The Sicilian Defense inspires passion and controversy, and this book makes a strong case for black players looking for methods to deal with the alternatives to the main lines. While a first time author, Rogozenko does not shy away from stating his opinion in many timely variations. In the end, I think most Sicilian players will enjoy his perspective. Rogozenko concentrates on lines where white avoids the open Sicilian after 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 and 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4. While these lines are particularly popular at lower levels, many world-class players have championed the white side as well. Back in the 1960s, world champions Smyslov and Spassky were proponents of the Closed Sicilian (1.e4 c5 2.Nc3). Sveshnikov has advocated 2.c3, Adams has played many of the miscellaneous lines with 2 Nf3, and a host of players have given the lines with Bb5 a go. Clearly, these white tries are worthy of attention and respect, and the author makes this point on numerous occasions.

While Rogozenko is not well known as an author, he is a serious player and opening theorist. A young grandmaster from Moldova who lives in Romania, he has represented his country on a high board in four Chess Olympiads. He also qualified for the 2001 FIDE World Championship. He is a regular proponent of the Sicilian Defense as black, and his familiarity with its subtlety shows. He exhibits great care throughout in identifying the pitfalls that may face an unwary black because of move order choices that arise in these lines.

The author presents the material as a repertoire for black, and while this helps to organize the theory and limit the pages, it does have its drawbacks. In general, Rogozenko presents a solid, no-nonsense repertoire that steers clear of murky complications. At the same time, he offers alternatives for black players who feel a need to stay away from sterile equality, which can often arise in these sort of sidelines.

The author starts with the lines he believes are the least difficult for black and works toward the tougher tests. After second move deviations (2.c4, b4, b3, d3, g3, d4), he covers the Grand Prix Attack (2.f4 or 2.Nc3 and 3.f4); the Closed (2.Nc3 followed by g3); the Alapin (2.c3); Miscellaneous lines after 2.Nf3; lines with 2.Nf3 d6/Nc6 3.Bb5(+); and finally the Hungarian Variation (2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Qxd4). Of the chapters, about half of the coverage, page-wise, concerns the miscellaneous lines after 2.Nf3 and the Bb5(+) lines. In the case of the miscellaneous lines, these can be some of the trickiest for a player who wants to play certain lines against the open Sicilian to navigate. The Bb5 lines merit significant coverage because they are proving hardest for black to crack, and I’m still not entirely convinced that black has full equality here, at least in the lines after 2…Nc6 3.Bb5.

I appreciated the willingness of the author to make some practical choices that limit the scope of the repertoire. For example, the author avoids discussing the tactically dangerous Smith Morra Gambit (2.d4 cxd4 3.c3 dxc3) by suggesting black play 3…Nf6, which transposes into a covered line of the Alapin (this is a repertoire choice I don’t necessarily agree with, but his logic is sound).

Likewise, in the main variation of the Closed, after 2.Nc3 Nc6 3.g3 g6 4.Bg2 Bg7 5.d3 d6 6.f4 e6 7.Nf3 Nge7 8.0-0 0-0 9.Be3, the author notes that after the normal 9…Nd4 10.e5, there is a lot of theory, and the complications are somewhat unclear. He avoids all this with the solid, center holding 9…b6. As one who used to play this line, trust me, white players are itching to play the lines with 10.e5. This suggestion can save black a lot of analytical work and force white out of his comfort zone. It is notable that one common white resource, GM King’s THE CLOSED SICILIAN spends 28 pages on the 10.e5 sacrifice and not one word on 9…b6.

There are other examples that suggest the author has worked to keep the reader in a comfort zone, so to speak, in developing the repertoire. After 2.Nf3 d6 3.Bb5+, the author chooses 3…Bd7. While this may not be as double edged as 3…Nd7, it is easier to play and allows black a reasonable position without too much suffering. For most players, that should be good enough. Throughout, the author is also willing (in the vast majority of cases) to suggest lines where black trades a piece or two. I’m often surprised at the number of black Sicilian players who miss the fact that exchanges often help black. Generally, white is better developed but black has structural or other positional factors in his favor. In that case, exchanges should be welcomed, not avoided – often the best way to an advantage lies in playing toward an endgame, not a murky middlegame with the board cluttered with pieces.

Of course, the book has to cover a lot of lines in 192 pages, and there are some places where plausible white choices are not mentioned. I looked, for example, at the Grand Prix Attack and found no mention, after 1.e4 c5 2.f4 d5 3.exd5 Nf6, of either 4.b3 or 4.Nc3. While neither of these is earth shattering from a theoretical perspective, I have run across both of them, and 4.b3 has some interesting lines.

Probably the biggest coverage lapse I detected was in the Alapin. The newest method for white players after 1.e4 c5 2.c3 Nf6 3.e5 Nd5 is to delay d2-d4. This is understandable because it limits black’s options (in line with Nimzovich’s axiom that the threat is stronger than the execution), and black was getting easy equality in lines where white played d2-d4 straight away. The author recommends, after 4.Nf3 Nc6 5.Bc4 Nb6 6.Bb3 d5 7.exd6 Qxd6 8.Na3 Be6 9.d4 Bxb3 10.Qxb3 cxd4. However, he misses that white can transpose with 11.0-0 to a position that Rozentalis and Harley (in PLAY THE 2.c3 SICILIAN – click to see Silman’s, Donaldson’s, or Watson’s review of that book) consider favorable to white. The point is that in the regular move order with 4.d4 cxd4 5.Nf3 Nc6 6.Bc4 Nb6 7.Bb3 d6 8.exd6 Qxd6 9.0-0 Be6 10.Na3 black can play 10…dxc3! and achieve a reasonable game. However, in Rogozenko’s line, after 11.0-0 black has yet to show equality.

