Lessons
Slaying the Sicilian: Kingside Storms

Slaying the Sicilian: Kingside Storms

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Chess.com Team
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Tired of getting mated by Sicilian aficionados? Turn the tables with killer kingside pawn storms!

This course will help you practice the most important attacking strategy to take town the Sicilian! Run pawns at your opponent's king and checkmate before they know what’s coming!

Here is what you will learn:

  • Learn key attacking ideas in a host of Sicilian Variations!
  • Learn how to judge when to attack and when to defend!
  • Learn from top-level games, including those of World Champions!

"Open the h-file, "sac, sac, ...mate!" - Bobby Fischer on checkmating against the Sicilian.

 

Pawn Tension

The goal of the pawn storm is to open lines by forcing captures and removing the pawns in front of the king.
6 Challenges

The H-Pawn Hook

In the Dragon, with Black's g-pawn advanced to g6, White normally uses a different method of opening a file.
8 Challenges

Wing Versus Center

White often uses his kingside pawn storm not just to open lines on the kingside, but also to fight for the center.
4 Challenges

Spassky Throws Away a Pawn

In a decisive game from the 1969 world championship match between Boris Spassky and Tigran Petrosian, Spassky used a typical method of attacking on the kingside in the Sicilian.
1 Challenge

Kingside Space

The key to many of White's kingside attacks in the Sicilian is his space advantage there, which makes it easier to bring up attackers and hard for Black to defend.
5 Challenges

Being Quicker...

In a sharp Sicilian game, often victory goes to the one who manages to bring the attack home faster. In this case, the players must act with great energy and use forcing moves to keep the initiative.
4 Challenges

Cracking the King's Shell

Breaking the king's position even without a sure forced mate is often worth a material sacrifice.
2 Challenges

Slaying the Dragon

Different attacking methods are used for the different kingside pawn structures that Black adopts in the Sicilian. In the Dragon Sicilian, White uses some of the same methods very frequently.
4 Challenges

The Key Defender

Sometimes you should conclude a well-crafted attack by removing a key defender.
4 Challenges

Setting Up the Sac

Here is yet another of the typical methods White uses to break up Black's kingside defenses.
4 Challenges

Attack With the Pieces

White's attack on the kingside often involves a pawn storm, but sometimes the pieces alone can crash through — particularly when both sides are castled kingside.
3 Challenges

Blitz Attack

White's development lead can allow a rapid attack on the kingside. The attack was quite fast in this blitz game played in Philadelphia’s Franklin Mercantile Chess Club.
10 Challenges

Slaying the Sicilian: Kingside Storms

Openings
12 Lessons
No Videos
55 Challenges
Released 8/16/2009

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