whats the best way to learn the sicilian as a 1100-1200 player?

i know its the best win rate for black and i want a better range of opening knowledge for black than the scandinavian and leningrad dutch which is all i know so i want to learn the sicilian but what is the best reccomendation for a course or youtube playlist or something similar i can learn it from

While it is a highly theoretical opening, You generally won't see that at your level. I think it would be best to play a variation like the dragon which, while still very theoretical, most of the ideas are pretty universal and easier to understand than other Sicilians. That being said, I did start playing the Najdorf at around that level, but I spent well over a hundred hours looking at various ideas and lines in it before I did- that is certainly one you need to study since even mostly natural moves from your opponent can require specific responses from you to not lose. 

To just learn the Dragon, I'd recommend watching some youtube videos on the common ideas- you shouldn't need very sharp theory to play it at the 1200 level.

ok thanks for the help ill learn the dragon

"whats the best way to learn the sicilian"
++ Play - lose - analyse

Heres my answer: don't

Literally no-one asked. Read the OP post. They did not ask you about your opinion on whether or not they should play the sicilian.

Judit Polgar, the woman herself, has a course on the sicilian for beginners-intermediate players. If you look on youtube there is some great content of her going through some of her games and games of others and explaining the ideas. (If you know about her then you know she is an avid Sicilian player with both colours and plays it brilliantly.)

Also Chess Coach Andras does some good content on main line chess openings. He has some videos on how to play against anti-sicilians as well as some explanations of the Open Sicilian.

If you are looking for a serious weapon then Najdorf is the best. You will be fine without knowing deep theory at lower levels as the opponents will not know the theory either. As long as you have a rough idea of what each of the 7 main variations are and the ideas behind them.

Al lthe above is good. I'll add that a good start would be to play thru the Sicilian games in the books 'Simple Chess' and Chernev's 'Most instructive..' and then to get Kopec's thin book that gives an overview of Sicilian ideas. All the while play and analyze. After 60 or so games that you analyze you'll start to put your pieces on the right places. There is an old book many of us studied, 'Sacrifices in the Sicilian' , that also has a bunch worthwhile annotated games.

To start, I'd recommend playing less common variations with less variations (Katalimov, Hyperaccelerated Dragon, et cetera), as you'll have to learn MUCH less theory than learning a traditional (d6) Sicilian or a french (e6) Sicilian. Then, maybe when you hit 1500, switch to a stronger and more theoretical variation.

ok thanks for all the help guys, ive decided ill learn a couple more begginner friendly lines to start with like the dragon and katamilov which have been reccomended and then start to branch out more when i am higher rated

oh someone suggested it i think it a typo of kalashnikov

Yes it does, sometimes also under the name Katamylov:

(To the original commenter) While it exists, I would recommend against it. One of the most typical plans in the Sicilian is a queenside pawn storm, starting with a6 and b5. playing b6 wastes a tempo in this plan. d6 serves the same role without this drawback. The only difference is that you can't fianchetto the light square bishop quite as quickly, but I can't imagine any line where you'd need too- besides there are some where you don't do that at all.

It's best to pick the Sicilian that you like the most. Maybe Dragon, Classical Sicilian or Sveshnikov is a bit easier to learn than Najdorf as they have less main variations. If you are willing to learn the main variations of the Najdorf then it can be worth it though.

I would not recommend the Hyperaccelerated Dragon. The only purpose to this move order is to avoid the Rossolimo but instead you have to deal with the Qxd4 line.

It's not that it's so bad but I think it's better to play Accelerated Dragon and just learn how to play against the Rossolimo.

Katalymov is a less popular, offbeat line.

Firstly, I'd like to apologize for the misspelling, it's the Katalimov, not Katamilov, and I didn't catch that error in my post. As far as the validity, it's still a solid variation. Perhaps not as solid as a d6 or e6, but the difference is negligible, and you're more likely to play positions with which White is not familiar with.

I play often the close sicilian with bishop pinning the knight i find it easier to learn than the open sicilian. 

If you enjoy that line and learn to play it properly that's fine. I don't struggle that much against this line or closed sicilians that much personally. The black queenside pawns can get rolling very quickly and can be suffocating for white.

I prefer open sicilian because you get fast development, space advantage and stronger attack. There are different sicilians to learn how to play against but that's part of the fun of it. I really enjoy these types of lines:

Bg5 Najdorf is my favourite.

Noob POV here : The thing I keep in mind presentl -as Gotham Chess loves to tell students - keep it simple. Levi G.Chess tells that unless you're above 1600-1800 and need a sicilian don't go in there since there are so many dangerous or tedious variations to keep track of as a student of the sport. I'll trust Levi on that and wait a little personally, but you are getting closer to the reality he describes from what you say as rating.

Levy has a particular opinion which is not agreed upon by other chess coaches. There are a lot of variations and dangerous lines in any opening you play like the Caro-Kann, French, Pirc, etc.

It's best to play the opening you enjoy most so you stay motivated.

Also the discussion of this thread is not about whether or not someone should play the Sicilian. The discussion is asking for advice for someone who is already learning the Sicilian.

i would just start playing it to be honest. Theoretical openings don’t mean anything if your opponent doesn’t know theory to begin with. I know the first 16 moves of the Botvinnik Semi-Slav but that doesn’t help me when no one plays it and if no one plays the main lines. 

Also, opening mistakes are easy to fix so don’t get so hung up about it. Learn the ideas, understand your moves, and create threats and there should be little to complain about