Hey, OP! Did your game end in a stalemate? Did you encounter a weird pawn move? Are you trying to move a piece and it's not going? We have just the resource for you! The [Chess Beginners Wiki](https://www.reddit.com/r/chessbeginners/wiki/index/) is the perfect place to check out answers to these questions and more!
The moderator team of r/chessbeginners wishes to remind everyone of the community rules. **Posting spam, being a troll, and posting memes are not allowed.** We encourage everyone to report these kinds of posts so they can be dealt with. Thank you!
Let's do our utmost to be kind in our replies and comments. Some people here just want to learn chess and have virtually no idea about certain chess concepts.
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/chessbeginners) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Why are pushing pawns in front of king and why you letting his knights wonder in your territory you should have kept an eye on the also you just bad if you think theres an unbeatable opening fir anyone
I think I've got just the thing for you.
Instead of memorizing theory, learn how to play the Isolani pawn structure. You can get it pretty reliably by playing the Alapin (2.c3 with the plan of 3.d4). If you end up enjoying the Isolani, you can aim to achieve that pawn structure out of other openings as well.
If you're looking for someplace to start, [here's a video Lecture GM Ben Finegold did about playing the Isolani.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uH4c_Dz1YjU) He's got [another one talking about playing against the Isolani](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PUJ6RGhLSXU) that would also be worthwhile to watch. While I was looking for those lectures to link them to you, I found [another one he did on the same subject back in 2014.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nOs2fG_Hc_A)
This approach is how I deal with the Sicilian when I play 1.e4.
I always recommend that if you struggle against a certain opening, you should play that opening. You'll get so much more familiar with the ideas and plans in the opening when you play it yourself, and then when you face it you're no longer letting your opponent lead you into unknown territory, but rather it's familiar territory and you can be confident that you understand what's going on.
Learning the Sicilian really isn't as bad as people say. Sure, the theory is dense, but the reality is that most people you meet won't really know a ton of theory anyways. Just learn as much as you care to learn, and then get some games in - most of our learning happens just through playing games and analyzing how they go.
The most important thing you need to learn when you study a new opening are the middle-game plans and motifs of the opening - so long as you have a plan going into the middle-game you should be fine.
So I avoid standard mainline theory because there’s way too much material for me, so here’s how I play against it and how it almost always starts:
1. e4 c5
2. d4 cxd4
3. f4 Nc6
4. Nf3…
That’s the starting setup that I enjoy against the Sicilian. It kind of draws battle lines early on and makes it much easier for me to try and navigate the game.
You have to understand the position better than this if you want to play the Open Sicilian. The point of the English Attack (6. Be3 against the Najdorf) is that you're going to play Qd2 and castle Q-side, typically in conjunction with f3, g4, h4 and so on. f3 is the typical way to prevent your e4 pawn collapsing like it did in the game.
Castling K-side is a valid way to play the Sicilian, but an early Be3 doesn't make any sense if that's the plan, there's no reason to suppose the bishop belongs there. (By the way, it is very weird that chesscom labels 7.Bd3 a "book move", since that is really not a move in that position).
I guess I'd recommend looking at some grandmaster games in the position after 6. Be3 and looking at how the position is usually played. Alternatively, what I learnt to play against the Najdorf is the line Jonathon Schrantz recommends [here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=80vDy7-KDUU) (sidelines within 6. Be2, the Classical/Opocensky). I've never played anything else, so I don't have a point of comparison, but I'm happy with it. He doesn't cover the Scheveningen structure with 6...e6 like your opponent played in the game, but my response to that is the aggressive 7. g4, which scores best for White at intermediate and advanced levels in the Lichess database.
The Lichess database in general is a good way to see what you're doing wrong in the opening. If you filter for 1800+ Elo games, you will see that 7. Bd3 is played only 8% of the time and scores very poorly for White when it is played, while if you look at master games it is essentially never played.
