This position is one of the most frequently encountered ones in the Open Sicilian. It features a mixture of tactical and positional schemes. Typical for this opening is that White castles on the queenside, while Black castles on the kingside. This often sets the stage for attacks on opposite wings, but unlike in other systems, there is often quite a bit of contact as well in the center.
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Our starting position typically arises after 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 Nc6 (or 2…Nc6 and 5…d6). We are now going to look at one of the popular approaches for White (we will learn a system for Black against the Richter-Rauzer in another challenge).

6.Be2 is one of the many fine moves in this position. By placing this bishop on e2, White usually prepares kingside castling. If Black then played 6…e5, we would be in a Boleslavsky, while 6…e6 should lead to a Scheveningen. Very good, now look for another good bishop move.

6.Bc4 will often lead to the Velimirovic attack. This is a good move that we will explore in another challenge. Now try to find a good square for the other bishop.

6.Bb5 looks stronger than it is. After 6…Bd7, the pin is broken and Black will have no problems getting equal chances.

6.Bd3?? Nxd4 loses a piece. Better try again.

6.Bg5 is the move that tells Black to get ready for a Richter-Rauzer. Besides being a good development move, White hopes to pin the f6-knight to the queen after Black moves the e7-pawn. In some lines White will also try to inflict doubled f-pawn upon Black.

6…e6 is solid and is by far the most popular move.
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White will continue along similar veins.

7.Be2 is a solid developing move. But it usually leads to kingside castling and is not part of our desired Richter-Rauzer setup.

7.Bc4 is an aggressive move, but doesn’t go well together with the bishop on g5. Play could continue with 7…Qb6 8.Nb3 a6 9.Qe2 Be7 10.0-0-0 Qc7.

7.Nxc6 is sometimes played. The idea is to weaken Black’s pawn structure after 7…bxc6 8.e5 dxe5 9.Qf3 Qb6 10.Bxf6 gxf6. But Black has done well in practice.

7.e5? just throws away an important center pawn after 7…Nxe5.

There is no gain in retreating the nicely centralized knight here.

7.Qd3 appears to be getting in the way of the f1- bishop, but has the possible merits of moving to g3 or h3 later on. This move is playable, but we prefer a more conventional development of the queen.

7.Qd2 moves the queen to a fine square and prepares queenside castling.

7…a6 is considered best here. This way Black prevents the d4-knight from moving to b5 and attacking the d6-pawn (this would be a real threat after White castles queenside). 7…a6 also prepares to advance the b-pawn to b5 later on. This is a typical method for Black to seek counter play. If 7…Be7, play will usually transpose soon after.
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Each move you make in the opening should improve your position.

8.0-0-0 castles queenside and increases White’s presence along the d-file. The king will be safer on this side of the board after White once White advances the f- and/or g-pawns later on.

8…Nxd4 tries to reduce the tension in the center with a piece exchange. Black often takes on d4 in Open Sicilians in order to be able to play …b7-b5 soon after (note that this would not have been smart here since the knight on c6 would then have been unprotected). Other branches at this stage are 8…Be7 9.f4 and 8…h6 9.Be3.
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Not much of a choice here.

9.Qxd4 recaptures the knight and leaves the queen in a nice centralized position.

9…Be7 gets the bishop off the bank rank, breaks the pin against the knight on f6 and prepares kingside castling.
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White’s strategy combines the ideas of getting a space advantage in the center and starting an expansion on the kingside.

10.f4 is a multi-purpose move that gains space on the kingside, but also affects the center (in particular the e5-square). Black will now have to watch out for the e4-e5 and f4-f5 pawn advances. Note that White has less explored and interesting alternatives in 10.h4 and 10.f3.

10…b5 gains space on the queenside, prepares to move the c8-bishop to the nice b7-square and also gives Black the option for an occasional …b5-b4 push to attack the c3-knight. If Black castled kingside with 10…0-0, White would continue as in our line.
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Black’s last move has created a temporary weakness along the a8-h1 diagonal.

11.e5 dxe5 12.Qxe5 Bd7 does open the d-file, but is harmless. If you planned on trading queens with 12.Qxd8+ Bxd8, Black would also stand well. Note that 13.Rxd8+? Kxd8 14.fxe5 does not win the f6-knight after 14…h6 15.Bh4 g5. There is a better way to create a positional weakness in Black’s camp.

11.f5 is usually not a bad move. But in this case, Black can just take the f-pawn with 11…exf5 and keep the extra pawn without getting into much trouble. You have a better means to continue your plan.

11.Bxf6 tries to give Black the first positional weakness. This move should be based on sharp tactics rather than greed to win a pawn.

