How to counter Sicilian Alapin variation as Black

Some of my opponents used this against C5 and i lost most of the time, i didnt play an early d5 as some variations suggest, and even Bf5

I like the Alapin for White, but it's hardly a magic bullet. One of the simplest defenses for Black is 1.e4 c5 2.c3 d5 3.exd5 Qxd5 4.d4 Nf6 . There's a lot of theory here, but just making good developing moves and getting castled should be good enough

"... one of the soundest and easiest [lines] for Black. Probably not terribly ambitious, but a clean equalizer. ..." - IM pfren (November 8, 2018)

https://www.chess.com/forum/view/chess-openings/a-bust-to-the-sicilian-defense?page=34

Thanks Guys

Best defense against 2.c3 is 2...Nf6 3.e5 Nd5 4.d4 cxd4 5.Nf3 e6 6.cxd4 d6 7.Bc4 Nc6 (NOT 7...Nb6? - common error by amateurs) 8.O-O (trading on d5 is good for Black) 8...Be7 9.Qe2 O-O and Black has already equalized!

The Alapin is a joke if Black knows what he is doing.  Same can be said for any anti-Sicilian except maybe the Rossolimo.  If you play anything other than the Sveshnikov, Kalashnikov, or Accelerated Dragon, you can avoid this (play the Taimanov via 2...e6 and the Classical via 2...d6).

I used to play the Sicilian, but I cut it out of my repertoire for 1 and only 1 reason.  2.Nf3 and 3.d4.  Everyone complains of Anti-Sicilians as Black.  They are an utter joke.  It is the sacrifices in the Najdorf or the positional binds against the Taimanov you have to worry about.  Open Sicilian is why I do not play 1...c5.

"The Alapin is a joke if Black knows what he is doing"

Pointless drivel

I do play the Alapin for white (simply too lazy to study theory), and yes - it IS a joke if black knows what he is doing. Guaranteed. 

"(NOT 7...Nb6? - common error by amateurs)". Why? My admittedly out-of-date version of ChessBase gives this move 50% for White, the same as Nc6, and the "amateurs" who have played it include Topalov, Polgar and Svidler.

Our self-appointed Grandmasters sneer at amateurs like Topalov, Polgar, and Svidler

Uhm, you are a lowly 1500.  What the hell would you know about opening theory.

Yes, the Alapin is nothing beyond equal!  If White wants an advantage, he needs to play the Open Sicilian.

Keep in mind I said "Error", not "Blunder".  The move 7...Nb6 doesn't lose, but it is inferior to 7...Nc6.  Black should keep the diagonal blocked, and the knight is more active on d5 than b6.

after c3 you can play d5

ThrillerFan writes: "Uhm, you are a lowly 1500.  What the hell would you know about opening theory."

I seem to have missed the title next to your user name. Judging from your preening narcissism, I can certainly think of several appropriate titles!

<Laskernephew>

World Champion Lasker had a really amazing nephew named Edward, who produced not only brilliancies on the chessboard, but also entertaining essays and analyses. 

Not so about you. With a rating of 1500, one doesn't need a title either to crush you game after game after game without letting you breathe, or to be able to point out the innumerable holes in your knowledge and understanding. 

At 1500, you don't even begin to understand what is the actual playing strength that really grants a title to somebody - you can't begin to appreciate how fantastically higher it is than what you are capable of. 

<ThrillerFan>, on the other hand, WAS 1500 once upon a time, so knows very well how far he progressed since then - AND has beaten numerous titled players in various ways. Not a titled player - but that's hardly a requirement when pointing out the flaws in the reasoning of someone rated 1500. 

Remain a patzer for the rest of your life - or become humble and realize that you can maybe learn something by listening to players who play better than you do. 

"Nephew"?

Edward Lasker was possibly a distant relation but even that is not certain.

One does not have to be a titled player to be better than you!  1500 is not "one step below GM".  I'm between 2000 and 2100 OTB, hence why you don't see a title beside my name.  But "Expert" and "Class C" are light years apart!

Such a lot of rage from a self-ordained expert!  None of which addresses the obvious point that your statement that the Alapin "is a joke" is nothing but pompous hot air. Let's see: Nakamura, Ivanchuk, Mamedyarov, Grischuk, Shirov, Polgar, Krammnik, Adams, Karpov, and Vachier-Lagrave have all played the Alapin. But ThrillerFan says it's a joke. Who to trust? It's a dilemma, isn't it?

These guys have a great sense of humor - that's why they played a joke opening. 

"self-ordained" is also a joke - as 2000 is expert rating. Try playing some 2000 players to get a taste of it.