The Complete c3 Sicilian Paperback – November 16, 2010

When I first thumbed through this massive tome, it looked like a three-star book based on it's layout, but boy was I wrong.Disclaimer, I've played the C3 Sicilian in maybe around 70 tournament games or more, and of course much more than that online, and have a very positive score with it, rarely draw with it, although it looks drawish and people often try it and quit it thinking it's too level of a game.On the C3 Sicilian, I really enjoyed Gary Lane's book, and found it most useful - it's an old book, and the paper on mine eventually got old, dark, acidified brown, not yellow.The "Starting Out" book by Emms looks more like an "ending up" type of book (very advanced), even though it's still more focused on opening traps. The layout of that book is very colorful, with sharp lines in it, but I felt the book to be most impractical.Chandler's book on the C3 Sicilian was useful from an organizational perspective. Chandler really organized the lines, and covered the variations as systematically as I've seen, although much useful content was in the parentheses between moves. That book felt more like and ECO with whole games. Alas, that book is very dated now, and feels dated, and the lines were quixotic, and "meh" like.Now here comes a try from 2010, from one of the most well-known players and theoreticians of this opening. The great thing about Sveshnikov's book is the annotated games, many are his own, and he actually wins most of the ones he shows. The beauty of this book is in Sveshnikov's endgame prowess (he is strong in the opening and middlegame as well, but that's not always the point of this opening). This is an opening where White's advantages are collected over time, and often lead to wins in the endgame at the Master level.The reason why one needs a book like this is because this is an opening more about the endgame than it is about the opening, and so you need to know how to play a logical game for 50 moves. This is also why I didn't like Emms book that took too much of an openings traps angle, which is a wrong approach for this opening, IMHO (yes, I've won with the simple traps in this opening many times, the type one learns on their own during the course of play).I feel my endgame improve with each game that I go over, and I think this would be true for many other readers as well. The problem with most openings books is that they are only good for the opening. This is a book where the useful part goes beyond that, deeper in the game.When you first glance at the games, there will seem little annotation later in the game, and you will think "Oh, here we go again", but as a player around 1900 I've found that I can quickly figure out what is going on and why (sure, it takes a little perspective at times), possibly because the endgames, conceptually are of a simpler nature. I like when an annotator seems to give me just enough and not any more, that way I figure things out on my own as well.Highly recommended, if you want to see technical examples of how to promote a pawn majority, and take a 'simple-chess' approach right through the endgame. In some ways this book is "Mednis like" in it's approach to the endgame, although his approach to the reader is not quite as stylistically simplified as in a typical Mednis book. There are many, many games in this book to go over on a board that are beneficial to improving one's chess understanding.Hope I didn't lose anyone on one of my tangents.

In an opening that attracts more authors than any other, this book really stands out for many reasons as one of the most important of recent years. Firstly, the opening is a very important one that almost every serious player will play against and/or use at some important point of his chess career. Secondly, the author is a strong and very experienced GM. Very few opening books are written by such a prominent GM. Thirdly, he is an acknowledged expert on the system, having played it with great success for decades. In a time when so many opening books are stamped out by authors who rarely if ever play the opening they write about, this book is a rare and authoritative treat, a breath of fresh air! Lastly, the book is very comprehensive and well written. There are many test positions to sharpen both your tactical and positional sense. The book is replete with Sveshnikov's pointers and tips about various lines. Unlike some books that focus virtually solely on main lines, the author spends considerable time going over side lines that are seen in typical club and tournament play. Having studied this material, rather than being buffaloed by an odd move, and forced to chew up precious clock time trying to figure out a reply, you will have the confidence that comes from knowing that a move is not at all dangerous, or is even inferior. Knowledge is power, and mastering this book will give you a powerful reply to the Sicilian! This book is not for beginners, however, as it is sprawling and long and complex. But for the serious tournament player, up to IM strength, or possibly even GM strength, if you play 1.e4 or answer it with the Sicilian, you will want to have this book for the wealth of chess wisdom it contains. BTW, a case can be made for the c3 Sicilian that White's results are in no way inferior to results gained from using the Open Sicilian. Plus, your theoretical work is cut down by focusing on the c3 Sicilian instead, and you can use that time to bolster other openings, endgames etc. Especially if you like more strategic play rather than the super-sharp and sacrificial play that marks so many lines of the Open Sicilian, the c3 Sicilian may be right for you! HIGHLY recommended.

