Najdorf Sicilian Analysis Center.

The Najdorf Variation arises after 1 e4 c5 [The Sicilian Defense.] 2 Nf3 d6 3 d4

[This is the "Open" Sicilian. Although the idea of the Sicilian is to prevent White from establishing the pawn duo on
e4/d4 by cutting down White's center d-pawn for Black's wing c-pawn, the Open Sicilian is considered White's most
aggressive line, as White gets quick development as compensation for Black's mass of central pawns.] cxd4 4 Nxd4
Nf6 5 Nc3 a6!
[This is the characteristic move popularized by Miguel Najdorf and refined into a feared weapon in the hands of
Bobby Fischer and Garry Kasparov. Technically the idea is to prepare the space-gaining ... e7-e5; 5 ... e5 is not very
good because of 6 Bb5+ and White will get a knight to f5. Also, now b5 is forever denied to White's knights,
enabling the move ... e7-e5 as it will be much harder to exert pressure against the resulting backward d-pawn on d6.
However, Black usually only follows up with 6 ... e7-e5 after 6th moves by White such as 6 Be2, 6 g3, 6 Bd3 or 6
h3, which do not directly impact on the battle for d5. On 6 Bc4 (controlling d5) or 6 Bg5 (potentially pinning the f6
knight which defends d5), Black should play 6 ... e6, not 6 ... e5. Other important 6th moves by White are 6 f4 and 6
Be3, in which case Black has the choice between the thematic Najdorf 6 ... e5, and transposing to the Scheveningen
Variation (also included in this Analysis Center) with 6 ... e6. Very tricky is 6 a4, after which Black should probably
play 6 ... e6, because after 6 ... e5 7 Nf3, White is ready to bring both bishops to the d5-impacting squares c4 and g5
- the point of 6 a4 was to prohibit the typical Black expansion ... b7-b5.]
The 1995 Kasparov-Anand World Championship match saw Vishy Anand obtain fair success with the "quiet" 6 Be2
e6 [transposing to a Scheveningen] 7 O-O Be7 8 a4 Qc7 9 f4 system. White's most ambitious anti-Najdorf system is
6 Bg5 e6 7 f4, after which Black can choose: 7 ... Be7 (the main line), 7 ... Qb6 (the Poisoned Pawn), 7 ... b5 (the
Polugaevsky), 7 ... Qc7 (a risky line Kasparov has experimented with) and 7 ... Nc6 (a little-known line in this exact
position).

The 6 Bc4 Variation

Our first game is a fierce battle. The topic of discussion was 6 Bc4, which Fischer himself used when facing the
Najdorf. Players often seek to revitalize previously discarded lines both for their surprise value and for creative
reasons. In the game between U.S. Junior Champion Boris Kreiman and his Canadian counterpart Alexander
Lesiege from the Enhance International held at the Marshall CC in October 1994, Lesiege played a line which had
been relegated to the junk heap ever since Fischer played it against Tal in 1961!. In that game, Tal dangerously
snatched a center pawn, and though he later won the game, this was generally attributed to his magical or hypnotic
abilities.
Kreiman - Lesiege 1 e4 c5 2 Nf3 d6 3 d4 cd 4 Nd4 Nf6 5 Nc3 e6 6 Bc4 [Nigel Short's dramatic near wins in the 6
Bc4 Najdorf against Kasparov have really bolstered the variation. Here, however, Black has played not the Najdorf 5
... a6 but the Scheveningen 5 ... e6. One of the advantages of this move order is that Black can quickly park the
queen's knight on c5 via a6, while developing the kingside. Because the knight never passes through d7, White does
not get the chance to sac on e6. E.g., 6 ... Be7 7 O-O O-O 8 Bb3 (8 f4 d5) Na6!, etc.] a6 7 Bb3 b5 [Against Short,
Kasparov continually resorted to the unusual 7 ... Nbd7.] 8 f4 [Lately 8 O-O Be7 9 Qf3 has become more popular.
DeFirmian - Browne, U.S. Championship 1989, a battle between two great exponents of the Najdorf Variation,
continued 9 ... Qc7 10 Qg3 Nc6 11 Nxc6 Qxc6 12 Re1 O-O 13 Bh6 Ne8 14 Nd5 Bd8, and Nick introduced Danny
Olim's 15 Re3 DIAGRAM which sets the trap 15 ... Bb7 16 Rc3 Qd7 17 Rc7!! Note that after 8 O-O Bb7 9 Re1 is
uncomfortable for Black because 9 ... Be7 is crushed by 10 Bxe6.] b4?! [The old main line is 8 ... Be7 9 O-O O-O
10 e5 dxe5 11 fxe5 Nfd7 12 Qh5 Nc6! 13 Nxc6 Qb6+. In this line Black can also try 9 ... Bb7 with the idea 10 e5
dxe5 11 fxe5 Bc5 12 Be3 Bxd4! (stronger than 12 ... Nc6 13 exf6 Bxd4 14 Qe1) 13 Bxd4 Nc6 with equality. Then
10 Be3, threatening 11 Bxe6 fe 12 Nxe6, as there will be no check on b6, has gotten good results, although Black
came out on top in Borkowski - Wojtkiewicz, Poland 1989 after 10 ... b4 (not 10 ... Nxe4 11 f5 e5 12 Ne6) 11 e5
(interesting is 11 Na4 O-O 12 Bxe6) bc 12 ef Bxf6 13 Ba4+ Nd7 14 f5 O-O! Note that this is a rare opening in
which the e-pawn always seems to be poisoned; in most openings a center pawn is worth a little trouble.] 9 Na4
Nxe4 10 O-O Bb7 [Is this the home-cooked preparation? in My 60 Memorable Games, 10 ... g6, which Tal played,
was pronounced the only move, although Fischer proceeded with 11 f5! gxf5 12 Nxf5! with a very strong attack,
which he later misplayed.] 11 f5 e5 12 Ne6 [All according to the Fischer recipe.] Qe7 [Fairly gruesome is 12 ... fxe6
13 Qh5+ Kd7 14 fxe6+ Kc8 15 Be3; let's spare the details. Lesiege's idea is based on the premise that 12 Ne6 was a

