Sometimes White tries to confuse his opponent with obscure systems against the Sicilian Defense. There are different reasons for this. White may think his opponent is a much stronger player, is better prepared in main line openings and/or may slip in a little known variation that White has prepared in advance. The 2.b4 Sicilian certainly fits this description well. With 2.b4, White’s main idea is to divert Black’s c5-pawn to the queenside and get a nice pawn center with pawns on d4 and e4. 
Similar to the Benko Gambit for Black, White hopes to make use of open files on the a and b-files later on. White also hopes for an edge in development, especially with a bishop on b2 or a3. While this opening is not considered a first class choice against the Sicilian, Black should know at least the basic ideas of one system against 2.b4. Otherwise there is every chance that an average player may make an early mistake or use up a lot of time in the opening looking for good answers.
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One will normally reach this odd position after 1.e4 c5 2.b4 cxb4 3.a3. Note that there is no good alternative to playing 2…cxb4. White often gets some initial counter play for the pawn. We are now looking for a system where Black tries to gain the initiative with very active piece development.

3…Nc6?! protects the b4-pawn, but after 4.axb4 Nxb4 5.c3 and 6.d4, White would get his desired big pawn center.

3…d6? is too passive and allows White to regain the pawn with a fine position after 4.axb4.

3…e5 is a reasonable move that fights for center space and allows the f8-bishop to protect the b4-pawn. After e.g., 4.Nf3 Nc6 5.axb4 Bxb4, Black stands well. Good, now look for a slightly better way to play for central control.

Black immediately fights back in the center with 3…d5. This is a good idea as the center is where White hopes to get some compensation in exchange for the sacrificed pawn.

4.e5 spends a move to avoid the pawn exchange. This is not dangerous for Black, as he can now simply continue developing. The main alternative 4.exd5 Qxd5 is also fine for Black, since White is not able to get a knight to c3 right away. White then has to avoid 5.axb4?? or 5.c4 as both would lose the a1-rook to 5… Qe5+. After the superior 5.Nf3, Black still achieved a better position with 5…e5 6.axb4 Bxb4 7.c3 Be7 8.Na3 Bxa3 9.Bxa3 Nc6 10.Be2 Nge7 11.0-0 0-0 in Herrnkind- Kindermann (1985). Should White try 5.Bb2 instead, Black was also better in Roth- Hoelzl (1996) after 5…Nf6 6.Nf3 Bg4 7.Be2 e6 8.0-0 Nc6 9.d4 Qd8.
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The side with the better piece development can fight for the initiative.

4…Nc6 develops this knight to the most active square. On c6, it attacks White’s e5-pawn and also protects our b4-pawn. Note that 4…Bf5 often leads to similar positions than our main line, while 4…e6?! is a bit passive and locks in the c8- bishop. White has done very well against 4…e6?!, as he can build a pawn center with 5.axb4 Bxb4 6.c3 and 7.d4 and also has a space advantage on the kingside.

5.d4 protects the e5-pawn and is a natural move here. If White tries 5.Bb2 instead, Black could play 5…Bf5 and soon …e6.
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Since White’s queenside has some weaknesses, Black should look for dynamic development on that side of the board.

5…e6?! opens the f8-a3 diagonal, prepares kingside development and increases the pressure against White’s a3-pawn. But this move locks in the c8-bishop. White could now build a pawn center with 6.axb4 Bxb4+ 7.c3. Look for something more dynamic.

5…a5? is not very useful here since we would not recapture on b4 with the a5-pawn. After 6.axb4 Nxb4 7.c3, White has achieved his desired setup in the center. Now look for an active move that keeps your initiative.

Taking the second pawn with 5…bxa3 gives White fluid development with 6.Bxa3 or even 6.Nxa3. In both instances, White would get some counter play for the pawn and could support his center with c2-c3 next. Don’t help your opponent get his pieces into play. Now look for an active move that keeps your initiative.

5…Qa5? prevents White from taking on b4 as 6.axb4?? Qxa1 would lose the a1-rook. Black doesn’t really threaten 6…bxa3+ or 6…b3+ as White could just respond with the desired c3 and then capture Black’s pawn later. Your move may be playable, but there is a much better square for the queen in this system.

5…Qb6 keeps the initiative by attacking the d4-pawn. Black still doesn’t want to take the a3-pawn as that would allow White to develop with gain of time by taking on a3. White would then also be able to play the desired c2-c3 soon after. Black should also avoid 5…e6?!, as that would greatly limit the options of the bishop on c8. Note that 5…Bf5?! is also not attractive here for Black. After 6.axb4 Nxb4, White doesn’t have to defend c2 and could push back White’s pieces with 7.Bb5+ and soon c2- c3 to come.

6.Ne2 is a bit awkward, but it is not clear that White’s alternative would be much better. 6.Nf3 allows 6…Bg4, when Black renews the threat against d4 and keeps the initiative. 6.Be3 allows Black to continue as in the game, while 6.Bb2? loses another pawn after 6…bxa3 7.Bxa3 Qxd4.
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An opening where you are a pawn down and the opponent has the initiative must be considered a failure.

6…Bg4? tries to pin the e2-knight, but this is not the right idea. After 7.Be3, White is ready to take on b4 next and play c2-c3 next with some compensation. In some lines White will also be able to play f2-f3 and gain a tempo on your g4-bishop. This is the main reason why the knight moved to e2 and not to the more active f3-square. You have a better square for this bishop.

