Hi, I wanted to try to expand my arsenal against e4 with c5 and decided to go with (Hyper) Accelerated Dragon as it is easy and solid opening, which I can later use against better players.

I'm playing against 1300-1600 players and seems that it almost never goes to the main line 1.e4 c5  2.Nf3 g6  3.d4 cxd4  which is arguably the only solid line for white.

So I feel like I'm wasting my time, I don't want to learn and play these variations which I will never see again. Am I thinking right? Should I not play Sicilian at all at this level?

What is the response that allows unbalanced games and where I can learn to play with black? I am an attacking player and I want to create complex situations not set-ups for endgame from the beginning.

Which solid openings I should try against e4?. Most of my e5 responses as a black will end up in Three Knights Opening or Italian Game which I have had enough already. 

I know the problem, and there isn't really a way round it. Some openings produce their characteristic positions sooner than others, eg I like playing the Dutch, because it's always some kind of Dutch from move 1. The e4 equivalent might be the Scandinavian, where White deviations from exd5 are pretty lame. The hyper-accelerated Dragon Sicilian sounds good in that respect, too, but you still have to put up with nonsense like 2.Bc4. I think the only real solution is not to worry too much about openings till you're at least 1800, because most of the time you won't get to play them.

The very same reason why i left the accelerated dragon for the petroff, philidor and the french

If your just starting out in the Sicilian Defense, I would reccomend the Paulsen / Kan lines. The Kan usually transposes into the Paulsen anyway.

The Sicilian is a good defence. By adopting an anti Sicilian against him. the black player arguably has an easier task.( I do rate the Rossollimo ideas for white as serious tries though).

You should bite the bullet and learn defences against the Morra, Grand Prix, c3 etc (Analogously French players give up their defence because of the Exchange - wrongly IMO)

Incidentally, I would regard the Maroczy as the main line against the Accelerated Dragon and my reluctance to play this Sicilian variant would be THAT variation.

You’ll probably find the Caro-Kann and French easier to learn, both of which have relatively simpler opening ideas and fewer sidelines. The Sicilian is a heavily theorized opening featuring deep complications and numerous sidelines, which can be difficult to navigate through even for grandmasters. It’s certainly not an opening that requires minimum effort to get good at.

Just showing a few popular sidelines you’ll likely see:

What’s your answer to the Alapin Variation (1. e4 c5 2. c3) ?
What would you do if white avoids an early d2-d4 with the Closed setup (1. e4 c5 2. Nc3 and 3. g3) ?
Can you defend against the aggressive pawn sac 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 g6 3. d4 cxd4 4. c3!?

Sidelines in the Sicilian typically leads to positions vastly different from the main lines, mainly because the positions are always imbalanced and there are more than one way to “use” the imbalance. Learning all these variations can be a painful process, but it’ll prove to be worth your time if you’re really into the Sicilian.

Other than fashion, sidelines are sidelines because the plans attached to them have proven to be insufficient or mistaken. Point is you should be aware of why and how, as otherwise, the sideline used against you may prove to be more effective than the mainline. This last explains why more than a few strong and experienced players choose not to follow the fashion but to seek holes in their opponents' opening preparation.

On weaker players using sidelines, it can be either because they don't better or they want to avoid falling into opening recipes. But don't be mistaken, stronger players don't know it all and also play sidelines to avoid falling into opening recipes too.

Probably the main difference when playing 1300–1600s and 1800–2100s is how often will you face a sideline, but when a stronger rival uses a sideline he will likely have it very well prepared... and lacking knowledge and experience with it won't help you much.

 

Just play the standard  opening plan. Fianchetto  the dark squared  bishop and play for a d5  push.

Well
1. I totally get how you might want to spend more time practicing the main line and how it’s annoying sometimes when people deviate to avoid your practice

2. However, if they don’t follow the mainline for the hyper accelerated dragon, which is mainline because the maroczy is difficult to meet, shouldn’t that actually better for you?

3. So wouldn’t you rather wait until you can crush the “suboptimal” side lines, and really get to understand the attacking power of the hyperaccelerated dragon? and in doing so, gradually push higher in rankings to better players where they actually play the mainline, and it will then be even harder?

I hate playing against Paulsen with White, the worst Sicilian Defence to Faxe, so it could be a good choise...

"... I almost always answer 1.e4 with 1...c5, and the move 2.Nf3 is chosen against me in less than half of my games. ..." - GM Evgeny Sveshnikov (2014)

In my experience, it is true that most people around 1200-1400 dont know even the first 5 to 8 moves of known theory lines.

 

What you will see 

1. e4 c5 

2. Nf3 ( Nc6, e6, d6 , g6 whatever you do)

They will likely play 3. Bc4. ( than 3. d4)

( Although 3. Bc4 is  a very strong move in 1. e4 e5 opening but questionable development in sicilian) and it doent put you any pressure/thread in your development.

 

Your dream is " you learned some opening preparation ( ? from advertised books , how to win with which opening etc) and you want advantage from your preparation". But in real life, that usually doesnt come true.

My suggestion, ignore those inefficient moves and keep developing your pieces effortlessly.

A much better idea is to learn how to read a chess board.

Reassess Your Chess by Jeremy Silman is highly regarded by chessplayers that have gone through it.

It develop my understanding of chess immensly. Going through it a second time some months later will really help you.

It uses the middlegame to teach you the basics, but the lessons learned can be applied to the first move to the last move. Although it is not a replacement for a book on chess endings, it should help when your in the late middlegame, trying to decide how to ease into the endgame phase.

"How to Reassess Your Chess, 4th Edition was designed for players in the 1400 to 2100 range." - IM Jeremy Silman (2010)

https://www.silmanjamespress.com/shop/chess/how-to-reassess-your-chess-4th-edition/

Another book to consider: Amateur's Mind by Jeremy Silman.

https://web.archive.org/web/20140626180930/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/heisman06.pdf

https://web.archive.org/web/20140708094419/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/ammind.pdf
https://www.silmanjamespress.com/shop/chess/amateurs-mind-the-2nd-edition/

Trying to play (Hyper) Accelerated Dragon but opponents at 1300-1600 wont' follow the main line

 

That's the problem with openings

And the reason why it is of no use trying to memorize them.

"... Overall, I would advise most players to stick to a fairly limited range of openings, and not to worry about learning too much by heart. ..." - FM Steve Giddins (2008)

"... I feel that the main reasons to buy an opening book are to give a good overview of the opening, and to explain general plans and ideas. ..." - GM John Nunn (2006)

At that rating level you should just be studying tactics, and endgames and some basic middle-game positional ideas.

When your rating reaches 2000, it's a sign you have an expert level of basics in chess, you have enough games to create your repertoire, and start studying the opening.

In the meantime have fun, do your puzzles and read reassess your chess by Jeremy Silman. It's a good foundation to understanding the road to mastering chess.

I’ve recently learned the dragondorf as it is very flexible and you may get the opportunity to transpose to the dragon depending on how your opponent responses.

One cool thing with the learning the dragon is that you’ll indirectly learn the reversed dragon as white starting with c4 as your first move.