Sicilian Defence, Najdorf Variation
The Najdorf Variation ( ) of the Sicilian Defence is one of the most popular, reputable 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-Argentine grandmaster Miguel Najdorf, although he was not the first strong player to play the variation. Many players have relied on the Najdorf (notably Bobby Fischer and Garry Kasparov, although Kasparov would often transpose into a Scheveningen). The Najdorf begins: Black's 5...a6 aims to deny the b5-square to White's knights and  light-square bishop while maintaining flexible development. If Black plays 5...e5 immediately, then after 6.Bb5+ Bd7 (or 6...Nbd7 7.Nf5) 7.Bxd7+ Nbxd7 (or Qxd7) 8.Nf5, the knight on f5 is difficult to dislodge without concessions. Games in the Najdorf frequently feature opposite-side castling, where White castles long and both sides launch simultaneous attacks on their opponents' kings. Black usually plans a to pressure White's e4-pawn. This is often carried out by means of ...b5, ...Bb7, and placing a knight on d5, or c4 via b6. History and development. The Czech chess master Karel Opočenský  was the first to play the Najdorf, and in an attempt to have the variation named after him, claimed to have shown it to Miguel Najdorf himself. However, Najdorf was a stronger player and, with the help of other strong Argentinian players in the 1950s, deepened the analysis of the opening. He played it as early as 1939.it was Miguel who realized that in this position the move 5... a6 was always useful for Black. If it is not played on the fifth move it will be played on the seventh or the fourteenth. So then, being a practical person , he thought 'if you have to do something at 7:00AM or at 9:00 or at 10:00, better do it as soon as you get up, and get it over with'.Ironically, Najdorf would abandon the variation later when the theory developed to become very sophisticated:"Here comes some kid who's memorized the moves and he kills me. He arrives with his books, he gets me into something I don't know and Najdorf dies at the hands of the Najdorf Variation." So from then on he played something else. A Ruy Lopez as Black, something classic in which the other  had to know how to play chess to beat him.The old main line (6. Bg5) was an aggressive attempt by White to refute the opening and was studied intensely until the 1980s when it began to decline. Bobby Fischer, who called the Najdorf "one of the greatest creations in chess theory" favoured the Lipnitzky/Fischer attack (6. Bc4) for much of his career. He won numerous games with it as White, though in the following years counter-attacking approaches were found for Black that led to its decline, though a modern variation (7..Nbd7) caused a resurgence and it  appeared in the 1993 PCA World Championship match between Garry Kasparov and Nigel Short. Anatoly Karpov faced the Najdorf many times with the White pieces, and frequently opted for the Classical / Opočenský variation (6. Be2) (inspired by Efim Geller, who acted as Karpov’s second). The Classical variation aims to castle Kingside for a more positional game, which suited Karpov's style. He contributed both to the theory and the popularity of the variation while at his peak, finding ways to exploit the weakness of the d5 square created by the Black's move 6.. e5. Garry Kasparov would often  transpose to the Scheveningen (6... e6) to avoid this problem when the two competed for the World Championships. In the 1980s and 1990s, a number of English players (John Nunn, Nigel Short, and Murray Chandler) began using an approach previous tried against other Sicilian variations, such as the Dragon. The English Attack, named for them, involves 6. Be3, and often leads to opposite-side castling with both sides launching a simultaneous pawn storm on opposite sides of the board. This approach has become the modern mainline and is seen regularly at the highest level. Variations. Main line: 6. Bg5. Classical  Main line: 6...e6. The main move. In the early days of the Najdorf 7.Qf3 was popular, but the reply 7...h6 did not allow White to obtain any advantage. Nowadays, White players almost universally respond with the move: 