Sicilian Defense: Sozin Attack

What Is The Sozin Attack?

The Sozin Attack aims the bishop at e6 instead of the quiet Be2. The e6 pawn blocks the road to f7, but that is the point: the bishop freezes the ...d5 break and makes e6 itself a target. Black gains time with ...a6 and ...b5, but the bishop steps back to b3 and keeps the same diagonal.

Short castling with f4 is the Main Line; the Velimirovic Attack plays Be3 and Qe2, castles long and storms with g4. Both aim at sacrifices on e6 and d5, where the bishop on b3 and the knight on d4 turn a pawn break into a direct attack on the king. Speed decides everything: Black's queenside counterplay runs as fast as White's attack, so one lost tempo loses the race.

How Do You Play Against The Sicilian Defense: Sozin Attack?

The bishop on c4 points straight at f7, and 51% of Black players answer 6...a6 to take the b5 square away before doing anything else. The sample behind that figure is small, so read it as the common instinct rather than a verdict.

Every idea in the Sozin runs through f7 and the a2 to g8 diagonal, so the defence is to close that diagonal rather than defend the square. Playing ...e6 blocks it, and ...Na5 or ...b5 chase the bishop off it altogether. What you cannot afford is leaving the king in the centre while White brings the queen to e2 and the rooks to the open files. Castle first, then decide where your counterplay is coming from.

What Do Players Choose At The Decision Point?

Move	Share		Games
Bg5	24%		68
Be3	24%		68
Bd3	10%		29
g4	8%		24

How Does Play Continue From Here?

Move	Share		Games
a6	51%		41
Be7	32%		26
Nc6	12%		10
e5	1%		1