This may seem like picking nits, but repertoire books are notorious for missing this sort of nuance. Given that the whole point of the newly popular 4.Nf3 is to limit black’s options, the author should have picked up this possibility.

There are points where I would tend to agree with the author when he differs with the evaluation of Rozentalis and Harley. For example, in the line mentioned above, after 8.0-0 Be6 9.Na3 Bxb3 10.axb3 Qd3 11.Re1 e6 12.Re3 Qd7 13.Nc4 Nxc4 14.bxc4 Rd8 is considered ok for black in the book, based on Christiansen-Seirwan, USA Championship 1997. Rozentalis and Harley suggest that 15.b3!? Be7 16.Bb2 0-0 17.d4 gives white a slight edge. I don’t really understand why: While white has a space edge and pawn control of the center, his pawn formation is balky. Black seems able to pressure the formation with, for example, …a6 and …Qc7. Meanwhile, white’s bishop has tall pawn tendencies. I also found that the coverage of the Bb5 lines held up well when compared to Pedersen’s coverage in EASY GUIDE TO THE Bb5 SICILIAN (click HERE to see Silman’s Review of that book).

There are occasions, however, where the repertoire format will leave readers wondering about uncovered lines. For example, in the Alapin after 2…Nf6 3.e5 Nd5 4.d4 cxd4 5.Nf3 Nc6 6.Bc4 Nb6 7.Bb3 d5 8.exd6 Qxd6 9.0-0 Be6 10.Na3 dxc3 11.Qe2 Bxb3 12.Nb5 Qb8 13.axb3, Rogozenko covers 13…e5. While this is acceptable and one of the two main choices, Rozentalis and Harley suggest that 13…g6 is more dangerous for the first player. They write that “this simple developing move only appeared in practice a few years ago, but appears to raise a number of serious questions about the viability of the whole line with 10 Na3. White has to play some very imaginative moves to avoid simply ending up a pawn down for nothing.” It would be nice to know why exactly Rogozenko rejects this line; unfortunately, the nature of the opening repertoire book beast makes this impossible.

There are a lot of strengths to this book, but one area where it shines is its systematic view of the miscellaneous lines after 1 e4 c5 2 Nf3. Players like Michael Adams have been living off the various ways that keep open possibilities to play an open Sicilian and denying black choices on variations to play against the non-open varieties. For many of these lines, the appropriate antidotes have been found, but the author suggests that other lines, such as 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.c4, are under appreciated. These discussions suggest that this book is useful for white players looking for tricky lines as well as black players seeking to avoid them.

I would be remiss if I did not mention that this is far more than a disinterested assimilation of theory. The author plays the lines in question, and he is ready, able, and willing to make suggestions to established theory. For example, in the line after 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 g6 4.Bxc6 dxc6 5.d3 Bg7 6.h3 Nf6 7.Nc3 Nd7 8.Be3 e5 9.Qd2 Qe7 10.Bh6, often played for black is 10…Bxh6 11.Qxh6 f6. However, the author recommends that black play instead 10…f6, which often ends up transposing to the line above. His point is that the queen’s position on h6 gives white the additional annoying possibility of 12.Nh4!?, which creates the threat of 13 Nxg6. The author then analyses this to be at least uncomfortable for black. This sort of understanding and willingness to suggest improvements on a line that has been played in numerous games is rare and commendable. This is far from the only example of this attention to analytic detail in the book.

Of course, one can always hope (but seldom get) the perfect book. Besides the limitations of a repertoire book already mentioned, the perfect anti-Sicilian repertoire book would have some sort of “cheat sheet” that explains the ramifications of each choice for black in terms of what can and cannot be achieved. While the author makes a reasonable attempt at accommodation, it isn’t as user friendly as one would hope. For example, in the Alapin the author suggests that one way to avoid some of the more played-out main lines is 2…Nf6 3.e5 Nd5 4.Nf3 e6. While this prevents the more active development of the bishop on the h3-c8 diagonal, it supports the strong central knight, opens the diagonal for the dark squared bishop and keeps open ideas of playing …b6 and …Ba6 to exchange off white’s strong bishop. Since this is one of the early chapters in the book, I can see aspiring players digging deep into this theory and getting all excited about playing it. The fly in the ointment might come the next time one of their games opens 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.c3 when they realize that they cannot reach their desired line in the Alapin. Of course, it is more likely they will realize this later in the book, but the point is that it would be helpful for players to learn these issues before they begin analyzing rather than after. All told, however, these are pretty minor complaints. In the category of true confessions, I have played just about every one of these lines with both colors. The author has punched a couple of extra holes in my white repertoire; as a consolation, he has provided lots of useful countermeasures for the black side of my arsenal.

In conclusion, if you play the Sicilian as black, you should get this book to learn many of its nuances. If you play the Anti-Sicilian lines as white, you should get this book because the lines it contains are going to be played against you real soon. The author has provided an uncommon mix of analytic rigor sprinkled with practicality. This is a book that will well serve the player who studies its lines and seriously considers its advice.

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