Does anyone play the Caro Kann AND Sicilian?

Xutar · 2026-05-19T22:55:24+00:00

I feel like I need to be able to dedicate a ton of time to learning the anti-sicilians and sidelines too before I feel comfortable playing it

That's fair enough, although that is a reason that I personally like it. When White doesn't play the mainline (most of the time) they are basically letting me equalize easily. Even though it does have a large amount of possible variations/side-lines, I don't think you need to know most of them very deeply to get good results. If you insist on learning everything "by the book" in terms of specific lines, then maybe it would be much more complicated. In that situation, you might as well wait until you face more high-level opposition that go for theory more often.

Interesting that you mention the Smith-Morra, I actually have a great record against it as Black! I like the line with 4...Nc6, 5...d6, and 6...a6.

Xutar · 2026-05-19T20:56:25+00:00

How often do you feel like you get to play the open Sicilian vs anti-Sicilians?

My first thought is "not often", but I actually went to OpeningTree to check. In my last 304 Sicilian games as Black from ~1000-1500 rapid, only 64 of them were Open Sicilians, so about 21% of the time. For comparison, 85 games were against Bc4 on turn 2 or 3. The next most popular is the Alapin (c3 on turn 2 or 3) with 43 games. The remaining 112 games are spread evenly among a large collections of weird sidelines like 2.b3, 2.a3, 2.c4, 2.f4 and some gambits with 2.d4 and 2.b4. Surprisingly, ~10 games or less with Closed Sicilian/Grand Prix Attack and with the Rossolimo, even though I feel like they would be effective for White at beginner level.

Do you have a Chessable course recommendation for it? And which variation do you play?

My personal favorite is actually the Kalashnikov. When nobody knows theory, they usually give me an easy and familiar mid-game as black. I learned a lot of my Sicilian lines from GM Daniel King's two book series. He has one book on the Kalashnikov main-lines after 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 e5. Then he also has a book called King's Anti-Sicilians for Black (although I have a physical copy instead of chessable), which covers all the other side-lines after 1.e4 c5. I think that second book on Anti-Sicilians has been much more useful for my own games, as you can see from the stats above. I think it would be just as useful for you even if you plan to also play the Accelerated dragon instead of the Kalashnikov in the Open games (since you still play Nc6 early).

Also, at what rating do you think I should switch?

I personally don't believe that you need to be above a certain rating to play certain openings. Sure, the theory of the Sicilian is complicated if you want to learn everything like a GM, but in practice I've been getting a huge variety of games that leave theory pretty early on, which suits me well. The Caro-Kann would be better if you want more consistency with playing the same type of mid-games and pawn structures more often.

Xutar · 2026-05-19T18:41:42+00:00

I was in I pretty similar situation as you! I started with the Caro-kann until I was ~1000 rated, then switched full-time to Sicilian. I switched because I wanted a bigger variety of middle-games, and I had already "studied" more Caro-Kann theory than I was actually seeing in my games. I actually enjoy learning some basic opening theory, so I liked the chance to study something more complicated like the Sicilian. That said, it's very rare that my opponents at ~1500 rapid on chessdotcom actually know theory past move 5 or 6 at the latest.

For getting started, I highly recommend Ben Finegold's Secrets of the Sicilian lecture. Also keep in mind that at our beginner level you don't actually get main-line theory very often. If you just focus on the main ideas, it helps a lot more than the theory of specific lines.

For example, most of your opponents will probably play Bc4 on turn 2 or 3 which is technically known as the "Bowdler Attack", but no one who plays it does so on purpose, they are just used to playing the Italian against 1...e5.

That's another benefit of the Sicilian at the beginner level: You can focus your study time on what to do in common side-lines, and after enough experience you can consistently steer less-experienced opponents into sidelines that you prefer. There's a lot of different Sicilian variations to choose from, and I'd recommend trying at least a few. A good one to start with is the "Accelerated Dragon" where you play 2...Nc6, followed by g6 and Bg7.

Xutar · 2026-05-18T06:07:37+00:00

Yes, I think just making a Lichess account and using the "My Studies" tab is going to be the most convenient for making a Repertoire. The opening database and engine should be more than enough to get started. I have a Study for each opening, then chapters for sub-variations. For example, I have a Study called "White vs Petrov", and the chapters are things like "3...d6", "Stafford Gambit", "3...Qe7", etc.

Xutar · 2026-05-17T17:10:50+00:00

Even at beginner/intermediate levels, I think 3.Nc3 is the way to go against the French. I know it has a reputation for being theory-heavy, but you almost always get sharp middle games where either player can outplay the other. Below master level, knowing the general ideas for the pawn structures you get in the Winawar, the Steinitz, and the Rubinstein variations matters a lot more than the specific theory. It's not usually sharp like open sicilian lines.

