Want to play for a win against 1.e4? The Sicilian Defence is the most fighting reply in chess – Fischer, Kasparov and Carlsen all played it. Friendly cartoon teacher Angel and her little dragon guide you through it step by step.

What’s inside (97 pages, A4):

• An honest verdict: is the Sicilian worth playing? Pros, risks and who it suits
• 6 chapters: Najdorf, Dragon, Accelerated Dragon, Taimanov, Alapin and Smith-Morra, plus White’s other tries (3.Bc4, Rossolimo, Moscow, Grand Prix, Closed Sicilian)
• 43 lines, each with a diagram, the plan explained and an engine evaluation
• 17 traps (mistake – punishment – right move) and 2 myths – including the famous Siberian Trap
• 6 genius moves (the …Rxa3!! and …Rxc3! sacrifices, the 9…g5!! novelty) and 3 annotated games: Karpov – Kasparov 1985 (“the octopus knight”), Deep Blue – Kasparov 1996 and GM Naroditsky
• Mistake training: the 8 most common Sicilian errors
• A 4-week training plan and Angel’s study tips
• 4 pawn-structure pages, an opening tree and 10 golden rules
• 24 puzzles, a big test, cut-out revision cards, answer key and a “Sicilian Defence Master” certificate

For players who know the rules and want to improve – kids aged about 10+ and adults. Every position was verified with the Stockfish chess engine.

Illustrations and layout were created with the help of AI tools and code; all texts and puzzles were carefully checked.