1

The

Sicilian Four Knights

A Simple and Sound

Defense to 1.e4

2021Russell Enterprises, Inc.

Milford, CT USA

David Willis

Foreword by Vassilios Kotronias

2

The Sicilian Four KnightsA Simple and Sound Defense to 1.e4

by David Willis

ISBN: 978-1-949859-36-2 (print)ISBN: 978-1-949859-37-9 (eBook)

© Copyright 2021David Willis

All Rights Reserved

No part of this book may be used, reproduced, stored in a retrieval systemor transmitted in any manner or form whatsoever or by any means,electronic, electrostatic, magnetic tape, photocopying, recording orotherwise, without the express written permission from the publisherexcept in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles orreviews.

Published by:Russell Enterprises, Inc.

P.O. Box 3131Milford, CT 06460 USA

http://www.russell-enterprises.cominfo@russell-enterprises.com

Cover by Fierce Ponies

Printed in the United States of America

3

Table of Contents

Preface 5

Signs and Symbols 6

Foreword by Vassilios Kotronias 7

Introduction 9

Chapter 16.Ndb5 16

Chapter 26.Nxc6 103

Chapter 36.g3 163

Chapter 46.Bg5 180

Chapter 56.Be2 188

Chapter 66.a3 205

Chapter 76.Be3 212

Chapter 8 Other Sixth Moves 228

Bibliography 236

Index of Variations 238

5

cuuuuuuuuC{rDb1kgw4}{0pDpDp0p}{wDnDphwD}{DwDwDwDw}{wDwHPDwD}{DwHwDwDw}{P)PDw)P)}{$wGQIBDR}vllllllllV

In my first encounter with the Sicilian Four Knights, I was playing White. Iremember the apprehension I felt when my opponent unleashed an early ...Bb4and ...d5. When I studied this variation and realized it was sound, I began playingit as Black. For 50 years now it has been my go-to defense against 1.e4.

Any player of White who opens with the standard moves 1.e4, 2.Nf3, and 3.d4against the Sicilian will confront this variation and needs to know what to doagainst it. Yet not much has been published. I had the idea to write this book asfar back as 1976, when I put an ad in Chess Life asking for games. The ad broughtme back into contact with a former acquaintance, Bobby G. Dudley, who had oneof the world’s largest collections of chess books and magazines. I am grateful tohim for sharing his research of hundreds of long forgotten games and articles onthis old defense.

In front of me is a computer containing Intel’s most powerful processor. With theengines Houdini, Komodo, and Stockfish, this 3400-strength monster is especiallyeffective with the wide-open positions that are typical in the Sicilian Four Knights.It has made it possible for the lines in this book to be analyzed and tested to thedepth needed to understand and credibly evaluate them.

The fundamentals of the Sicilian Four Knights are not hard to learn. Black canreach the middlegame quickly and safely against stronger players. Whatever yourstrength, and whether you are playing Black or White, I hope your play will benefitfrom this book.

David WillisSan Diego

May 2021

Preface

7

Foreword

The Sicilian Four Knights is an opening that has not been seen at thehighest levels very often, and to some extent, that is understandable,considering that it may yield either an isolated d-pawn position (the6.Ndb5 Bb4 variation) or a slightly weakened dark-square centralcomplex for Black (the 6.Nxc6 variation). On the bright side, thesecond player gets lively piece play in both cases, and that issomething that should gradually nullify White’s advantages,especially if someone is armed with a decent knowledge and a lovefor open positions with very concrete roles for one’s pieces.

To play this opening as Black, one basically needs not to believe toomuch in stereotypes. What do I mean by that? In the eternal fight ofelements in chess, the bishop pair is considered one of the most usefuladvantages one may possess, as is a superior pawn structure. Whitewill often get these pluses in the Four Knights but it is very hard toconsolidate them. For example, if White gets the bishop pair, Blackcan strive to exchange light-square bishops and he will often succeed.If he gets two pawn islands vs. three, Black will have compensationin open files for his rooks and a central superiority. So, there’s no easyride for White here, and, in particular, if he gets over-ambitious, hecan find himself on the receiving end of a powerful attack very quickly.

Over the years, I have only met this variation sporadically, but I guessthat after the publication of the present work, that is going to change.

The material is very well structured, and the assessments areobjective and backed with accurate analysis which will not cause thereader fatigue by becoming exceedingly elaborate. The historicalexplanations are enjoyable, and the statistics the author shares withthe reader will allow a better overview on how lines evolved and thesides’ respective chances. But, above all, this is an opening that is

8

The Sicilian Four Knights

definitely sound and this work proves it. It will improve your abilityto score against both weaker and stronger opposition, offeringclear-cut and occasionally bold play.

