 7: Fischer Attack
Chapter 2: 5…a6 6. Bc4: Introduction to the Fischer Attack
Chapter 3: 5…a6 6. Bc4 6…e6 7. O-O
Chapter 4: 5…a6 6. Bc4 6…e6 7. Bb3: 7…Be7 and 7…Qc7
Chapter 5: 5…a6 6. Bc4 6…e6 7. Bb3 b5: Sidelines
Chapter 6: 5…a6 6. Bc4 6…e6 7. Bb3 b5 8. O-O Be7 9. Qf3!
Chapter 7: 5…a6 6. Bc4 6…e6 7. Bb3 Nbd7!

Chapters 8 through 13: Sozin and Velimirovic Attack
Chapter 8: 5…Nc6 6. Bc4 e6 7. Bb3 a6
Chapter 9: 5…Nc6 6. Bc4 e6 7. Bb3 a6 8. Be3 Be7 without 9. Qe2
Chapter 10: 5…Nc6 6. Bc4 e6 7. Bb3 a6 8. Be3 Be7 9. Qe2
Chapter 11: 5…Nc6 6. Bc4 e6 7. Be3 a6 without Bb3
Chapter 12: 5…Nc6 6. Bc4 e6 7. O-O a6 without Bb3
Chapter 13: 5…Nc6 6. Bc4 e6: Sozin and Velimirovic without …a6

Chapter 14: Anti-Sozin Lines (5…Nc6 6. Bc4 Qb6 and 6…Bd7)

As with the Burgess book, brute lines and evaluations are favored over prose-style explanation.

Opinions and Conclusions

As far as the scope and quality of analysis offered in these books, I’m certainly not qualified to offer an opinion. After all, these guys are Masters – I’m just an intermediate, so what the heck do I know?! A quick check against NCO shows no obvious holes in coverage of the main lines. In fact, each of these books obviously contains a great deal more analysis on their respective lines than any one openings encyclopedia could offer, so the breadth of coverage will be more than sufficient for the average player. As far as quality goes, a player of my typical ability doesn’t judge the analysis – he relies on it!

However, as an intermediate I am qualified to give an opinion on the usefulness of these books to other less-than-Master-strength players. At the risk of generalizing, I’d say that these books would have the most value for players of at least strong intermediate caliber (class A or better, or perhaps an aspiring and improving class B) who wish to learn some serious theory, who have studied the basics of the Sicilian previously, and who already have a fairly sophisticated understanding of middlegame strategy. Of course, these books would also be useful to anyone as a reference text, perhaps for serious correspondence chess or post-game analysis.

Ultimately, potential purchasers should be warned that neither of these are books are introductory texts, nor are they for the faint of heart. However, if they’re really serious about using these lines, then these books are must-haves.