The basics for a grandmaster. Sicilian Defense

2024 Author: Sierra Becker | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-26 03:46

With the help of what game can a person be taught to think logically, to calculate their actions several moves ahead? Of course, chess will help to succeed in this. Some people classify them as sports games, others categorically oppose such a statement. After all, how can a game of chess be a sporting event? There is no need to run, jump, or throw anything. But here you need to think, think, analyze. And this is much more important than throwing, rolling and somersaulting.

Where did they come from?

Many researchers claim that India is the birthplace of chess. But there are also theories that their invention is associated with Mesopotamia and the Middle Kingdom. It goes without saying that before India gave the world chess as we know it today, it was preceded by other games, not as difficult as chess, but still somewhat reminiscent of it.

Among the ancient manuscripts, one can find a legend that the creation of chess was the work of a certain Brahmin. He asked his master for such a valuable invention, seemingly insignificantreward. He wanted to get the amount of grains of wheat that should have come out if they were laid out on a chessboard in the following order: put one grain on the first cell, two on the second, four on the third, and so on, doubling the number each time. As a result, it turned out that there is not so much grain on the whole Earth.

But since no literary source mentions chess until the sixth century AD, most historians believe that chess appeared at that time.

A bit of the history of the Sicilian Defense

The Sicilian Defense is an opening in chess. It starts with 1.e4 c5. Players knew this defense as far back as the 16th century. It was used in their parts by Gioachino Greco and Giulio Polerio. At the heart of this opening is a tendency to create asymmetrical positions.

The Sicilian Defense was first mentioned in the sixteenth century treatise of Lucena. Further, historians can find information about this debut in the later works of Greco and Palerio. Defense had relative relevance in the nineteenth century. It was used by such popular chess players as Howard Staunton, Louis-Charles Mach, Louis Paulsen and de La Bourdonnais. But with the beginning of the 20th century, the demand for the Sicilian opening dropped significantly. José Raul Capablanca, the third world chess champion, considered this defense imperfect.

Only by the beginning of the 40s of the last century, the demand for protection began to gradually increase. Contributed to this Alexander Kotov,Isaac Boleslavsky and other players. A little later, contributions to the theory of this defense were made by Lubomir Ljuboevich, Leonid Stein, Ben Larsen.

Garry Kasparov, Boris Gelfand, Alexei Shirov, Vashwanan Anand and some other famous personalities are among the modern grandmasters who prefer the Sicilian Defence.

How do black people react?

The Sicilian Defense is the favorite opening of many players. It is used by both beginners and professional grandmasters. In this protection, many sub-variants and systems are distinguished. Let's take a look at some of them.

Open "Sicilian"

This group of systems includes games where white chess fights for the central position with moves d2-d4 and g1-f3. The black pieces can react in many ways, such as the dragon variation. This name comes from the arrangement of black pawns, which looks like a dragon.

Sveshnikov's variant, or Chelyabinsk variant

Defense in chess according to this system means that the plans of black pieces include an active game in the central part of the board. The one who plays with white pieces will try to exploit all the weaknesses of his opponent. This variation is actively used by grandmasters of the highest category.

There are many other variants of the Sicilian Defence, but for those who have just entered the world of chess, what has already been described is enough.

Physical preparation for a chess player

Some skeptics are sure that for a chess player physical training does not matter. You know how the Sicilian Defense works and other openings in the game, and that's enough. But no! The state of he alth for a grandmaster is as important as for any other athlete. After all, a chess player spends several hours indoors, sitting at a table and thinking hard. Therefore, he must be well prepared for this process and the conditions in which he will be.

So, the player will need dumbbells, a treadmill, a barbell. By actively working with all this equipment, the grandmaster will gain physical strength, oxygen will flow to his brain more actively, and, accordingly, he will have more productive ideas for the game.

Start playing today

When you meet the expression "Sicilian Defence" (chess) and read the description in this article, you may not understand a lot without practice. All this can repel and lead to the conclusion that chess is too tough for you. But this is not so at all. You just need to find patience and desire in yourself, and everyone can become a famous chess player.