Sicilian Kan ⎸Chess Openings

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The Kan Sicilian is one of the best and most versatile weapons against 1.e4 players. It often results in complicated hedgehog setups which require positional and srategical knowledge to master.

For the basics of the Sicilian Defense, main ideas and variations, watch this introductory video: youtu.be/impkeLfyyVM

Sicilian Kan is one of the Sicilians in which black doesn’t play the move d6, such as the Najdorf or the Dragon. Instead of that e6 is played, which results in very much different positions.

The opening occurs after the following moves:

1. e4 c5
2. Nf3 e6
3. d4 cxd4
4. Nxd4 a6 – this move signifies the Kan Sicilian. Black can also go for 4...Nc6, the Paulsen, or some other variations.

After 4...a6, white can choose between three main responses:

5. Bd3 – The Modern Variation
5. Nc3 – The Knight Variation
5. c4 – The Maroczy Bind Variation

All three offer a slight opening edge to white, and all three are quite different. The Nc3 variation is perhaps the most solid for white, while c4 is the most active way to play. Forming a Maroczy Bind often cramps black’s position and leads to a space advantage.

Players whose games you should study: Fabiano Caruana, Vladimir Epishin, Sergei Rublevsky, Ilya Smirin, Vassily Ivanchuk