Author David Willis has done a fine job of clearly presenting theanalysis, providing us with comprehensive explanations and soundlines in an opening that deserves more attention and popularity. I canwholeheartedly recommend the Four Knights to all levels of players.

Vassilios KotroniasAthensMay 2021

9

IntroductioncuuuuuuuuC{rDb1kgw4}{0pDpDp0p}{wDnDphwD}{DwDwDwDw}{wDwHPDwD}{DwHwDwDw}{P)PDw)P)}{$wGQIBDR}vllllllllV

The starting position of the SicilianFour Knights is reached after 1.e4c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf65.Nc3 Nc6. It may also be reachedafter 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd44.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 e6. Some prefer2...e6 to 2...Nc6 because it avoids3.Bb5.

White intends to play againstBlack’s weakened dark squares d6and c7. Black intends immediateaction against the light squares inthe center with ...Bb4 and ...d5.Play leads to open positionsdifferent from those in a typicalSicilian.

Why Play the Sicilian FourKnights?The Sicilian Four Knights is astraightforward way to meet 1.e4. Itallows Black to reach the middlegamequickly and safely against a strongeropponent, and can challenge anyopponent who is unprepared.

Immediate CounterplayThe starting position of the SicilianFour Knights can be deceiving. Itresembles the starting position of aTaimanov or Scheveningen, and caneven transpose to them. Whenconfronted with the Sicilian FourKnights starting position, Whitevery often responds with ordinarymoves such as 6.Be3, 6.Be2 or6.Bg5. Such moves are not effectiveagainst the Sicilian Four Knights,because Black can respond byimmediately attacking White’scenter with ...Bb4 and ...d5.

Most masters playing as White knowthat standard replies do not work wellagainst the Sicilian Four Knights.They prefer 6.Ndb5 or 6.Nxc6. After6.Ndb5 Bb4 7.a3, White exacts aprice for Black’s aggressive play byforcing him to trade off his strongdark-square bishop. But White’smaneuver concedes control of thecenter to Black, and it is difficult for

10

The Sicilian Four Knights

White to achieve more than a drawin this line. The other move, 6.Nxc6,can take the game out of Black’sfavored lines of play, but here tooBlack can equalize.

Easy to UnderstandBecause of Black’s earlycounterplay in the center, he avoidsthe drawn-out maneuvering thatoccurs in other variations of theSicilian. The position quicklyclarifies and will settle into one oranother of relatively few pawnstructures. The positions can becompetently managed by thosebelow the master level.

SoundGrandmasters have alwaysconsidered the Sicilian Four Knightsto be sound:

[It] is a strong alternative forBlack. (Reuben Fine, 1948)

It tends to equality. (SaviellyTartakower, 1955)

[It is] an old, sound methodagainst which it is not provenhow White should best proceed.(Larry Evans, 1965)

[It is] one of the most proven andbest variations of the SicilianDefense. It is at present, withoutconvincing grounds, not seenmuch in practice. (Former worldchampion Max Euwe, 1970)

In this old variation, Blackstrives to achieve quick

development and an attack onthe point e4. Black’s positionshows no particular defects, andthrusts White into enormousdifficulties in continuing toexpand his advantage. (AlexeySuetin, 1973)

[It] has maintained a reputationfor ruggedness. (Robert Byrne,1995)

It is perfectly playable and willnot face serious threats on itsright to existence in the comingcentury. (Alexander Raetsky,2002)

The open positions typical of theSicilian Four Knights lendthemselves to accurate analysis bya computer, and computers confirmthat it is sound. For this book, manyhundreds of its lines were deeplyanalyzed with the aid of a PCcontaining Intel’s most powerfulprocessor.

A Long HistoryThe Sicilian Four Knights is one ofthe oldest variations of the SicilianDefense. Its first proponents wereEmmanuel Schiffers (1850-1904)and GM Jacques Mieses (1865-1954). If any player could be said tobe the father of the Sicilian FourKnights, he would be EmmanuelSchiffers, a champion of Russia andworld-class master during the late1800s. The Sicilian Four Knightswas a mainstay of his repertoirethroughout his career. GM Jacques

11

Mieses further popularized it duringthe first decade of the 1900s.