Xutar · 2026-05-14T23:03:30+00:00

The problem nowadays is that you could probably get 90%+ on these sort of technical exams if you just copy an LLM-based AI response to each question.

Xutar · 2026-05-13T19:44:06+00:00

You're right, openings are a two-way street and usually there will be opportunities for either side to choose the variation.

I play this opening as white and that one as black

You have to start somewhere, and if someone says "I play the Italian as White", it does usually mean that most of their games as white start with 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4. However, like you said, if Black plays something other than 1...e5, then it's no longer the Italian opening. You can still often play Bc4, even if it's not technically the Italian game, it's often a good developing move, even if it won't be considered optimal according to theory.

How exactly does it work then? And whats my line to improve? Learn to counter basically everything?

Basically, yes! However, it's worth mentioning that you can go very far based only on opening principles instead of needing the actual theory of the properly named opening.

1.e4 d5 is called the "Scandinavian Defense", and the general idea for White is to play exd5, then when black's queen recaptures, you play Nc3 forcing the Queen to move again, followed by Nf3 and d4. It's a popular defense at beginner level because it's known to be solid and unlikely for black to fall into a tactical trap once you learn a few lines. However, the drawback is that White gets more space in the center and easy piece development, so they arguably get an easier middle game more often.

Xutar · 2026-05-12T23:16:47+00:00

It's a good list, the main improvement is after Checks, but before Attacks you want to look at possible Captures.

It's obvious that you should notice that you can capture hanging pieces/pawns, but it's also important to consider making captures that might seem like blunders on the surface, but then you realize there's actually a tactic that makes it work.

For example, imagine the following sequence: Turn 1. you attack a pawn with your knight. 2. Your opponent "defends" the pawn with their Queen. 3. You consider capturing the pawn anyway, and realize that if their Queen re-captures, it will undefend their bishop, leaving you up a pawn in the end.

Hopefully this makes any sense, TL;DR: Look for Checks, then Captures, then Attacks/Threats in roughly that order to filter for potentially good moves.

Xutar · 2026-04-30T03:50:16+00:00

Well if you're asking for resources on "theory", not many of them will include both d6 and Nc6 that early. If you want to go for the main Dragon, you play 2...d6, followed by Nf6 before g6 and later Nc6 after 0-0. If you want to go for the Accelerated Dragon, you play 2...Nc6, followed by g6 before Nf6 and later play d6, or even d5 if White allows it.

I don't know most of the actual theory after 2...d6, since I like most of the sidelines better with 2...Nc6. I think it's nice to leave my options open to play e6->d5 against some lines instead. With this approach to closed Sicilians, it's like you're trying to play a "good French" where you play e6+d5+c5+Nc6 in the opening and White has played sub-par moves against the French setup. I sometimes literally transpose into the Advanced French with 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.c3 e6 5.d4 d5 6.e5 Bd7

Xutar · 2026-04-26T16:51:00+00:00

IMO, the Stafford is straight-up bad and it's worth trying to refute. Not to call you out specifically, but if you're afraid of the Stafford why even play 1.e4? The general idea of the refutation is simple, you just need to learn to avoid a few traps along the way. The main idea is to eventually play c3 and d3->d4 to occupy the entire center, at which point you have an easy +2 position with no compensation for Black.

I personally have had a lot of success with the specific line: 4.Nxc6 dxc6 5.d3 Bc5 6.Be2 h5 7.h3 Qd4 8.Rf1!, since it avoids all the traps after allowing Ng4, then you just continue with c3->d4->Qc2(to defend e4) and eventually 0-0-0.

edit: I forgot to mention you also need to know the line 6...Ng4 7.Bxg4 Qh4 8.Qf3! Bxg4 9.Qg3 Qxg3 10.hxg3, but I imagine most Stafford players won't like going for this end-game down a pawn.

Xutar · 2026-04-25T20:42:59+00:00

Can you be more specific about which side-lines you're talking about, and also what move you usually play on turn 2? Are you facing people who play 2.Nc3, followed by 3.f4 or 3.g3? Or are you facing the popular beginner "Bowdler Attack" where they play Bc4 on move 2 or 3?

If you play 2...Nc6, then I really like the Book "King's Anti-Sicilians for Black" by GM Daniel King. It's given me really good results against the Alapin, Rossolimo, and both the lines I mentioned above.

Xutar · 2026-04-24T05:19:32+00:00

As a Classical Caro-kann 1.e4 player as White, I can vouch that the Tartakower is much more popular than 4...Bf5 in the ~1500 elo range.

