The second edition of GM John Emms well received STARTING OUT: THE SICILIAN, is almost twice as large as its predecessor which was published in 2002. Inflation and a great deal more material have increased the price, but the book still offers a great value. The book breaks down as follows:
Chapter 1 (first edition was 20 pages now 34): The Dragon Variation. Includes “the Yugoslav Attack,” “the Classical Variation,” “the Levenfish Attack,” and “White Plays g3.”
Chapter 2 (was 22 pages now 47): The Najdorf Variation. Includes “the Main Line: Bg5” (mainly the Main Line with 7…Be7, but briefly discussing the Poisoned Pawn variation), “the English Attack,” and “White Plays Be2.” Emms notes that 6.Bc4 is covered in the Scheveningen chapter (under “the Fischer Attack”).
Chapter 3 (was 22 pages now 28): The Scheveningen Variation. Includes “the Keres Attack,” “the English Attack,” “White Plays Be2,” and “the Fischer Attack.”
Chapter 4 (was 15 pages now 22): The Sveshnikov Variation. Includes “the Opening Moves,” “White Plays 9.Bxf6,” and “White Plays 9.Nd5.”
Chapter 5 (was 17 pages now 33 ): The Classical Variation. Includes “the Richter-Rauzer Attack,” “the Sozin and Velimirovic Attack,” and “the Boleslavsky Variation.”
Chapter 6 (was 28 pages now 45): Other Open Sicilians. Includes “the Taimanov Variation,” “the Accelerated Dragon” (including both the Marcozy Bind and the 5.Nc3 variations), “the Four Knights Variation” (including a brief note on the not-so-sound “Pin Variation” (a.k.a. “Sicilian Counter-Attack): 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 Bb4), “the Kan Variation,” and “the Kalashnikov Variation” (including a brief note on the Lowenthal Variation: 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 e5 5.Nb5 a6).
Chapter 7 (was 12 pages now 22): Bb5 Systems. Includes “the Rossolimo Variation” and “the Moscow Variation.”
Chapter 8 (was 13 pages now 23): The c3 Sicilian. Includes “Black Plays 2…d5” and “Black Plays 2…Nf6.”
Chapter 9 (was 15 pages now 25): Other Systems. Includes “the Closed Sicilian,” “the Grand Prix Attack,” and “the Morra Gambit.”
Like the first edition the present work is meant to be an introduction to the Sicilian. Emms aims to explain the basics and also provide the reader with the opportunity to get an idea of what Sicilian lines might best suit them. There is more theory in this edition (and 20 more well annotated games – in all there are 80 illustrative games) but the emphasis is still on understanding with much more explanatory prose than concrete variations.
Like all Everyman books, STARTING OUT: THE SICILIAN is nicely produced with excellent production values. The book is slightly larger than most chess books (6 by 9 inches) and is cleanly laid out.
The present volume improves over its predecessor in not only having substantially more and up to date material but in also providing both a player and detailed opening indices. It also offers 12 exercises to solve.
STARTING OUT: THE SICILIAN can be warmly recommended for players from 1600 to 2200.