passive sacrifice that need not be accepted immediately.] 13 Nb6 [White may still have a strong attack after this, but
another good method was the cautious and prosaic 13 Nxf8! After 13 ... Kxf8 (13 ... Rxf8 runs into 14 Nb6 and 15
Ba4+) 14 Nb6, Black is experiencing a lot of difficulties and only has one pawn to show for it; 14 ... Ra7 15 Be3 and
the experiment has flopped. Instead, Kreiman opts to continue the direct assault.]

The 6 f4 Variation
Anand - Kasparov Tilburg 1991, Rd. 12 B93
1 e4 c5 2 Nf3 d6 3 d4 cd 4 Nd4 Nf6 5 Nc3 a6 6 f4 e6 [A critical line against the 6 f4 system is 6 ... e5 7 Nf3 Nbd7
with variations such as 8 Bc4 b5, or 8 a4 d5!?] 7 Bd3 Nbd7 8 O-O Qb6 [This move may be overly sharp but Black
is passively placed after 8 ... Be7 9 Kh1. If 8 ... Qb6 is no good, Black would probably have to ditch 7 ... Nbd7 also
and play 7 ... Nc6 instead.] 9 Be3 Qb2 10 Ndb5! ab 11 Nb5 Ra5 [In DeFirmian - Gheorghiu, Lone Pine 1980 11 ...
Qb4 worked out badly after 12 Nc7+ Ke7 13 Nxa8 Qa5 14 e5. Even worse would be 12 ... Kd8 13 Nxa8 Qa5 14
Nb6! Nxb6 15 Qe1!] 12 Rb1 Rb5! [The point. 12 ... Qxa2 13 Nc3 Qa3 14 Rb3 was impossible.] 13 Rb2 Rb2 [So
far Black has a rook and two minors for the queen but White's next will recover an Exchange.] 14 Qa1 Rb6 [Forget
about 14 ... Rb4? 15 Qc3.] 15 Bb6 Nb6 [The key position. Black has 3 pieces for the queen, and if he can stabilize
by getting a knight to c5 or by taking advantage of White's weak dark squares, then he will have a good game.] 16
Qc3! [Anand targets the uncoordinated queenside minors.] Be7 17 Rb1 [Accurate. 17 Qc7 leads nowhere after 17 ...
Nfd7 18 Rb1 0-0 19 Rb6? Bd8!]

