Sicilian Defense: Najdorf Variation

About this variation

Black plays 5...a6, a flexible move that prepares ...e5 or ...b5. It has been a favorite of world champions from Fischer to Kasparov and is one of the most deeply analyzed openings in chess.

The Najdorf arises after 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6. The quiet-looking pawn move does several jobs at once: it keeps White's knights and bishop off b5, prepares ...b5 to gain space on the queenside, and leaves Black free to choose between ...e5 and ...e6 depending on how White sets up. That flexibility is the reason the Najdorf has stayed at the top for more than seventy years.

White has many sixth moves, and each leads to a different kind of game; 6. Be3 and 6. Bg5 are by far the most played in master games. 6. Be3 followed by f3, Qd2 and castling queenside (the English Attack) aims for a kingside pawn storm with g4 and h4. 6. Bg5 is the sharpest try and includes the famous Poisoned Pawn line, where Black grabs b2 with the queen. 6. Be2 is calmer and more positional, 6. h3 prepares a quick g4 kingside advance, and 6. Bc4 (the Fischer-Sozin) aims straight at e6 and f7.

Black's plans revolve around the c-file and the queenside. After ...e5, Black gives up the d5 square in return for central control and quick development, and the fight often turns on whether White can plant a knight on d5. After ...e6, Black keeps a compact Scheveningen-style center and counterattacks with ...b5, ...Bb7 and ...Nbd7. In both cases the exchange sacrifice ...Rxc3, damaging White's pawns around the castled king, is a typical resource.

The Najdorf rewards study more than almost any other opening. Club players who adopt it should pick one set-up against each of White's main sixth moves and learn the typical plans rather than long forcing lines, because many opponents will leave theory early anyway.

It is one of the main lines of the Sicilian Defense.