In 1910 the Sicilian Four Knightscomprised about 25% of theSicilians in Chess Player’sCompendium (William Cook). Itwas not until the 1920s thathypermodernism, with its conceptof delayed center action, propelledother variations of the Sicilian togreater popularity.

In his 1947 book Theorie derschaakopeningen – No. 9 Half-OpenSpelen II, former world championMax Euwe concluded that 6.Ndb5was White’s best try, an opinion stillheld by many today. In the late1940s, the strong Croatian GM PetarTrifunovic began playing theSicilian Four Knights andinfluenced others to play it. In morerecent years, it has been part of the

repertoire of several grandmasters,among them Igor Khenkin, BacharKouatly, Alexander Krapivin,Dorian Rogozenco, Eltaj Safarli,and Milan Vukic.

Not much has been published aboutit. In 1976, a short book entitledSicilian Defense 5: Four KnightsVariation was published by Englishauthors L. M. Pickett and A. K.Swift. In February 1977, theArgentine journal Ajedrez devotedits Issue 32 to it. In 2002 it wasfeatured in a book entitled Meeting1.e4, by Alexander Raetsky.

White’s OptionsThe following table shows White’ssixth-move options and theirfrequency in competitive over-the-board and correspondence play.After 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd44.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 Nc6:

Sixth Move Frequency

Introduction

12

The Sicilian Four Knights

There now follows a brief overviewof these sixth-move options.

Favored by Theory1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4Nf6 5.Nc3 Nc6 6.Ndb5

cuuuuuuuuC{rDb1kgw4}{0pDpDp0p}{wDnDphwD}{DNDwDwDw}{wDwDPDwD}{DwHwDwDw}{P)PDw)P)}{$wGQIBDR}vllllllllV

6.Ndb5 immediately attacksBlack’s weakened dark squares d6and c7 and threatens 7.Bf4,furthering the attack. Black’s twomajor replies, about equal inpopularity, are:

6...d6 This exits the Sicilian FourKnights. The game will transpose tothe main line of the SicilianSveshnikov Variation after 7.Bf4 e58.Bg5. Some Sveshnikov playersprefer to use the Sicilian FourKnights opening sequence to enterthe Sveshnikov, because it limitsWhite’s options.

6...Bb4 This stays in the SicilianFour Knights.

With 6...Bb4, Black attacks White’se4-pawn. The main line is 7.a3Bxc3+ 8.Nxc3 d5 9.exd5 exd510.Bd3 0-0 11.0-0 d4 12.Ne2 Bg4.

cuuuuuuuuC{rDw1w4kD}{0pDwDp0p}{wDnDwhwD}{DwDwDwDw}{wDw0wDbD}{)wDBDwDw}{w)PDN)P)}{$wGQDRIw}vllllllllV

White has achieved the two bishopsin an open position. But this hastaken time. Black has used that timeto obtain dominance of the centerbehind an isolated but stronglyplaced pawn on d4.

Throwing Black Off His Game1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4Nf6 5.Nc3 Nc6 6.Nxc6

cuuuuuuuuC{rDb1kgw4}{0pDpDp0p}{wDNDphwD}{DwDwDwDw}{wDwDPDwD}{DwHwDwDw}{P)PDw)P)}{$wGQIBDR}vllllllllV

The main line runs 6...bxc6 7.e5Nd5 8.Ne4.

13

cuuuuuuuuC{rDb1kgw4}{0wDpDp0p}{wDpDpDwD}{DwDn)wDw}{wDwDNDwD}{DwDwDwDw}{P)PDw)P)}{$wGQIBDR}vllllllllV

White has inflicted on Black an uglyhole on d6. But the price for White’saggressive play is to becomeexposed behind his lines. Black’smain response is 8...Qc7 9.f4 Qb6,when White’s g1-a7 diagonal isweak and he cannot castle.

White’s Other Sixth Moves –Playing into Black’s HandsWhite’s other sixth moves areprimarily 6.Be2, 6.a3, 6.g3, 6.Be3,and 6.Bg5. These are especiallypopular among players below themaster level. None pose anydifficulty for Black.

In all these lines, Black has theoption to transpose to anothervariation of the Sicilian with ...d6 or...a6. But Black usually chooses toremain in the Sicilian Four Knights.He will attack White’s e-pawn with...d5 on the sixth or seventh move,either before or after playing ...Bb4.

cuuuuuuuuC{wDwDwDwD}{0pDwDp0p}{wDnDphwD}{DwDpDwDw}{wDwHPDwD}{DwHwDwDw}{P)PDw)P)}{DwDwDwDw}vllllllllV

White must decide what to do withhis e-pawn: defend it, push it,sacrifice it, or trade it.

