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Many years ago I was standing in the chess section of a Borders reading a book by Bent Larsen who in one chapter wondered why White, against the Sicilian Defense, would trade a perfectly good center pawn for a flank pawn!? In other words, after 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6, why should White automatically play 3.d4 and trade his valuable center pawn for Black’s c5 pawn? I remember reading that and thinking, “Yeah, that’s an excellent point Bent!” Perhaps that is why I have always liked playing the Grand Prix Attack against the Sicilian. First, you don’t trade off your d-pawn, secondly you grab your share of the center with f4, and thirdly, you often go straight for the Black king! A typical Grand Prix set up is: 1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 Nc6 3.f4 (diagram):
Ah, just look at White’s beautiful center! While the GPA is not popular at the highest levels, it didn’t stop Michael Adams from using it to draw Vishy Anand at the FIDE World Championship in Groningen in 1997. And Judit Polgar even defeated Topalov with it in Dortmund in 1996! (Both games are in the book). The first thing to note is that Gawain recommends 2.Nc3 and only then 3.f4. The immediate 2.f4 allows 2…d5!?, which has been shown to be good for Black. The big question from White’s point-of-view is on move five - whether to put the king’s bishop on c4 or b5? Says Gawain in Chapter Two (after 5.Bb5): The main line of the whole Grand Prix Attack. Instead of 5.Bc4, seen in the previous chapter, White opts for the more positional 5 Bb5. As White’s light-squared bishop often gets into trouble in the 5.Bc4 lines, he tries to get rid of the troublesome piece and, if possible, double the black queenside pawns. As well as damaging Black’s structure, it also makes it harder for him to drum up any counterplay. This is the most theoretical line of the Grand Prix Attack, but there still isn’t that much theory to know. So, after 1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 Nc6 3.f4 g6 4.Nf3 Bg7 5.Bb5 Black plays 5…Nd4 in 80% of the games according to Jones. The recommended response is 6.0-0, allowing Black to trade knight for bishop if he wants it. After 6…Nxb5 7.Nxb5 Black hits out with 7…d5!? (diagram):
Black strikes out at White’s center. There follows 8.exd5 a6! (Not 8…Qxd5?? due to 9.Nc7+ winning Black’s queen!) 9.Nc3 Nf6 10.d4 with this comment by Jones: The critical position in the Grand Prix Attack. If Black can recapture the pawn on d5 without harm he will be doing well with his two bishops, so White has to make the best possible use of his initiative. The game we have been following is game five in the book, Joel Benjamin (2565) - Bryan Smith (2384) from the World Open, 2006. Here are the remaining moves (to be fair, Benjamin takes his lower-rated opponent to an equal endgame and then simply outplays him. However, his active use of his rooks to dominate Black’s bishop pair is still quite instructive): 10.d4 Nxd5 11.dxc5 Nxc3 12.Qxd8+ Kxd8 13.bxc3 Bxc3 14.Rb1 Kc7 15.Rb3 Bf6 16.Bd2 Be6 17.Ba5+ Kc6 18.Rb6+ Kxc5 19.Nd2 Bd5 20.c4 Bc6 21.Rd1 Kd6 22.Ne4+ Ke6 23.g4 Bh4 24.Nc5+ Kf6 25.Bc3+ e5 26.Rxc6+ bxc6 27.Bxe5+ Ke7 28.Rd7+ Ke8 29.g5 Be1 30.Rb7 Bd2 31.Ne4 1–0 Here are the lines covered in the book: Chapter In case you are wondering why Jones covers 3.Bb5 in chapters 6 and 7, which is not really the Grand Prix proper (i.e. 3.f4), he says: 3.Bb5 is a sideline which has grown in popularity in the last few years. White’s main aim is to reach a Grand Prix type position, but having swapped off his light squared bishop, which is often a target for Black’s counterplay, while damaging Black’s queenside pawn structure. The position is similar to the Rossolimo, 1e4 c5 2Nf3 Nc6 3Bb5, with two important differences: White has not yet played Ng1-f3 and so is able to get his attack going straight away with f2-f4; on the other hand the d4-square is now available for the Black knight.
I have played 3Bb5 as my main weapon against the Sicilian for many years, ever since being taught the line by my former coach IM Angus Dunnington. The most critical reply, 3…Nd4, is the subject of the next chapter, while all other third moves for Black are covered here. The Bottom Line One of the things I like about this book is that Jones gives a concluding paragraph at the end of each chapter summarizing his thoughts about the particular line just covered. I also like that the book contains no less than 10 of his own games. One of my pet peeves in opening books/DVDs is when the author doesn’t even play the opening (**cough, cough—Andrew Martin, Chessbase DVDs—cough, cough**). I think you can always tell, as the quality is just not quite the same as compared to someone who actually plays the opening. Gawain plays the Grand Prix and it shows. At only 174 pages, obviously this book doesn’t cover every line, however it does give you a nice updated (several games are from 2007) overview of the Grand Prix Attack. If you are tired of trying to “out theory” Black in the main lines of the Sicilian, you just might want to give the GPA a try!
On a scale of
1-10, Starting Out: Sicilian Grand Prix Attack by Gawain Jones gets
an 8.5. From the Publisher's Website: Gawain Jones is a Grandmaster who has rapidly established himself as one of the UK's top players. He first hit the headlines when, as a nine-year-old, he became the youngest ever player to defeat an International Master in a competitive game. More recently he gained an individual silver medal playing top board at the 2006 European Club Championship, and in 2007 he made his debut for England at the European Team Championship.
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