Responding to the Sicilian defense as White.

What do you play after 1.e4 c5 ?

2. Nf3 :-)

2. Nf3 then I try to beat it like a rented mule.

@mkubecek said in #2:
> 2. Nf3 :-)
Doesn't everyone? Harmon taught me that one xxx

@SimonBirch said in #4:
> Doesn't everyone?

I find 2.c3 to be quite uncomfortable (for Black).

@OctoPinky said in #5:
> I find 2.c3 to be quite uncomfortable (for Black).
I played with that for a while find Nf3 a much more simple line for my level but maybe I'll have a look at it again , think Gotham might have taught me c3 for a while but never really saw it through xxx

@OctoPinky said in #5:
> I find 2.c3 to be quite uncomfortable (for Black).

I found the book Beating the Anti-Sicilians by Vassilios Kotronias to be very helpful in this department. I now look forwatd to facing the Alapin.

@SimonBirch said in #4:
> Doesn't everyone?
There are heretics who prefer weird stuff like Alapin or Smith-Morra - which is why I'm reluctant to switch to Sicilian (Accelerated Dragon looks most promising) until I learn to deal with all these escape plans.

Who all wanna delve into immense theory? I don't.

“... There is no doubt in my mind that if you really want to test the Sicilian then you have to play the main lines of the Open Sicilian. The problem is that there are just so many of them ... and keeping up with developments in all of them is a substantial task. ... as you become older, with other demands on your time (family, job, etc.) then it becomes more and more difficult to keep up with everything. At this stage it may make sense to reduce your theoretical overhead by adopting one of the 'lesser' lines against the Sicilian: 2 c3, or the Closed Sicilian, or lines with Bb5. ..." - GM John Nunn in part of a 2005 book where he discussed a 1994 game in which he had played 2 c3