whiteshark: <7... h5!> Attaboy! It is unusual in such a theory-heavy opening as the Sicilian to
see a top player like Vallejo leave the well-trodden paths at such an early stage in the game. The audacious <7...h5> was first played by Bent Larsen in a period when he experimented with many opening ideas. The launch of the h-pawn may remind you of coffee-house chess (or ICC blitz), but it really isn’t just about attacking bluntly on the kingside. Positionally speaking, the move <7...h5> is quite sound:
1. To stop the h-pawn in its tracks White would have to play 8.h4 here,
which weakens the g4-square (as f4 is a normal part of White’s plan).
2. Playing 8.h3, to meet 8...h4 with 9.g4, on the other hand, weakens the
dark squares.
3. Allowing Black to play ...h4 gives him the opportunity to open the h-file whenever he wants to, and also weakens the g4-square somewhat (in these fianchetto lines White often wants to play h3 to protect g4, but this isn’t possible when Black and White have exchanged their h-pawns on g3).
The main line is 7...Nf6 (your database will easily list some 3500 games!), but we do well to remember that 7...d6 8.0-0 Bd7 9.Re1 Be7 10.Nxc6 Bxc6 11.Qg4 h5!? 12.Qe2 h4 is another not unpopular line that scores very decently for Black: 13.a4 hxg3 14.hxg3 Nf6 is then the normal continuation.
Jeroen Bosch in http://www.newinchess.com/Archives/...
Kibitzing