11…gxf6 creates doubled f-pawns and is a serious positional concession. But the alternative 11…Bxf6 only looks good if White takes the d-pawn with 12.Qxd6 Qxd6 13.Rxd6. Black would then obtain a promising endgame with 13…Bb7. But after the stronger 12.e5! a fireworks of tactics erupts, i.e., 12…dxe5 13.Qe4 Bd7 14.Bxb5!! axb5 15.Rxd7 Qa5 16.Rb7! and White had a winning position in Karasev-Aseev.
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White has more space, but no clear entry routes into Black’s position.

12.e5 is quite strong and was played by Kasparov against Hracek. White obtained a nice attack after 12…d5 13.Kb1 b4 14.Ne2 a5 15.Ng3 f5 15.Nh5. Note that Black should not play 12…dxe5?, since then 13.Qe4! Bd7 14.Bxb5! axb5 15.Rxd7 Qa5 16.Qb7 gives White a winning attack. In Anand-Kramnik, the better 13…Bb7 was played. Black reached a fine position after 14.f5 fxe5 15.Qxe5 Bf6 16.Qg3 Qe7. Very good, now look for another good pawn move.

12.f5 reveals White’s intention of harassing Black’s weakened pawn complex. In some lines, White will surprisingly exchange pawns on e6 and undouble Black’s pawns in order to expose the remaining pawns’ weaknesses on the open files. The main alternative, 12.e5, was played by Kasparov against Hracek. White obtained a nice attack after 12…d5 13.Kb1 b4 14.Ne2 a5 15.Ng3 f5 15.Nh5.

12…Qc7 is Black’s main defense and often tries to trade queens soon after. The main alternative appears to be 12…Qa5. The game Khalifman-Hracek (1996) then continued with 13.Kb1 b4 14.Ne2 e5 15.Qe3 Bb7 and Black was slightly worse, but managed to draw.
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If Black’s e6-pawn ever captured on f5 or advanced to e5, the d5-square would firmly fall into White’s hands. This usually gives White a big edge in these types of positions.

13.Be2 gets the bishop onto a nice diagonal. When Black has doubled f-pawns with a king stuck in the center, the White bishop often pressures the Black monarch along the h5-e8 diagonal.

13…Qc5 improves the position of Black’s queen and offers queen trade. If 13…h5, White has the promising pawn sacrifice 14.fxe6 fxe6 15.e5! with the idea of meeting either capture on e5 with Qe4 and then eying both the rook on a8 and the queen check on g6 with a strong attack.
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To trade or not to trade is the question.

14.Qxc5 takes a proactive course about trading queens. Clearly retreating your queen to d3 or d2 in order to avoid queen trade would leave the Black queen the more active piece. That is hardly ever recommended. By not letting Black take on d4, White also opens the d-file for the rook on d1.

14…dxc5 is forced. Now Black again has three pawns on the queenside.
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Black could now consider new options for king safety again.

15.g4? makes the bishop on e2 quite ineffective and therefore voids the main benefit of the f4-f5 plan. Keep the initiative.

15.Bh5 pins the f7-pawn and therefore threatens to take on e6. If Black had to recapture on e6 with the bishop, then the White pieces could make full use of d5 and create a clear edge for White. But your move is too slow. After 15…0-0, Black’s king is safe. Try to keep the initiative with more forcing moves.

15 fxe6 keeps Black busy. White must not allow Black to castle into safety on the kingside.

15…fxe6 is the only reasonable choice and undoubles Black’s f-pawns. Note that the inferior 15…Bxe6? 16.Nd5 gives White complete control of the d5-square and leaves Black with doubled f- pawns.
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Black has the bishop pair, but his pieces are somewhat discoordinated.

16.Bh5+ forces the Black king to move and thus prevents it from castling. This is less of a factor now that the queens have been traded already. Nevertheless this move still is White’s best chance to fight for an advantage, since the king will not be completely safe for a while. After 16…Kf8, White typically tries to break open the position with 17.e5, but Black declines with 17…f5. Then White will again try to open up some files leading to Black’s king with 18.g4. The game Palac-Smirin (1997) continued with 18…b4 19.Ne2 Ra7 20.gxf5 exf5 21.Nf4 Bg5 22.Kb1 Bxf4 23.Rd8+. Then White obtained a better ending after 23…Kg7 24.Rg1+ Bg5 25.Rxg5+ Kh6 26.Rxh8. In Van den Doel-Epishin (1997), Black tried to improve with 18…Ra7 19.gxf5 exf5 20.Nd5 Kg7 21.Rhg1+ Kh6, but Black’s king was still in an awkward position. 
Black probably does best with 20…Bg5+ 21.Kb1 Be6 22.Rhg1 Rg8, as played in Short-Yermolinsky (1997). In general White’s more active pieces and the strong centralized knight more than compensate for Black’s bishop pair.

Players with good endgame technique will find our main line attractive to play for White as the chances for victory are reasonable and losing chances are small. Should you seek a different type of middle game, you should study 12.e5 closely, since those positions usually don’t allow Black to trade off queens this early and offer White better chances for a mating attack.