The Modernized O'Kelly Sicilian : A Complete Repertoire for Black by Jan Jan Boekelman

oekelman’s new book, The Modernized O’Kelly Sicilian, makes a strong case for 2…a6 being invited into the family of regular Sicilian variations (Najdorf, Sveshnikov, Taimanov etc.) as he takes a critical look at 3.c3 and 3.c4.

Against the latter he proposes 3…Nc6 4.d4 cxd4 5.Nxd4 e5 6.Nf5 d5 (Martin focuses on 6…d6 7.Nc3 g6 8.Ne3 Bh6 which offers the second player better winnings chances, albeit with more risk) where Black often sacrifices a pawn for positional compensation. 

Black looks to be equalizing after 3.c4, but what of 3.c3, steering the game into the Alapin Sicilian (1.e4 c5 2.c3) and asking the relevancy of 2…a6? Here the author advocates for 3…d5 (and not 3..e6 4.d4 d5 which doesn’t seem to be completely satisfactory) and after 4.exd5 he examines both 4…Qxd5 and the newer 4…Nf6. Boekelman believes White can get a small against the former with 5.d4 Nf6 6.Be2 and that after 6.Be3 the resulting isolated queen pawn positions score well for the first player even though they may not be objectively better.

These reservations with 4…Qd5 have caused the author to advocate for 4…Nf6. 

The Modernized O’Kelly Sicilian fills a major gap in the chess literature as it serves as the first systematic work on this variation. The author is not a FIDE titled player, but the days when this was an insurmountable obstacle to producing a good quality book have long passed with the ever-increasing strength of Silicon oracles. Boekelman, as he has shown in other works, is a conscientious researcher who consults all relevant sources whether paper or electronic. He organizes his material well and provides helpful conclusions at the end of each chapter. 

IM JOHN DONALDSON JANUARY 2023

About the Author

Jan Boekelman is a Dutch chess enthusiast and theorist. In his younger years he participated in the Dutch Youth Championships, the Open Dutch Championships and he played a number of years in a team in the Dutch national league