Mikhail Golubev: The Sicilian Sozin

Gambit Verlag, paperback, Englisch, ISBN: 1-901983-38-2, 272 Seiten, 2001.

A life-long Sozin devotee explains the subtleties of this aggressive system for White

The Sozin Attack is Whites most overtly aggressive counter to the Sicilian. White puts his bishop on c4, and often follows up with direct play against the black king. Unless Black defends with the utmost precision, the bishops influence often fuels a deadly attack leading to a cascade of sacrifices and a brutal king-hunt. The Sozin set-up can be employed against the Classical Sicilian, the Najdorf and even the Scheveningen. This book presents in detail the theory of the Sozin in all its forms, including the razor-sharp Velimirovic Attack.

Mikhail Golubev is a young grandmaster from Odessa, Ukraine, who plays regularly in tournaments in eastern and central Europe, and who has employed the Sozin with devastating effect throughout the whole of his adult chess career. Here he explains how White carries out the attack, while providing detailed, objective coverage. He is a noted expert in several sharp and aggressive opening systems, including the Kings Indian and the Dragon. His first book, Easy Guide to the Dragon, has been praised for the quantity and quality of its original analysis, and for Golubev’s objectivity in identifying the critical lines.