The 2.c3 Sicilian has become increasingly popular since the 1980s. By playing 2.c3, White will usually try to steer the game into positional channels, though it is not uncommon for White to try to attack Black’s castled king in the early middle game. In general, both sides castle kingside in this opening. Black has three main responses to 2.c3. We will learn about 2….d5 from White’s side in this challenge, while we examine 2…Nf6 from Black’s point of view in another challenge. The third main option, 2…e6, usually transposes into a French Opening after 3.d4 d5.
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This position is reached after 1.e4 c5 2.c3 d5. Due to the White pawn on c3, it is generally safe for Black to advance his d-pawn to d5 at such an early stage.

3.exd5 is clearly the best move here. After 3.d3 and 3.d4?!, Black could easily equalize with 3…dxe4 and likely queen trade to follow. Note that 3.e5?! would give Black a favorable version of a Caro- Kann after 3…Bf5 (Black hasn’t wasted c7-c6, but White played the useless c2-c3).

3…Qxd5 has become the main reply for Black, though 3…Nf6 is still popular as well. Black would then aim to capture the d5-pawn next with the f6-knight. If White tried to keep the extra pawn with 4.Bb5+ Bd7 5.Bxd7+ Qxd7 6.c4, then Black will typically get enough compensation for the pawn by playing 6…e6, e.g., 7.Qe2 Bd6 8.Nf3 0-0 9.dxe6 fxe6.
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Now one question is whether White can take advantage of Black’s queen in the center.

4.d4 advances the d-pawn in order to gain control of the key center squares d4 and e5. By playing 2.c3, White has to expect that he will likely have an isolated queen’s pawn on d4 later on. Sometimes White tries 4.Nf3 here, which often transposes unless Black plays 4…e5.

4…Nf6 demonstrates that Black’s main advantage of this line lies in very quick and easy piece development. The main alternative 4…Nc6 may transpose to our line soon after. Note that Black will try to take on d4 as late as possible since a pawn exchange on d4 would vacate the c3-square and allow the b1-knight to quickly go to c3 and attack Black’s queen.
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Control of the center is so important that you will often need to support your center pawns with many other pieces.

5.Nf3 gets the knight to its best square from where it protects the d4-pawn and also adds to White’s control over e5. Note that White can now also safely move the f1-bishop without dropping the g2- pawn (the f3-knight is in the way of Black’s queen and the g2-pawn now). The main alternative is 5.Be3, when play continues with: a)5…e6 6.Nf3, b)5…cxd4 6.cxd4 Bg4 7.Ne2 or c)5…Ng4 6.Nf3.

5…Bg4 pins the f3-knight and thus renews the pressure against the d4-pawn. Black’s main alternative here is 5…e6, which will not allow Black such easy fluid piece development, but has a more “sophisticated” plan in mind. In that line, Black will typically develop the c8-bishop to b7 later on.
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Black’s initiative should be short-lived.

6.Be2 develops a new piece and breaks the pin against the f3-knight. Now if Black took on f3, White could recapture with the bishop, avoid getting doubled f-pawns and also attack Black’s queen on d5.

6…e6 is Black’s main move here and prepares the development of the f8-bishop. The pawn move to e6 is necessary now to prevent White from playing a quick c3-c4 and d4-d5 and gain a space advantage in the center next (after e.g., 6…Nc6? 7.c4 and 8.d5). Note that Black still doesn’t want to take on d4 yet. After 6…cxd4 7.cxd4, White would be ready to develop the b1-knight to c3 next with attack on Black’s queen.
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White’s d4-pawn is the center of all attention in this opening. White hopes to get more central presence due to this pawn, while Black tries to prove that this pawn will be a liability.Every move in the opening should accomplish something for gaining control in the center, developing a new piece and/or getting the king to a safe place.

Watch out! Moving your knight away from f3 allows Black to win material by taking the g2-pawn with 7…Qxg2.

7.0-0 castles kingside. This move gets the h1-rook into play and the king into safety. White also anticipates that after the pawn exchange …cxd4 cxd4, he can play the desired Nc3 soon. If he did so before he castles kingside, Black could then play …Bb4 and pin the c3-knight to a king on e1. With a king on g1, Black will not have that option. Other popular moves here are 7.h3 and 7.Be3, both of which will lead to very similar positions than our main line.

7…Nc6 is Black’s most dynamic response, even though the main alternatives 7…Be7 and 7…cxd4 should lead to the same position later on.
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Every move in the opening should accomplish something for gaining control in the center, developing a new piece and/or getting the king to a safe place.

8.Re1 is premature here. You don’t know yet whether this rook will be best placed on e1 or d1. You also haven’t prompted Black to take on d4 next.

8.c4?! attacks Black’s queen, but this pawn move is less effective now that Black has played 6…e6 and this prevented you from following up 8.c4 with 9.d5. After 8…Qd7 or …Qd8, White would not be able to maintain a pawn on d4 and would have no chance for an edge.