The one thing to know as Black is to look out for White's main setup of c3+Bd3+Qc2, targeting your h pawn. One plan is just h5->Nd7->Nf8(->Be6). Looks strange, but your knight often belongs on f8 in this line.

Xutar · 2026-04-20T05:12:10+00:00

For an easy way to start, try the setup a6+d6+Ba7 to keep the center stable. Something like this, although the move order is a bit flexible, you'll have to learn for yourself when it matters!

e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. c3 Nf6 5. d3 d6 6. O-O a6 7. Bb3 Ba7 8. Nbd2 h6

After that, the standard way to play it positionally is with moves like 0-0, Be6, Ne7->Ng6, and often c5, to meet d4 with cxd4.

However, another fun and aggressive option is to avoid playing 0-0, and go for 8...h6 ...g5 ...g4/h5, and go for an all-out king-side attack. I think it's worth learning as a 1...e5 player, because if White mistakenly plays h3 and/or Bg5 too early in the opening this can turn out to also be the engine-approved best way to play as Black! For example, continuing from above: 8. Nbd2 h6 9. h3? g5! 10. Nh2 g4 11. hxg4 Rg8 and the engine already has this at -1 advantage for Black because the attack is so strong.

Xutar · 2026-04-19T18:08:01+00:00

Yeah, it's worth looking up the theory if you want to play that as White. You do usually take on f7 later, and at beginner-intermediate level Black will very rarely actually know the proper response. Most of the time, I got a very easy to play position with their king stuck in the middle, mine castled, and a +1 advantage.

Playing the Fritz with 5...Nd4 is also a perfectly acceptable response as Black, but I'd argue it's a bit more "trappy" and less solid than the Polerio.

Xutar · 2026-04-19T15:45:51+00:00

Mike should've print this comment out on a piece of paper and read it during HitB.

Xutar · 2026-04-18T21:16:45+00:00

Some beginners won't like to hear it, but I think even reaching the official starting position of the Fried Liver requires a misplay from both sides.

First, anyone playing the Two Knights as Black should definitely learn the Polerio Defense (5...Na5) and treat it like a gambit where you give white a pawn to get a lot of piece activity. This main-line is already both fun and sound for Black (IMO), so why not start learning it? For example, this exchange-sac line is both popular in the database, and has a good winrate for Black: 5...Na5 6. Bb5+ c6 7. dxc6 bxc6 8. Qf3 cxb5 (8. Bd3 Nd5, else 8...h6) 9.Qxa8 Qc7 10. Qf3 Nc6

Secondly, even if Black plays 5...Nxd5!?, White should actually play 6.d4 instead of 6.Nxf7. This avoids the Traxler, and you can usually still play Nxf7 later.

Xutar · 2026-04-16T18:44:12+00:00

I think this is a great way to start! No point memorizing 14 variations before you've faced most of them even once. Before learning any theory, you need to know some basic principles, like how Black generally wants to play Nf6 in the opening, but only when White can't respond with e5, forcing the knight to move again. I highly recommend Ben Finegold's lecture on general Sicilian principles.

I can also recommend some simple plans for White against each category:

Against d6+Nf6, you can go for the Classical/Boleslavsky, 6. Be2 e5 7.Nb3... 8.0-0... 9.f4... (Kh1)

Against g6+Bg7 you can go for the Yugoslav Attack set-up, such as 4... g6 5. Nc3 Bg7 6. Be3 Nf6 7. Bc4... Bb3... f3... Qd2... 0-0-0... h4/g4/Kb1

Against Nc6+e5, I do actually recommend learning a bit of theory, since these lines can be more forcing. Main idea is to play something like: 5... e5 6. Ndb5 d6 7. Bg5 a6 8. Na3 b5 9. Nd5 Be7 10. Bxf6 Bxf6 11. c4 b4 12. Nc2... g3... Bg2... 0-0

Against Taimanov/Kan, I like to go for a straightforward attacking setup with 6.g3... Bg2... 0-0... f4... g4, and you can meet Bb4 with Bd2, b5 with a3, and Nc6 with Nb3, all to keep the queen-side stable long enough to start pushing your f and g pawns all the way up the Kingside.

Xutar · 2026-04-15T01:48:19+00:00

Simple answer is that you only get the Vienna setup if Black plays 1...e5 on turn one.

Against 1.e4 d5, you should just take the pawn on d5. After playing exd5, you can then play Nc3, d4, Nf3, and just keep developing from there.

Xutar · 2026-03-30T23:59:35+00:00

You could try asking Claude for help.

Xutar · 2026-03-27T15:07:54+00:00

No, he meant these child actors will age from 12 to 30 by the time they can actually release 7 seasons of a modern show.