The 6 Bg5 Variation

ICE COLD DEFENSE
A rule of thumb is that, in the World Open, one needs to score 7 out of 9 to get into the winner's circle. This year,
that score was good for a seven-way tie for second place and $1943. One of the last-round pairings between players
with 6 points was Ferdinand Hellers vs. Igor Ivanov. The players entered one of the most complicated subvariations
of the Najdorf. Hellers proceeded to sacrifice a bishop in a frontal assault against Ivanov's uncastled king. But
Ivanov was unfazed, and insisted on defending actively. Soon Hellers sacked, or lost, an additional Exchange. In any
case, the attack seemed to be breaking through. But the unflappable Ivanov threw back the extra rook in order to get
the queens off the board. Suddenly, Hellers was up a pawn. But his pieces were woefully unprepared for the pawn
race which ensued.
Hellers, F. - Ivanov, I, World Open 1992 B97
1 e4 c5 2 Nf3 d6 3 d4 cxd4 4 Nxd4 Nf6 5 Nc3 a6 6 Bg5 [Hellers selects the sharpest continuation, probably because
Ivanov is known more as a natural player than as a theoretician.] e6 7 f4 Qc7 [Less often played than 7 ... Qb6 (the
Poisoned Pawn), 7 ... Be7 (the main line), or 7 ... b5 (the Polugaevsky) but just as complicated. Kasparov's adoption
of 7 ... Qc7 has led to a renewed investigation of systems which dispense with the early ... Be7.] 8 Qf3 [A solid
alternative is 8 Bxf6 gxf6 9 Be2. At Tilburg 1989, Ivanchuk and Ljubojevic both tried 8 Qe2!? against Kasparov, but
Black's position was reasonable after 8 ... Nc6! 9 O-O-O Nxd4 10 Rxd4 Be7.] Nbd7 [Generally considered a little
too risky is 8 ... b5 in view of 9 f5! or 9 O-O-O b4 (more reliable is 9 ... Bb7) 10 e5 Bb7 11 Ncb5 Qb8 12 Qh3!] 9 OO-O b5 [Black could still have transposed back to the main line with 9 ... Be7 10 g4, etc.] 10 Bxb5 [It is reasonable
to seek a sacrificial solution before Black gets ... Bb7 in. But out of control would be 10 e5 Bb7 11 Qh3 dxe5 12
Nxe6: after 12 ... fxe6 13 Qxe6+ Be7 14 Nxb5!? axb5 15 Bxb5 O-O-O! Black is fine.] axb5 11 e5 [It does not seem
to matter whether White plays this move or Nxb5 first.] Bb7 12 Ndxb5 Qb6! [In Korsunskij - Konovalov, USSR
1977, Black lost after 12 ... Qc8 13 Qe2 dxe5 14 fxe5 Nd5 15 Ne4 Qc6? (forced was 15 ... Ra6) 16 Rxd5! The text
keeps the queen active.] 13 Qe2 h6!! [Better than 13 ... dxe5 14 fxe5 Nd5 15 Ne4 (not 15 Nxd5 Bxd5 16 Rxd5?!
exd5 17 e6 Nf6!) Be7 16 Ned6+ Kf8 17 Bxe7+ Kxe7 18 Rhf1.] 14 Bxf6 [A tough decision. On 14 exf6 hxg5 15
fxg7 Bxg7 the active dark-squared bishop is more consequent than the loss of the d-pawn. In this line, White can try,
after 14 exf6 hxg5, 15 f5, but then the cold-blooded 15 ... Nxf6! 16 fxe6 Be7 holds.] gxf6 15 Nxd6+ Bxd6 16 Rxd6
Qb4! 17 Qd2 [The pressure on the f-pawn was quite inconvenient for White. Hellers chooses the only line which
maintains the initiative. If instead 17 Rhd1, then Black obtains nasty threats with 17 ... Qxf4+ 18 Kb1 Nxe5! 19
Qb5+ Bc6 20 Rxc6 O-O.] 17 Qd2 Nb6 18 a3 [Not 18 Rd1 O-O and 19 a3 can be met by 19 ... Rxa3.] Qa5 19 Qd4
Nc8
fe6 14 fe Nf6 15 Bg5?! [Since grabbing the Exchange on a8 would not restore material equality, Kreiman correctly
presses on, but the game shows that the text was inaccurate, as it is not easy to increase meaningful pressure on f6.