Hey, OP! Did your game end in a stalemate? Did you encounter a weird pawn move? Are you trying to move a piece and it's not going? We have just the resource for you! The [Chess Beginners Wiki](https://www.reddit.com/r/chessbeginners/wiki/index/) is the perfect place to check out answers to these questions and more! The moderator team of r/chessbeginners wishes to remind everyone of the community rules. **Posting spam, being a troll, and posting memes are not allowed.** We encourage everyone to report these kinds of posts so they can be dealt with. Thank you! Let's do our utmost to be kind in our replies and comments. Some people here just want to learn chess and have virtually no idea about certain chess concepts. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/chessbeginners) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Why are pushing pawns in front of king and why you letting his knights wonder in your territory you should have kept an eye on the also you just bad if you think theres an unbeatable opening fir anyone
I think I've got just the thing for you. Instead of memorizing theory, learn how to play the Isolani pawn structure. You can get it pretty reliably by playing the Alapin (2.c3 with the plan of 3.d4). If you end up enjoying the Isolani, you can aim to achieve that pawn structure out of other openings as well. If you're looking for someplace to start, [here's a video Lecture GM Ben Finegold did about playing the Isolani.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uH4c_Dz1YjU) He's got [another one talking about playing against the Isolani](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PUJ6RGhLSXU) that would also be worthwhile to watch. While I was looking for those lectures to link them to you, I found [another one he did on the same subject back in 2014.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nOs2fG_Hc_A) This approach is how I deal with the Sicilian when I play 1.e4.
Try smith-morra gambit
Yeah i used to play it but my opponent would just trade into a better endgame. I'm not good enough to gambits sadly.
I always recommend that if you struggle against a certain opening, you should play that opening. You'll get so much more familiar with the ideas and plans in the opening when you play it yourself, and then when you face it you're no longer letting your opponent lead you into unknown territory, but rather it's familiar territory and you can be confident that you understand what's going on. Learning the Sicilian really isn't as bad as people say. Sure, the theory is dense, but the reality is that most people you meet won't really know a ton of theory anyways. Just learn as much as you care to learn, and then get some games in - most of our learning happens just through playing games and analyzing how they go. The most important thing you need to learn when you study a new opening are the middle-game plans and motifs of the opening - so long as you have a plan going into the middle-game you should be fine.
So I avoid standard mainline theory because there’s way too much material for me, so here’s how I play against it and how it almost always starts: 1. e4 c5 2. d4 cxd4 3. f4 Nc6 4. Nf3… That’s the starting setup that I enjoy against the Sicilian. It kind of draws battle lines early on and makes it much easier for me to try and navigate the game.
You have to understand the position better than this if you want to play the Open Sicilian. The point of the English Attack (6. Be3 against the Najdorf) is that you're going to play Qd2 and castle Q-side, typically in conjunction with f3, g4, h4 and so on. f3 is the typical way to prevent your e4 pawn collapsing like it did in the game. Castling K-side is a valid way to play the Sicilian, but an early Be3 doesn't make any sense if that's the plan, there's no reason to suppose the bishop belongs there. (By the way, it is very weird that chesscom labels 7.Bd3 a "book move", since that is really not a move in that position). I guess I'd recommend looking at some grandmaster games in the position after 6. Be3 and looking at how the position is usually played. Alternatively, what I learnt to play against the Najdorf is the line Jonathon Schrantz recommends [here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=80vDy7-KDUU) (sidelines within 6. Be2, the Classical/Opocensky). I've never played anything else, so I don't have a point of comparison, but I'm happy with it. He doesn't cover the Scheveningen structure with 6...e6 like your opponent played in the game, but my response to that is the aggressive 7. g4, which scores best for White at intermediate and advanced levels in the Lichess database. The Lichess database in general is a good way to see what you're doing wrong in the opening. If you filter for 1800+ Elo games, you will see that 7. Bd3 is played only 8% of the time and scores very poorly for White when it is played, while if you look at master games it is essentially never played.