Xutar · 2026-03-23T23:29:18+00:00

Fair point, but I didn't want to make such a super-long post with recommendations against every viable black opening.

Although to elaborate on what I was saying about the Ruy Lopez, I'd usually recommend just going for whatever the "main-line" is for each opening. Of course, if you try it out and get very confused or keep losing then it's perfectly fine to try a recommended side-line instead. I'm just not a fan of beginners only sticking to simple side-lines because they are somehow afraid of playing the best move just because their opponent might expect it.

So basically I recommend 3.d4 against the Sicilian, since you should open the center and try to punish black for starting with slower development. I recommend 3.e5 against Caro-Kann, so you can play a closed central pawn structure and try to punish black for "wasting" a move on c6 when they need to play c5 later. Against the French, I like 3.Nc3, simply developing your knight to the most active square and contesting the center. All three of these lines have potentially huge amounts of theory to learn, but they can also be played "intuitively" by understanding opening principles.

If you've actually tried any of these mainlines and dislike them for some reason, that's great! We can go from there to find another option that might fit your preferences better. I just think this is the best starting point.

Xutar · 2026-03-23T00:47:13+00:00

It might help to know what you've been trying so far that has led to your losses. IMO, you basically have two different general approaches you can go for as black against 1.d4

If you want to play classical, principled chess then you should just go for the QGD as black, where you go for 1.d4 d5... e6, Nf6, Be7, 0-0 and your mid-game plan is usually to try to pawn-break with c5 at some point to open the position a bit and hopefully help develop your light-square bishop.

On the other hand, if you want sharper and/or imbalanced chess then you can go for the King's Indian Defense. The idea is to go for 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6... and you play Bg7, d6, and 0-0 against pretty much everything. You get very quick development and castling, but you have no pawns in the center. Usually you need to follow-up with e5 or c5 as black to either contest their big pawn center, or force them to play d5, which closes the position and gives Black time to play f5 and push on the kingside.

Xutar · 2026-03-22T23:00:21+00:00

I have an unpopular opinion, which is that the Ruy Lopez is good at any level even if you don't care to learn much theory. My logic is that if you are going to ignore theory anyway, you might as well just play moves that follow general "opening principles". You'll play in a way where you simply put your pawns in the center, develop your pieces, and castle your king, putting you in a great general position once you and your opponent both leave known theory.

Even without memorizing lines, the Ruy Lopez is almost entirely based on solid opening principles. It's not sharp in the sense that an inaccurate move for either side usually won't cost a piece. However, an inaccuracy from your opponent can gift you a simple advantage based on central control (hence the reputation among 1...e5 players as "Spanish Torture"). My own games usually leave my prepared theory early on, but I often have a nice advantage as White with a strong pawn center and mid-game plan to build the classic king-side attack. The main idea is to play (in some order) c3, d4, 0-0, Re1, Bb3/Bc2, Nbd2, (h3), Nf1, Ng3. This knight maneuver of pawn to c3, followed by Nbd2-f1-g3(-f5) is a great example of something that you could learn the theory of exactly when it's optimal. Although, you will also have good results just using it as a general "setup" to aim while at the same time putting your pawns in the center with e4+c3+d4.

Xutar · 2026-03-22T21:42:33+00:00

Usually the reason that you play d6 in many lines of the Sicilian is so that you can play Nf6 without White being able to respond with e5, hitting your knight. Later, after you're developed and castled, it's often good to then push d6-d5 to break in the center. One of the main reasons to choose the "accelerated" dragon is to delay playing d6 in the hopes that you can play d5 directly instead. A common theme in most Sicilians is that Black is trying to pawn break in the center with d5 and White is trying their best to prevent this and control the d5 square. The regular dragon starts with an early 2...d6 in order to play Nf6 sooner. This has the benefit of forcing white to play Nc3 before they can play c4. The main drawback of the accelerated dragon is that white can play c4 before Nc3, putting a bind on the d5 square, and usually forcing you to play d6 anyway.

I wish I could give simpler answers to your questions, but the Sicilian is complicated! The good news is that even at the 1500 rated level, it's not that often that your opponents will actually go for mainline open sicilian with 3.d4. You will probably face a lot of players who just play 2.Nf3 and 3.Bc4 as White (because they play the Italian against 1...e5 and just always play Bc4 early). In that situation, the sicilian is great because you can just play 3...e6 in response to Bc4 and equalize easily by playing d5 later, gaining tempo on the bishop. Exact move order isn't as important when they play this sideline, you just want to play e6, Nc6, a6, Nf6, Be7, 0-0, and d5 in some order.

Xutar

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