White Defends the e-PawnWhen White chooses to defend hise-pawn, he often does so by playingBd3.cuuuuuuuuC{wDwDwDwD}{0wDwDp0p}{wDpDphwD}{DwDpDwDw}{wDwDPDwD}{DwHBDwDw}{P)PDw)P)}{DwDwDwDw}vllllllllV

White has had to trade knights on c6before playing Bd3, becauseotherwise his knight on d4 wouldhang after Bd3. Unfortunately forWhite, the pawn on c6 created fromthat knight exchange strengthensBlack’s center.

This pawn structure occurs mostoften in the 6.Be3 and 6.Nxc6 bxc67.Bd3 variations.

Introduction

14

The Sicilian Four Knights

cuuuuuuuuC{wDwDwDwD}{0wDnDp0p}{wDpDpDwD}{DwDp)wDw}{wDwDwDwD}{DwHwDwDw}{P)PDw)P)}{DwDwDwDw}vllllllllV

The reason White first had to tradeknights on c6 is that otherwiseBlack’s c6-knight could takeWhite’s e-pawn when it moved toe5. As mentioned above, a trade ofknights on c6 bolsters Black’scenter.

White’s pawn on e5 and the absenceof Black’s knight from f6 make akingside attack look inviting forWhite. But an attack will have littlechance to succeed because ofBlack’s strong center. Among themoves in Black’s defensiverepertoire should White’s queenventure to h5 or g4, a common replyis ...f5. After White replies exf6 (orelse he has no attack), Blackrecaptures with ...Nxf6, whichbrings his knight into the defense,clears the seventh rank for defense,and increases his center pawnmajority.

This pawn structure occurs mostoften in the 6.Be3 variation.

White Sacrifices the e-PawnThis occurs when Black has movedhis bishop to b4, traded it forWhite’s knight on c3, and thencaptured White’s e-pawn with hisknight.cuuuuuuuuC{wDwDwDwD}{0pDpDp0p}{wDnDpDwD}{DwDwDwDw}{wDwHnDwD}{Dw)wDwDw}{PDPDw)P)}{DwDwDwDw}vllllllllV

Black gains a pawn, but this has costtime, and he has given up his strongdark-square bishop. In most linesWhite plays Ba3, preventing Blackfrom castling.

This structure arises primarily in themain line of the 6.Be2 variation.

White Trades the e-PawnWhen White takes on d5 with hise-pawn, Black will recapture witheither his e-pawn or his king knight.

Recapturing with the e-pawn givesBlack an isolated d-pawn.If all the minor pieces are still on theboard, the position is close to even.If one pair of minor pieces has beenexchanged, which usually occursafter Black first recaptures on d5

White Pushes the e-Pawn ForwardThis structure arises when Whitefirst trades knights on c6, and thenpushes his pawn to e5. This causesBlack’s f6-knight to retreat to d7.

15

with his knight, White has betterchances for an advantage. Thesecomments do not apply to the6.Ndb5 variation, when Black haspushed his isolated pawn to d4. Inthat case, Black’s control of thecenter compensates.

This pawn structure occurs often inthe 6.a3 and 6.g3 variations.

When Black recaptures on d5 withhis king knight, his bishop usuallyis already on b4.cuuuuuuuuC{wDwDwDwD}{0pDwDp0p}{wDnDpDwD}{DwDnDwDw}{wgwHwDwD}{DwHwDwDw}{P)PDw)P)}{DwDwDwDw}vllllllllV

Black is now threatening to win apawn by capturing White’s knight

on c3. White is forced to find a wayto respond. A drawback for Black isthat his e-pawn remains on thepassive square e6, where it hems inhis light-square bishop. And withBlack’s d-pawn gone, his center willnot be improved if White tradesknights on c6.

This structure can occur in the 6.g3,6.Be2 and 6.Be3 variations.

ConclusionAgainst any of these less frequentlyplayed sixth moves, Black canachieve equality without muchdifficulty.

One might ask why Black does notjust skip 5...Nc6 and play 5...Bb4immediately (the Sicilian PinVariation). The reason: 5...Nc6 isneeded is to prevent 6.e5!. After5...Bb4 6.e5! Nd5 7.Bd2, White isbetter after either 7...Bxc3 8.bxc30-0 9.Bd3 or 7...Nxc3 8.bxc3followed by 9.Qg4.

Introduction