More incisive was 15 Be3!, as after 15 ... Nc6 the quiet 16 c3! leaves Black in a quandary facing an eventual Nb6-d5
and Rf1-f7, e.g. 16 ... Qc7 17 Rxf6 gxf6 18 Qh5+ and 19 Nd5. Also, the dubious-looking 15 ... Ra7 gets flattened by
16 Nd7 Ra8 17 Nxf6+ gxf6 18 Qh5+ Kd8 19 Bb6+! Kc8 20 Rxf6 Rg8 21 Rf7. Black's best after 15 Be3 may be
15 ... Qc7, trying to get 16 ... Be7 in. Again, 16 c3 looks simple and strong. Not quite good enough would be 16
Rxf6 gxf6 17 Qh5+ Kd8 18 Nc4 looking for 18 ... Qe7 19 Bb6+ Kc8 20 Nxd6+!, because Black has 18 ... Qc6!] Ra7
16 Qe2 [Covering g2 and connecting the rooks. Another idea was to open a second front with 16 c3.] Qc7! 17 Nd7!
Be7! [Leseige has carefully planned his emergence from the bind. He avoids opening lines for his opponent with
17 ... Nbxd7 18 exd7+ Qxd7 (or 18 ... Kxd7 19 Rxf6 gxf6 20 Qg4+) 19 Rxf6 gxf6 20 Qh5+. By leaving the e6 pawn
on the board, Black preserves the option of playing Rh8-g8. Thus, after 18 Nxf6+ gxf6 19 Bxf6 Bxf6 20 Rxf6 Rg8,
Black is doing very well.] 18 Be3! [On the consistent 18 Nxf6+ gxf6 19 Rxf6 Rg8! 20 Qh5+ Kd8 21 Raf1, keeping
the drumbeat of the attack moving, a real downer is 21 ... Qc6, exploiting White's overloaded pieces. Then 22 Rf8+
is calmly met by 22 ... Kc7, and it's over.] Be4 [The unique double defense to the twin menaces of 19 Bxa7 or 19
Rxf6 followed by 20 Qh5+ and 21 Bb6: now the Black queen guards the rook and the bishop guards the g6 square.]
19 Bxa7 Qxa7+ 20 Kh1 d5 21 Nxb8 [A more irritating way for White to handle the position was 21 Ba4! Nbxd7+ 22
exd7+ Kd8 (or the bizarre 22 ... Kf7 23 Qh5+ Ke6 23 Qh3+ Kd6) 23 c4, and despite Black's material advantage, it is
not clear he stands better.] Qxb8 22 Ba4+ Kf8 23 Qh5 [Kreiman was dissatisfied with the situation after 23 Qxa6
g6.] Bg6 24 Qg5 Kg8 25 Bb3 Be4 26 c4 bc 27 bc h6 28 Qh4 Qb7 [Understandably setting up the diagonal battery,
but it was better to preoccupy the White queen with 28 ... Qd6 29 Qh3 Kh7 followed by Rh8-c8 and Black assumes
firm control.] 29 Rae1 Kh7 30 Qg3 Qc7 31 c4 [Breaking up the Black center was an important achievement.] dc 32
Rc1 Bg6 33 Rc4 Qd6 34 Rd1 Qb6 [Of course not 34 ... Qxe6?? 35 Rc7 but 34 ... Qb8 was still possible.] 35 Qe5 Rf8
36 h3 Rd8 [The rook hasn't served a useful purpose all game, so he dispenses with it.] 37 Rcd4 Rd4 38 Qd4 Bc5 39
Qd8 Qb4! [With the queens off, Black would have no winning chances. WIth them on, Black can blockade e7 and
possibly work up a dark square attack.] 40 Qd2 Qh4 DIAGRAM 41 Bc2 [Knight incursions were threatened on e4
and g4.] Ne4! 42 Be4 Be4 43 Kh2 [The only other defence of h3, 43 Qc3, loses to 43 ... Qf2.] Qf6 44 Rc1 [A better
try was 44 Re1! and if 44 ... Qe5+ 45 g3 (not 45 Kh1 Bd6).] Bf2! [Now Black is angling to get his queen to g3.] 45
Kh1 Qf5 46 Rc3 Ba7! 47 e7 [White is lost anyway after 47 Qe2 Qxe6. Qf1+ 48 Kh2 Bf2 0 - 1
Nfd7 [Forced. 17 ... Bd8 18 Qd4 would be deflating.] 18 Qg7 Bf6 19 Qh6 [White's payoff has been the capture of
the g-pawn and it was time to reevaluate the position. Black has activated the dark-squared bishop but still has