8.Be3 threatens to win a pawn next by taking on c5 with 9.dxc5. The bishop on e3 will be somewhat limited by serving the d4-pawn from e3, but White will need to support this pawn as much as possible in order to avoid losing it. White’s main alternative is 8.h3, though after …Bh5, play typically continues in very similar fashion as in our main line.

Black finally agrees to take White’s pawn on d4 with 8…cxd4. Attempts to protect the c5-pawn with moves such as 8…b6 or 8…Ne4 would prove to be much too risky (after 9.Qa4 and 9.c4 respectively).
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White should look for the most ambitious move.

9.Nxd4 is a solid move that aims to keep a piece on d4. This is perfectly playable, but White would have no chance for an edge following a series of exchanges. Note that Black would also have the superior pawn presence in the center (the e6-pawn vs. White’s c3-pawn). We prefer a more ambitious capture on d4 here.

9.cxd4 recaptures with the c-pawn. This is considered most promising for White. 9.Nxd4 is also playable, but will likely lead to a very drawish position.

9…Be7 is the most solid course of development for this bishop. Black has also tried the more ambitious 9…Bd6 and 9…Bb4. Playing 9…Bd6 aims to control the e5-square and hopes to get some play against White’s king along the b8-h2 diagonal. Developing the bishop to b4 instead looks odd as White can just kick it away with 10.a3, but Black doesn’t mind losing some time to get this bishop to the b6-square in that line. In some cases the bishop on b4 might also take White’s b1-knight when it moves to c3.
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Positions with an isolated d-pawn for White can arise from many different openings. They can be difficult to play as these pawns tend to be vulnerable. Yet they also offer nice outposts for other pieces (here on e5 and c5) and give White more space in the center.

10.Nc3 finally gets the knight to its ideal square and attacks Black’s centralized queen. You saw that it wasn’t easy to take advantage of Black’s bold queen maneuver.

10…Qd6 retreats the queen only one square. This is the most popular choice, though 10…Qa5 and 10…Qd8 have also been played. By keeping the queen on d6 close to the center, Black’s lady still eyes the e5-square and hopes to soon get a rook to the d8-square.
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The end of the opening is usually reached when you are considering where your rooks will be most effective in the coming middle game.

11.h3 is often played at this junction though it is not absolutely necessary. But Black doesn’t want to take your knight on f3 with his g4-bishop as that would give White the bishop pair and added control over the central squares d5 and e4 (after recapturing with the e2- bishop). So how does the position change after 11.h3 Bh5? White would have gained an escape square on h2 for the king without losing time. This could become important later in the middle game should Black be able to gain access to your back rank while you are busy doing other things. White has tried several plans at move 12. The most risky is 12.g4, when the game Blatny-Formingh continued with 12…Bg6 13.Ne5 Nd5 15.Nxd5 exd5 16.Bf4 0-0 and an unclear position. In the game Ljubojevic-Kasparov (1994), White instead played right for a draw with 12.Nb5 Qb8 13.Ne5 Bxe2 14.Qxe2 0-0 15.Nxc6 bxc6 16.Nc3 Nd5 17.Nxd5 cxd5. A little more ambitious for White is 12.Qb3, when play often continues with 12…0-0 13.Rfd1 Rfd8 14.a3. Then 14…Rab8 15.Rac1 Nd5 16.Nxd5 exd5 was more reliable for Black in Sermek-Lutz (1995) than 14…Rac8 15.Rac1 Qb8 16.d5 Nxd5 17.Nxd5 exd5 18.Rxd5 Bg6 in Nunn-Lutz (1995). It appears as if the White queen is best placed on b3 in this system. From there it eyes the key d5-square and allows for a quick Rfd1. White’s queen does not really want to take Black’s b7-pawn yet as that would allow Black to seize the b-file with …Rfb8 and regain the b2-pawn with the more active position. 
In general, Black is not too keen to occupy the d5-square with a piece and allow exchanges if he has to recapture with the e6-pawn. This is because Black wants to keep his d-file half-open from d8 to d4 in order to be able to attack White’s d4-pawn. White’s d4-pawn becomes a weakness in any ending, especially rook endings. White has to make use of the benefits of having an isolated center pawn by trying to get a knight to e5 or c5. In the game Nunn-Lutz above we also saw how a well-timed d4-d5 pawn break gave White a space advantage in the center. White does have to be careful though that he doesn’t allow for too many minor piece exchanges and ends up defending the d4-pawn with his rooks and queen. Chances are about even here with the drawing rate being higher than in other systems. This is also due to the fact that both kings are generally quite safe and hard to attack in the middle game. If you want to play something more aggressive, less positional or just don’t like to play with an isolated d-pawn, then you should refrain from playing 2.c3.