1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nf6 – Play the Nimzowitsch Sicilian (4+ Hours Running Time)

We are happy to announce another fascinating project by GM Mihail Marin – 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nf6 – Play the Nimzowitsch Sicilian. If you are looking for a practical repertoire without too much theory, you should definitely try the Nimzowitsch Sicilian. The starting position of this line arises after 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nf6

In this course, GM Marin proves that this line is also objectively playable. You can be sure that your opponent will be out of his comfort zone!

The course consists of 36 theoretical chapters, 20 interactive test positions, a Memory Booster, and a Video Version (4+Hours).

Preview by GM Mihail Marin

In the introduction to my recently published database dedicated to Aron Nimzowitsch, I wrote that at some point, I was not sure whether I could pull myself out of the frantic work on his games. I could not know then that my words would prove “prophetical”.
Right after I delivered the material, my editor and friend, Grandmaster Grigor Grigorov suggested to me that I think of a repertoire based on a surprise opening. I did not have any idea at that moment, but a few days later, my thoughts returned to Aron Nimzowitsch. Neither the Nimzo-Indian nor the Queen’s Indian can be considered “surprise weapons” since they occupy outstanding places in modern theory. Besides, I Modern Chess had already published my work on the former opening. The same goes for the English system designed by Aron (1.c4 e5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.Nf3 Nc6 4.e4!?), which is part of my repertoire for White published by Modern Chess a bit more than two years ago.
By the method of elimination, I decided to check another favourite “baby” of Aron, the 2…Nf6 Sicilian.

By the way, in the circles of Russian speakers, the variation is named after Rubinstein, or sometimes the Rubinstein-Nimzowitsch system. I will stick to Nimzowitsch’s paternity since he was the first to try it out in tournaments.
Ever since my childhood, I knew that the variation was regarded with marked scepticism. Curiosity pushed me to check whether this had been one of the least inspired experiments by Nimzowitsch, or on the contrary, when playing and advocating it, he outpassed many generations to come. Analysis proved that the latter version is much closer to the truth, and this is how I came to build up the repertoire examined in this database.
The Nimzowitsch Sicilian can indeed be regarded as a surprise weapon, but I have concluded that it is a serious opening, too. It is interesting to mention that many strong players or average grandmasters frequently use it in rapid and blitz games.
This system stands apart from its more popular “colleagues” from a philosophical point of view. When choosing a variation like, for instance, the Najdorf, one is attracted by the typical structures resulting in the main lines. Many (including myself) are slightly put off by White’s possibility to deviate earlier with such systems as 2.c3, 2.Nf3 d6 3.c3, 3.Bb5+ and the list is quite long. One thing that many of these sidelines have in common is the lack of strictly typical structures. Many of them look like face-to-face combat, much to the disappointment of the player with Black, who had specialised in his favourite variation.
In the Nimzowitsch system, White does not have the opportunity to do that, because Black is aiming for it from the very beginning of the game! This is a system suitable for players who like to have free piece play to fight for initiative and to improvise. The structures are important only in a few variations, but not in the main ones.
Given the general “official” scepticism towards this system, I have given two “parallel” repertoires against each of White’s main continuations. One of them is meant to be adventurous, perhaps corresponding to the initially planned idea of a surprise weapon, while the other one is solid.

After finishing my work, I cannot make a distinction between the objective merits of such alternate variations. I would choose either of them, depending on my mood at that precise moment.
There is a subjective merit of the Nimzowitsch system, too. An opponent who had not done thorough work on it between the tournaments may be confused when preparing before the game, given that he knows that you are going to play it. Engines are outraged by Black’s position in the early beginning, but they gradually change their attitude if one finds the right direction to push them along.