Narz
keeping it real
Ah, Qd5 yes that's a nice move, for some reason I did not even consider it. Next time!
That is my point exactly.Now that you point it out it seems extremely obvious & I have made similar moves in similar positions, something about the position, I think I was looking for more than just a strong center with equal material, I wanted to trap the white king in the center. For this reason my mind was fixated on moving the bishop out rather than trading queens.
I agree that the Sicilian is one of black's very best choices for winning. But it is one of the best for losing as well, hence the need to understand what you are doing in order to avoid life being nasty, short and brutish.I love the Sicilian. Playing ... e5 against strong players seems just as challenging. Plus who wants to play against the Ruy Lopez (not that I think it's necessarily better for white but I don't want to learn 20+ moves of theory). Pretty much everyone under 2000 plays the accelerated dragon wrong too or learns 8 or 9 moves of the c3-Sicilian, Grand Prix attack, close Sicilian etc.
The different phases of the game are connected for sure. My approach to the opening is also not one of the specialist. I prefer to transfer the battle to the middle game where there is more possibilities for independent thinking. The problem is only that on the level I usually play, I will not get there unless my opening standard is up to scrutiny. Also, if I don't want to draw every game, I need to prepare some small surprises, like that one I recently posted. You'll see for yourself in a couple of years.I'm not offended at all though, my opening understanding in general is not particularly deep (sometimes I feel this way about all aspects of the game). Mostly I focus on tactics & when I can be bothered, endgames. Tactics are more important than openings at the sub-Expert level. Once I break expert I'll delve into openings more deeply.
X301: in game 1,
29. Qf3 loses to 29. ... Bxf2; 30. Qxf2, Rc2. No?
Got lucky when my opponent erred in the opening.
1.e4 c5
Heart sank when I saw the Sicilian, to be honest. I don't know much theory.
2.Nf3 d6
3.d4 cxd4
4.Nxd4 Nf6
5.Nc3 e5
6.Bb5+
My idea is to play Nf5 after Bd7. If he takes my bishop, I retake with the c-knight and put pressure on the d-pawn. In retrospect, he could've just played d5 after that and my knights would look awkward, so it wasn't really a good idea.
Game 2: If you mean 6. ... Bd7; 7. Nf5, Bxb5; 8. Nxb5, d5? that loses to 9. exd, Nxd5; 10. Qxd5! followed by a Knight check at c7.
Shortly my foot!I'll post my one loss shortly.