White plays 3. d4, entering the Open Sicilian. White opens up the center, and frees up the c1-h6 diagonal for his dark squared bishop and also opens the d-file for his queen to develop. White has maximal control of the center temporarily, so Black should break up the center with 3...cxd4, achieving a central pawn majority and a semi open c-file.

Black could also delay capturing on d4 for one move with 3...Nf6 which disallows the Prins Variation of the Sicilian (3...cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. f3) but also allows White the extra option of playing 4. dxc5. Most often though, White usually transposes into the main lines with 4. Nc3.

For explanation of theory tables, see theory table and for notation, see algebraic notation..

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4

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• Kasparov, Garry, & Keene, Raymond 1989 Batsford chess openings 2. ISBN 0-8050-3409-9.