Sicilian Defence

The Sicilian Defence is a chess opening which begins with:

1.e4 c5
This is the most popular response to 1.e4 at the master level. Black immediately fights for the centre, but by attacking from the c-file (instead of mirroring White's move) he creates an asymmetrical position that leads to complicated situations. Typically, White has the initiative on the kingside while Black obtains counterplay on the queenside, particularly on the c-file after the exchange of Black's c-pawn for White's d-pawn.



The opening was named by Gioacchino Greco in the 17th century.
text is available under the GNU Free Documentation License