7. f4. White threatens 8.e5, but Black has several options: Verbeterde List: 6...Nbd7. Historically speaking, this was the usual reply until the mid-1960s, when the rejoinder 7.Bc4 put the move "out of business". Recently, however, ideas have been found by some Dutch players who call this variation "De Verbeterde List" ("The Improved Stratagem"). The idea for Black is to postpone  ...e6 to retain more dynamic options (for example, to play ...e7–e5 in one move). The idea was tested by Petrosian, Belov, and others, but received popular attention and developed rapidly after use by Dutch player Lody Kuling in 2007. The most important developments include: English Attack: 6.Be3. This has become the modern main line. Since the early 1990s, the English Attack, 6.Be3 followed by f3, g4, Qd2 and 0-0-0 in some order, has become extremely popular and has been intensively analysed. Four lines are then usual for Black: Fischer–Sozin/Lipnitzky Attack: 6.Bc4. Introduced by Veniamin Sozin  in the 1930s, this received little attention until Fischer regularly adopted it, and it was a frequent guest at the 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. The Sozin has become less popular because of 7...Nbd7 where Black intends to follow up with ...Nc5 later. It is possible to avoid the 7...Nbd7 option with 7.0-0, but this cuts out the aggressive possibility of castling long. Classical/Opocensky Variation: 6.Be2. Because of the success of various players with these variations, 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. Another option is to play 6...Nbd7, in the spirit of The Verbeterde List; it is for this reason that this variation is called The Verbeterde List Unlimited. Amsterdam Variation: 6.f4. Some lines include: GM Daniel King recommends 6...g6 against the Amsterdam Variation, leading to a more defensive kingside pawn structure. The idea is to eventually counterattack on the g1–a7  diagonal with a move like ...Qb6, preventing White from castling. An example line would be 6...g6 7.Nf3 Bg7 8.a4 Nc6 (note 8...Nc6 as opposed to the usual Najdorf ...Nbd7, as c6 is a more flexible square for the knight with a queen on b6) 9.Bd3 Qb6. Adams Attack: 6.h3. Introduced by Weaver Adams during the middle of the twentieth century, this odd-looking pawn move has mostly been used as a surprise weapon to combat the Najdorf. Should Black continue with 6...e5 anyway, White can respond with 7.Nde2 following up with g4 and Ng3, fighting for the  weak light squares by playing g5. It is thus recommended that Black prevents g4 altogether with 7...h5. Black can also employ a Scheveningen setup with 6...e6 followed by 7.g4 b5 8.Bg2 Bb7, forcing White to lose more time by defending the e4-pawn, since ...b4 is a threat. It was not until early 2008 that an answer to Black was finally found. After 9.0-0 b4, White has the positional sacrifice 10.Nd5!, which gives Black long-term weaknesses and an open e-file for White to play on. Since then, it has been popular on all levels of  play. Other sixth moves for White. Beside the main lines mentioned above White has other options: 6.f3, 6.g3, and 6.a4 are less common, but are also respected responses to the Najdorf. Moves such as 6.Bd3, 6.Qf3, 6.Rg1 (the Petronic Attack), 6.Nb3, 6.a3, 6.h4, 6.Qe2, and 6.Qd3 are rarely played, but are not so bad and may be used for surprise value. Other rare moves include 6.g4, 6.Nf3, 6.b3, and 6.Bd2. Notable games. Shakhriyar Mamedyarov vs Boris Gelfand. 0-1. Candidates (2011), Kazan. Fischer-Sozin Attack: Flank Variation. After various sacrifices, Gelfand has six extra pawns for a rook. Sergey Karjakin  vs Viswanathan Anand. 0-1. Corus Group A (2006), Wijk aan Zee. English Attack. Anand sacrifices a knight and a bishop and Karjakin resigns with checkmate unstoppable. Michael Adams vs Garry Kasparov. 0-1. Linares (2005). English Attack. Both players attack simultaneously and Kasparov claimed later that it was important to let his opponent think he was winning. Wolfgang Unzicker vs Robert James Fischer. 0-1. Varna Olympiad Final-A (1962). Classical/Opočenský variation. A nineteen year old Fischer outplays his opponent in a more positional line.