I don't know how many pages this book is. But, it is a monster. Ask me about specifics in the book in another 5 years(I mean that in a good way-there is that much info). I have scanned briefly the book and while the organization is a little odd(I don't have the book on me so I can't elaborate specifically at the moment) it looks to be a great instructional tool. There is a chapter on a typical endgame which arises which is "drawish" (Now that I have the book in hand I can't find where he says that. but I did remember him saying that for some reason. Anyways, the chapter is actually called typical ending with a queenside majority and has some pretty clearly annotated games)and shows how the white player systematically outplays the opponent. I love endgames in opening books. Really hits home my belief that opening, strategic, tactical and endgame study are all the same.Which brings me to the point that he brings up critical variations by the use of complete games. Not just a big tree with a +/=. Then you get to the section of puzzles from games which have gone wrong(I love this book endgame, tactical study and opening study all in one-the way it should be). FANTASTIC looking book from a great player.Any player that puts in the work(just like any other chess book) will most definitely have something to learn from this book. Well worth the money.

Excellent livre d'échecs. Correspond à nos besoins.

Like the Grand Prix Attack (2.f4) and the Rossolimo (3.Bb5) the c3 Sicilian (or Alapin variation) avoids the main line theory accumulated in other lines and this is certainly the last word on it by a thorough and well-known author. Evgeny Sveshnikov, in a fascinating introduction, says he has played the c3 Sicilian about 600 times with a score of over 70% including dozens of wins against well-known Grandmasters and that the move 2.c3 "has fed him and his family for almost 40 years".The book is a massive work both in content and size (it is the physical size of Batsford Chess Openings 2 but thicker, having 161 more pages!) and for that reason the average club player may baulk at the content but for the correspondence/email player, or those wanting to study in depth a very effective method of meeting the Sicilian, this book is a must. He will not need any other.

Ce livre, comme son nom l'indique, est vraiment complet sur la variation Alapin de la sicilienne (c3). Il est écrit par son plus grand spécialiste, le GMI Sveshnikov. Toutes les variantes et sous variantes sont traitées, avec toutes les nouveautés. Il est donc très copieux, 574 pages ! Il nous laisse choisir nos variantes, et chacun a son style et donc s'y retrouvera. J'ai beaucoup apprécié la sincérité de l'auteur, qui évalue avec justesse chaque variante principale dans ses deux chapitres de conclusion. Je préfère un auteur qui indique que les blancs sont un peu mieux sur une variante mais que les chances de nul pour les noirs sont toutefois supérieures aux chances de gain des blancs, ce qui correspond à la réalité, que quelqu'un qui dit "jouez ma variante et vous gagnerez tout le temps !"Le défaut de ce livre est l’excès de ces qualités. Il est très complet, très dense, très volumineux.... Devant cette abondance, on peut être un peu perdu.... mais on s'y retrouve vite. Son complément idéal est le "starting out the c3 sicilian" écrit par John EMMS, édition everyman chess, qui lui va plus clairement à l'essentiel, mais qui est beaucoup plus léger à tout point de vue, bien qu'étant également très juste dans ses analyses. Ces deux livres se complètent à merveille et l'ensemble vaut 5 sur 5.Quant à tous les autres livres que j'ai concernant l'Alapin, ils souffrent tellement de la comparaison par rapport à ces deux là que je les ai mis en carton.Non vraiment le livre de Svesnikov restera la référence de l'Alapin pour les dix prochaines années !

excellent.thanks.