Sicilian Alapin tactics
The anti-Sicilian that skips every main line by building a centre instead, and puts both queens on squares they would rather not be on.
- 120 positions in the course
- Difficulty 1021–2374
- Section: Sicilian Systems
- 5 levels
What the Alapin produces tactically
Playing c3 on the second move prepares d4 with a pawn recapture, which is exactly what Black is normally trying to prevent. The price is the c3 square, which is where White's queen's knight belongs, so the knight has to come out somewhere less natural or wait.
Black challenges the plan immediately with either ...d5 or ...Nf6, and both invite an early queen excursion. That is the tactical signature of the Alapin: two queens out before development is finished, each of them a target, and a white pawn duo that can either steamroller the position with d4-d5 or become a set of weaknesses if it advances one move too early.
How to spot it
- Look for the move that develops a piece and hits the enemy queen at the same time. In this opening it exists more often than in any other Sicilian.
- The d4-d5 push is the critical moment. Calculate whether the pawn is supported before it goes, on both sides of the board.
- The c3 square is occupied by a pawn, so knight jumps and checks that would normally be met by a knight there are live. Recheck b4 and d4.
- Watch for the isolated d-pawn. Many Alapin lines produce one, and the tactics around it are the standard isolani ones in both directions.
Three Alapin positions
Three positions from the 120 in this skill, easiest first. The highlighted squares are the move your opponent has just played. Work it out before you open the answer.
Position 1
Black to move. Find the best move.
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19.axb4 19...R8d3#
The line ends in checkmate. The Alapin builds a pawn centre at the cost of the c3 square and draws both queens out early, and its middlegames keep producing shots off both facts.
The position comes from an endgame of a real game, rated 1021 for difficulty. The answer reaches checkmate.
Position 2
White to move. Find the best move.
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18...Ng4 19.Qg6#
The line ends in checkmate. The Alapin builds a pawn centre at the cost of the c3 square and draws both queens out early, and its middlegames keep producing shots off both facts.
The position comes from the middlegame of a real game, rated 1669 for difficulty. The answer reaches checkmate.
Position 3
White to move. Find the best move.
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14...Nxd4 15.Nxd4 Qxd4 16.Rc4
The line comes out level on material and ahead on position. The Alapin builds a pawn centre at the cost of the c3 square and draws both queens out early, and its middlegames keep producing shots off both facts.
The position comes from the middlegame of a real game, rated 1967 for difficulty. The answer reaches a clear advantage.
Playing it and playing against it
As White the Alapin is a genuinely good practical weapon precisely because it is not a trick. It gets a real centre and a normal game against every Sicilian in existence, and it does so with a fraction of the theory. The risk is over-extending: a big centre that advances without pieces behind it is a collection of targets.
As Black the reliable approach is to hit the centre straight away rather than developing quietly around it. Playing a Najdorf-style setup against the Alapin gives White exactly the position the opening is designed to produce.
Questions people ask
Is the Alapin good against the Sicilian?
It is one of the soundest anti-Sicilians there is, played at every level including the elite. It does not promise an advantage, but it reaches a normal middlegame with a real centre and almost no memorisation, which is a good trade for most players.
What is Black's best answer to the Alapin?
The two main tries are 2...d5 and 2...Nf6, and both are fully respectable. The general principle is more useful than the choice: challenge the centre immediately, because allowing White to play d4 unchallenged is the one thing that makes the opening good.
Nearby patterns
Alapin sits in Sicilian Systems. The rest of that section:
- Closed SicilianLocked centre, opposite wings
- Grand Prix Attackf4, and go straight at it
- Smith-MorraA pawn for two open files
- RossolimoBishop takes on c6, then use it
- Accelerated DragonFianchetto first, then d5 in one move
- KanPawns first, pieces later
- TaimanovA queen and knight doing two jobs
- SveshnikovA permanent hole on d5