Sicilian Hitman Aravindh Variation Oct 11, 2024 by FM James Canty III

The Dirty Harry Sicilian Just Got Dirtier

In 2020, IM Christof Sielecki created the first course on a brand new variation of the Sicilian – the Dirty Harry Sicilian. This inspired lots of players to try out this dynamic new system, and since then, thousands of games have been played. Chess players of all levels have enjoyed exploring these new possibilities, expanding on the theory and shocking their opponents.

Gus Logozar was one of those players. He has used his experience to fill in the gaps and expand on the existing theory, turning this relatively unexplored system into a fully-fledged opening.

Video instruction is presented by FM James Canty, who has played the opening in his own games to devastating effect – using it to achieve a draw with none other than Hikaru Nakamura! He’s a huge fan of the surprise factor that this variation gives you and plays it regularly in both online and over-the-board chess.

Fans of FM Canty will be familiar with his infectious enthusiasm for the openings he plays himself and this opening is definitely one of his favorites. The video course is packed with 8 hours of high quality explanations by a top tier presenter, which makes this already exciting opening really come to life.

This course focuses on the sidelines that have arisen since 2020 and acts as a supplement to The Dirty Harry Sicilian.

Our starting position, where we’ll focus on White’s 7 options

IM Sielecki’s course covers the moves 6.Be3, 6.Be2, 6.f3, 6.h3 and 6.Bg5. As theory has developed over the past few years, new moves have been tried and this course aims to give you a response to each of them. Note: other than 6.Be3, where the authors have new ideas, these moves are only briefly covered in this course.

The course is split into 4 main chapters, covering the new moves 6.f4, 6.Bf4, an update on theory in 6.Be3 and 6.a3. Exploring the dangerous poisoned pawn lines with 6.Be3 will give you hours of enjoyment.

These ultra-sharp positions require great calculation – but the rewards are even greater!

The course also features over 150 thematic puzzles designed to make you familiar with the most common tactical shots. There are puzzles for White too, so you’ll be well-armed for any tricks that your opponents try.

The devastating Rxg2 was enough for FM Canty to secure a draw against the legendary Hikaru Nakamura

Surprise! Your rook will often enter the action via h6

The theory is backed up by 26 highly instructive model games, demonstrating exactly how these games play out in the real world. Many of the games are played by the authors themselves, so you know they have real faith in the opening. And several of the model games are by superstar Chessable author NM Elijah Logozar, another huge fan of this variation.