Sicilian Defense, Velimirović Attack

The Velimirović Attack develops White's bishops to c4 and e3 and places the queen on e2. By leaving d1, the queen clears that square so queenside castling can place a rook there; it also supports pawn advances on the king's side and may contribute to threats against e6, f7, or along the diagonal toward h5. The setup combines the Sozin bishop with the d6-and-e6 pawn arrangement typical of the Scheveningen.

White's usual plan is to castle queenside, placing the king on c1 and the a1-rook on d1, move the other rook to g1, and advance the g-pawn to open the g-file, the vertical line from g1 to g8. White accepts that the king may face Black's queenside counterplay, meaning threats that force White to defend instead of attacking freely. The position often becomes a race: White attacks on the king's side while Black seeks ...b5, ...b4, pressure on the c-file, or pawn advances that open the center.

The setup alone is not enough

Bc4, Be3, and Qe2 are parts of a plan, not permission to sacrifice automatically. Before opening the kingside, White must check whether Black can play ...d5, exchange the c4-bishop, or open lines against the white king. Black should not defend passively either, because king safety often depends on creating counter-threats.

The Velimirović is more specific than the Sozin Attack. Every Velimirović contains the c4-bishop idea, but many Sozin positions do not include Be3, Qe2, queenside castling, or the same attacking race.