Dealing with the Anti-Sicilians has never been a trivial task for chess players and writers alike. One has to be ready for a wide spectrum, which varies from boring to surprisingly dangerous, and this diversity is extremely hard to cope with, especially if you are not armed with sound positional knowledge.

I believe that this book divulges as much of this positional knowledge as I am able to offer; while at the same time contributing to the development of opening theory. I tried to create a universal weapon, paying attention to both tactical and positional mechanisms, and I sincerely hope that this attempt has paid off, but this is ultimately for the reader to judge. An important consideration was to reduce White’s options and suggest lines that could be viable irrespective of the Sicilian system one plays as Black, and whenever possible I tried to make the repertoire choice work in this manner.

As the reader will notice, it is the 2.c3 and the 3.Bb5(†) Sicilians that take a lot of the space in this book, and this is not surprising as they are both quite popular. The means I used to combat them adhered to the rule “one tool for many purposes”. In the first case, by suggesting a system based on ...e6, I complied with the needs of the move order 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.c3. In the latter case I chose a set-up including both ...Nc6 and ...d6 on moves 2 and 3 – making the line accessible to various types of Sicilian user. These systems require tactical mastery, and there is a slight disadvantage that one has to be aware of: sometimes castling is delayed, bringing whatever dangers this may incur. On the other hand, it is probably for this reason that they offer better winning chances than other set-ups, as Black aims for the best possible structure before resorting to safety. In this world, nothing comes for free. One point to note is that I cover the Morra Gambit in Chapter 19, via the move order 2.Nf3 g6 3.d4 cxd4 4.c3, rather than in the Various 2nd Moves section.

Of course, this book includes practically all Anti-Sicilians, and there are other dangerous systems to cope with. I am particularly happy with the results of my work in the system 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Nc3. The Sveshnikov is a line a lot of people want to play as Black, and my suggestion of 3...e5 coincides with the choice of Sveshnikov himself. It has been postulated that this big hole on d5 is something that denies Black winning chances, but this is a rather simplistic assessment, as the reader will notice by going through Chapter 12.

I would like to thank my editors, and wish all my readers many creative achievements in battling the Anti-Sicilians.
Vassilios Kotronias, Athens, November 2015

The Sicilian Defence is the most combative way to meet 1.e4, but Black’s hopes of reaching his favourite Dragon, Najdorf or Sveshnikov are often quashed at an early stage. In Grandmaster Repertoire 6A – Beating the Anti-Sicilians, grandmaster Vassilios Kotronias provides full coverage against White’s many attempts to steer the game away from Open Sicilian territory. Beginning with sidelines on move 2, and extending all the way to variations tested at World Championship level, the author provides expert recommendations against all White’s sensible deviations (as well as some not-so-sensible ones!) with specific advice tailored for 2...d6, 2...e6 and 2...Nc6 players.

Be it tackling Wing and Morra Gambits head first, outmanoeuvring 2.c3 and Closed aficionados, bashing 3.Bb5† or ruining the Rossolimo, this book contains everything you need to make your opponents wish they had played 2.Nf3 and 3.d4!

Vassilios Kotronias is an experienced grandmaster and ten-time Greek Champion. A Sicilian expert, he is feared for his profound opening preparation.