Sicilian Defence, Najdorf Variation

This article uses algebraic notation to describe chess moves.

Sicilian Defence, Najdorf Variation
Moves	1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6
ECO	B90-B99
Named after	Miguel Najdorf
Parent	Sicilian Defence
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The Najdorf Variation^[1] of the Sicilian Defence is one of the most respected and deeply studied of all chess openings. Modern Chess Openings calls it the Cadillac or Rolls Royce of chess openings. The opening is named after the Polish-Argentinian Grandmaster Miguel Najdorf.

It begins thus:

1. e4 c5

2. Nf3 d6

3. d4 cxd4

4. Nxd4 Nf6

5. Nc3 a6

Black's fifth move, ...a6, aims to deny White the b5 square to his knights and light-squared bishop while maintaining flexibility in development.

Black's plan is usually to start a minority attack on the queenside and exert pressure on White's e4 pawn, which will often carried out by means of ...b5, ...Bb7, and putting a knight on c5.

Variations

The most common responses to the Najdorf are 6. Bg5 and 6. Be3, while 6. Be2 and 6.Bc4 also have their adherents. The moves 6. f4 and 6. g3 are less common, but are also respected responses to the Najdorf.

Main Line

The sharpest response by White is an immediate 6.Bg5 (Main Line or Old Main Line), after which 6....Nbd7 was the usual reply until the mid-1960s, with the rejoinder 7.Bc4 putting the line out of business. As a result, this main line was generally countered by 6...e6 7.f4, hoping to exploit the pin on the knight. The simplest response by Black is 7...Be7, when the main line continues 8.Qf3 Qc7 9.0-0-0 Nbd7, and now 10.g4 or 10.Bd3. 8...h6 9.Bh4 g5 is the infamous Argentine (Goteborg) Variation, so named for the Swedish town where the variation was first played simultaneously by three Argentine players in 1955 when facing three Soviet grandmasters in the Interzonal. In this experiment, the three Argentine players lost and the line was, for a while, considered refuted. 10.fxg5 Nfd7 (Black aims to route a knight to e5, and then back it up by a knight at d7 or c6). 11.Nxe6! was found by Efim Geller. 11...fxe6 12.Qh5+ Kf8 13.Bb5 and here two of three Argentine Tragedy games continued 13...Ne5, with the third deviating by 13...Kg7. It was only in 1958 that Bobby Fischer introduced the defensive resource 13...Rh7, versus Svetozar Gligoric at the Portoroz Interzonal, in a critical last-round game. Modern theory has the line analyzed to a draw at best for White.

However, Black's most popular choice at master level is 7...Qb6!?, which can lead to the extremely complicated Poisoned Pawn Variation: 8. Qd2 Qxb2 9. Rb1 (or the less common 9.Nb3) 9...Qa3. Black is up a pawn but somewhat underdeveloped: however, his pieces can quickly become mobile and his position is not easy for White to breach. Grandmasters Kiril Georgiev and Atanas Kolev, on page 10 of their 2007 book on the Najdorf The Sharpest Sicilian, state "For many years 6.Bg5 has been supposed to be the potential buster of the Najdorf, but nowadays it is seldom seen at the highest level. That is due to the so-called Poisoned Pawn Variation . . . ." In their opinion the line leads to a draw with best play, as in Vallejo Pons-Kasparov, Moscow 2004,^[2] which they state "will probably remain the last word of theory in that line . . . . " (page 11).

Other well-known replies to 7.f4 include 7...Qc7, championed by Garry Kasparov and Boris Gelfand, 7...Nbd7, the risky 7...Nc6!?, and 7...b5, the ultra-sharp Polugaevsky Variation.^[3]

English Attack

This has become the modern main line. Since the early 1990s, the English Attack (6.Be3 followed by f2-f3, g2-g4, Qd2 and 0-0-0 in some order) has become extremely popular and has been intensively analysed, although 6...Ng4!? has cast a shadow on its use following Garry Kasparov's successful utilization of it. However, White players who wish to avoid 6... Ng4!? can play 6.f3, transposing into the English Attack. On the other hand, if white plays 6. Be3, white has the potential to play into the Perenyi attack if Black follows up with 6... e6, as White is able to push g2-g4 immediately without having to play f2-f3. The Perenyi attack leads to ultra sharp and very complex positions.

Fischer-Sozin Attack

Introduced by Veniamin Sozin in the 1930s, this received little attention until Fischer regularly adopted it and it was a frequent guest at top level through the 1970s. White plays 6. Bc4 with the idea of playing against f7, so Black counters with 6... e6 7.Bb3 b5.

Classical

Because of the success of various players with these variations (notably Bobby Fischer and Garry Kasparov), White often plays 6. Be2 and goes for a quieter, more positional game, whereupon Black has the option of transposing into a Scheveningen Variation by playing 6...e6 or keeping the game in Najdorf lines by playing 6...e5.

See also

• List of chess openings
• List of chess openings named after people

References

The Wikibook Chess Opening Theory has a page on the topic of Sicilian Najdorf

Further reading

• O'Kelly de Galway, Albéric (1969). The Sicilian Flank Game (Najdorf Variation). Batsford. ISBN 9780713403510. 
• Geller, Efim; Gligoric, Svetozar; Kavalek, Lubomir; Spassky, Boris (1976). The Najdorf Variation of the Sicilian Defense. RHM Press. ISBN 0890580251. 
• Stean, Michael (1976). Sicilian, Najdorf. Batsford. ISBN 0713400986. 
• Adams, Jimmy (1977). Main Line Najdorf. The Chess Player. ISBN 0900928905. 
• Adams, Jimmy (1977). Najdorf Poisoned Pawn. The Chess Player. ISBN 0906042070. 
• Adams, Jimmy (1978). Sicilian Najdorf Polugaevsky Variation. The Chess Player. ISBN 0906042097. 
• Nunn, John (1999). Complete Najdorf: Modern Lines. Sterling Pub Co Inc. ISBN 0713482184. 
• Kosten, Tony; Gormally, Danny (1999). Easy Guide to the Najdorf. Everyman Chess. ISBN 1857445295. 
• King, Daniel (2002). Winning With the Najdorf. Sterling Pub Co Inc. ISBN 0713470372. 
• Emms, John (2003). Play the Najdorf: Scheveningen Style. Everyman Chess. ISBN 1-85744-323-3. 
• de Firmian, Nick; Fedorowicz, John (2004). The English Attack. Sterling. ISBN 978-0945806141. 
• Gallagher, Joe (2006). Starting Out: Sicilian Najdorf. Everyman Chess. ISBN 978-1857443929. 
• Palliser, Richard (2007). Starting Out: Scilian Najdorf. Everyman Chess. ISBN 978-1-85744-601-2. 

External links

• Najdorf Variation at ChessGames.com
• Sicilian Defense Najdorf Variation, English Attack (B90) - Openings - Chess.com