6…Bf5 develops this bishop to the most active square. From f5, it eyes the vulnerable c2-pawn. Note that Black will have to play …e7-e6 sooner or later to develop his kingside pieces as well. If Black did this now, this bishop would have been locked in behind the pawns on c8. Since all the action is on the queenside now, it is more important to get those pieces into the battle which can participate right away.

7.axb4 is not suited to play for equality, but against other moves Black would also take over on the queenside, e.g., 7.Be3 e6 and the threat is to take on a3 next. Note that 7.Ng3? loses another pawn after 7…Qxd4.
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When you easily achieve a superior position, there often is a tendency to become complacent. This needs to be avoided by all means.

7…Nxb4 keeps the extra pawn and the initiative as White now has to defend against the threat of 8…Nxc2+ next. Clearly 8…Qxb4+? 9.c3 was much worse as it would lose time and give White some compensation for the pawn.

8.Na3 is the only reasonable way to protect the c2-pawn. Now White has developed both knights to less than ideal squares.
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Don’t give a struggling opponent the time to develop and pursue his own plans.

8…Rc8 gets the last queenside piece into action and renews the threat against the c2-pawn. Note that 8…e6? was undesirable as 9.Ng3 then gives White the positional threats of 9.Bb5+ and 9.Nxf5.

9.Nf4 seeks active counter play. There was no good way to protect the c2-pawn since 9.c3? allows 9…Nd3+ 10.Kd2 Nxf2.
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It appears as if Black has achieved his goal.

9…Bxc2 hopes for 10.Nxc2? Nxc2+ and 11…Nxa1. But after 10.Qg4!, White gets nice counter play, e.g., 10…e6 11.Bb5+ and 11…Nc6? runs into 12.Nxd5. There is no need to give White counter play along the g4-c8 and b5-e8 diagonals.

9…Nxc2+?! seems to be the logical continuation of White’s plan. But your impatient move gives White plenty of counter play after 10.Nxc2 Bxc2 (or 10…Rxc2? 11.g4!) 11.Qg4. Then Black would not be able to hold everything together after 11…e6 12.Nxd5! and White has some counter play and is only down one pawn. There is no need to give White counter play along the g4-c8 diagonal.

9…a6! is the best move and is the hardest one to find in our challenge. By playing this patient move, Black does not give White any chance for active counter play. Note that the impatient 9…Nxc2+?! gives White plenty of counter play after 10.Nxc2 Bxc2 (or 10…Rxc2? 11.g4!) 11.Qg4. Then Black would not be able to hold everything together after 11…e6 12.Nxd5! and White has some counter play and is only down one pawn. If Black instead prepared taking on c2 with 9…e6?, then White would gain the upper hand with 10.Bb5+. After 10…Nc6 11.g4! Bg6 12.h4, the threat of trapping the g6-bishop will force Black to push his h7-pawn. After e.g., 12…h6 13.Nxg6 fxg6 14.c3, Black’s advantage would have been lost and White has the plan of Bd3, Qc2 and h5 and also the option of Nb5 at the right time.

10.c4 aims to get rid of the weak c2-pawn. White has few choices here and Black would otherwise simply improve his position by playing …e6 and taking on c2 next.
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Note that Black hasn’t made a single move on the kingside yet.

10…dxc4 doesn’t give White the option of playing c4-c5 next. That would have allowed White to close the side of the board where you have the advantage. Note that Black’s position doesn’t have any structural weaknesses.

11.Bxc4 gets another piece into play and hopes to castle kingside next. Naturally, 11.Nxc4? loses material after 11…Rxc4 12.Bxc4 Nc2+ and 13…Nxa1.
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We are not interested in a long middle game battle.

Sacrificing the exchange with 11…Rxc4? looks promising, since after 12.Nxc4, Black seems to be able to get the desired knight fork on c2. But wait a minute, the knight on c4 is now attacking your queen on b6, so 12…Nc2+? would lose to 13.Qxc2. If 12…Qb5, then 13.Ne3 is also good for White. It seems like you somehow mixed up ideas, but you are not that far away from the solution.

11…Nc2+ takes advantage of White’s overworked knight on a3 and will lead to favorable simplifications. After 12.Nxc2 Rxc4, Black gained the bishop pair and kept the initiative. White next had to worry about the loose knight on c2 and the weak pawn on d4 and thus was unable to castle on the kingside. The game Menassa-Andres (1996) continued with 13.Nd5 Qb3 14.Nce3 Qxd1+ 15.Kxd1 Rxd4+, when Black was up two pawns and easily converted his advantage. Note that 13.Ra2? Qb3 14.Rb2 Bxc2 was even worse.

Apparently White’s system with 4.e5 and 7.axb4 leads to a Black advantage if Black plays it correctly. We hope that you appreciate the pitfalls that had to be circumvented to reach this easily won position. Sometimes it is worth spending a lot of time on finding a move such as 9…a6!, especially if you can be sure that the resulting position will be an easy technical win and won’t require much more time on your part.

This particular challenge also demonstrated well how one should attack the opponent’s main weakness without hesitation. Black did not spent a single move on kingside development and instead focused all his energy on tearing apart White’s weakened queenside before White could castle kingside and find a way back into the game.

We like this system very much against the Sicilian Wing Gambit, since it is logical and easy to play for Black. Clearly White should try 4.exd5 if he wants to attain more palpable compensation, even though Black also seems to stand better in those lines.