problems with his knights. Kasparov said he should have played 19 ... Rg8 which stops White's plan g4-g5. But then
20 Bb5 still seems strong.] Ke7 20 Bb5 [Best was 20 g4! (Kasparov) Then 20 ... Rg8 21 g5 Bg7 22 Qh4 (Not 22
Qxh7?? Bd4+ and 23 ... Rh8) with a big advantage.] Rg8? [Also bad was 20 ... Nc5? 21 e5 dxe5 22 fxe5 Bxe5 23
Qg5+. Now was the moment to stabilize with 20 ... e5! (Kasparov) White cannot allow Black to post the bishop at
e5, so he must play 21 f5. Then 21 ... Nc5 hits the e-pawn and Black has time to organize a coherent defence. Note
that 20 ... Bd4+ 21 Kh1 e5 fails to 22 Qh4+ Nf6 23 c3!] 21 Rd1 e5 [It was too late for 21 ... Nc5 22 e5 dxe5 23 fxe5
Bxe5 24 Qh4+ Bf6 25 Qb4 (Ftacnik)] 22 f5 Nc5? [23 Qd2 was the threat, and Ftacnik's recommendation 22 ... Na8
does not help. The best try was 22 ... Rd8 23 g4 Nc5! (Black is helpless after 23 ... Rg8 24 h3 as 24 ... d5? 25 exd5
Bg5 26 Qxh7 Nf6 loses to 27 d6+ and White again threatens 25 Qd2) 24 g5 Nxe4 25 gxf6+ Nxf6 with a bizarre
situation where Black has only two knights for the queen but some counterplay (Kasparov).] 23 Rd6! [Now Anand
mops up incisively.] Bg5 [Black falls apart on 23 ... Kxd6 24 Qxf6+] 24 Qh7 Ne4 25 Rb6 25 Rd8 26 Bd3 [Shutting
down all counterplay.] 26 Be3+ 27 Kf1 Bb6 28 Be4 Rd4 29 c3 1 - 0
20 exf6!? [A tempting combination, and the rook was in trouble anyway. Probably better was 20 Rd7! Bc6 21 Rd1
O-O! (not the greedy 21 ... Bxd7? 22 Qxd7+ Kf8 23 exf6 Na7 24 Rd3!! Rh7 25 Rg3 Qd8 - 25 ... Qc5 26 b4 - 26
Qb7) 22 Rd8 with a complex position.] Nxd6 21 Qxd6 Qd8 22 Qb4 Bc6 [Keeping the knight out of e4 and b5 as
long as possible.] 23 Qc5 [Designed to set up a pin on the bishop, and activate his knight. Now 23 ... Ra6? and 23 ...
Qc7? both lose to 24 Nb5.] Rc8 24 Rd1 Qxf6 25 Nb5 [The vicious check on d6 is coming - 25 ... Qe7 26 Nd6+ Kf8
27 Qc3 wins.] Qxf4+ 26 Kb1 Qg5!! [Black can afford to give back the whole rook, as in the ending his rook on h8
will become a monster!] 27 Nd6+ Kf8 28 Qxg5 [White will be a pawn up after this, but his pieces will be
disorganized in the coming battle of majorities. 28 Qc3 would recover the material without activating Black's
remaining rook, although White's queenside pawn structure will be ruined, and after 28 ... Qg7 (not 28 ... Ke7 29
Qb4) 29 Nxc8 Qxc3 30 bxc3 Bxg2 Black stands better.] hxg5 29 Nxc8 Rxh2 30 g3 f5 31 Nd6 g4 [A classic example
of the superiority of the bishop over the knight when pawns are on opposite sides of the board. Ivanov plans to either
sac the f-pawn to free the g-pawn, or to win the g-pawn with his rook.] 32 Re1 f4! 33 gxf4 g3 34 Nc4 g2 35 Ne3

Rh3! [It is critical to retain rooks on the board, so that Black's more active pieces can win the White f-pawn and
restrain the queenside pawns. Pointless would be 35 ... Rh1? 36 Nxg2 Bxg2 37 Rxh1 Bxh1 38 c4, etc.] 36 Nxg2
Bxg2 37 Kc1 [He was never threatening the e-pawn: 37 Rxe6?? Rh1+ 38 Ka2 Bd5+.] Kf7 38 Rd1 Rh4 39 Rd4 Kf6
40 a4 [Finally White tries to get his pawns moving, but it is much too late.] Kf5 41 a5 e5 42 Rd2 Rh1+ 43 Rd1 exf4
44 Rxh1 Bxh1 45 Kd2 Kg4 0 - 1