Learn the Sicilian Najdorf

B90-B99 · a repertoire for black · 6 chapters · 63 annotated lines

"The fighting Sicilian of world champions"

The Najdorf Variation (1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6) is the most respected fighting defense to 1.e4 — the lifetime weapon of Fischer and Kasparov. The little move 5...a6 looks modest, but it takes b5 away from White's pieces and keeps every plan open: ...e5 to seize the center, ...b5 to storm the queenside, ...Qc7 and ...Nbd7 to coordinate behind the pawn chain. This course builds a coherent repertoire around the classical ...e5 structures: against the English Attack (6.Be3) you'll learn the full counterattacking machine — ...Be6, ...Be7, castle, then ...b5-b4 and ...a5 racing White's own g4 storm; against the quiet 6.Be2 and 6.g3 you'll learn the patient Opocensky plans with ...Be6, ...Nbd7 and queenside pressure; and against the sharp 6.Bg5 and 6.Bc4 you'll learn the exact, engine-checked main lines that have held up for seventy years. The deep chapters complete the weapon: the modern 6.h3 frozen by ...h5, the Amsterdam 6.f4 met by the ...Ne5 blockade, and clean equalizing recipes against the anti-Sicilians — the Moscow check, the Alapin and the Closed — that make up half of club practice. Play the Najdorf and you never sit back and defend — you fight for the win from move one.

What's inside

• Chapter 1: The English Attack — 6.Be3
  Lines: 6.Be3 e5 — The Counterattacking Setup, The Race: ...b5-b4 vs g4-g5, 6.f3 — Same Song, Different Verse, The Race in Full — 15.f5 and ...b3, 12.Nd5 — Refusing the Knight a Home, 6.Be3 8.f4 — The Early Break, 11.Kb1 — Prophylaxis, Same Race, 13.Nd5 — Trade and Simplify
• Chapter 2: Quiet Systems — 6.Be2 and 6.g3
  Lines: 6.Be2 — The Opocensky Variation, 6.g3 — The Fianchetto Treatment, The Opocensky Deep — Doubling on the c-file, 6.Be2 — The d5 Trade, 6.Be2 7.Nf3 — The Boleslavsky Knight, 6.Be2 — When White Skips a4, 6.g3 7.Nb3 — The Other Retreat, 6.g3 Deep — Freezing with ...a5, 6.g3 — White's 10.h3, 6.Be2 9.Bg5 — The Bishop Pair
• Chapter 3: The Sharp Tries — 6.Bg5 and 6.Bc4
  Lines: 6.Bg5 — The Classical Main Line, 6.Bc4 — The Fischer-Sozin Attack, 6.Bg5 — The Sharp 10.g4, 6.Bc4 Deep — ...Bf6 and ...Nc6, 6.Bc4 — The 9.f4 Sozin, 6.Bg5 8.Qd2 — The Positional Setup, 6.Bc4 7.O-O — Castling First, 6.Bc4 7.Bg5 — The Double-Bishop Setup
• Chapter 4: Modern Tries — 6.h3 and 6.f4
  Lines: 6.h3 — The Adams Attack and ...h5!, 6.f4 — The Amsterdam Variation, 6.f4 Deep — The e5 Blockade Holds, 6.f4 7.Nb3 — The Other Knight, 6.f4 8.Bc4 — Meeting the Bishop, 6.h3 7.Nb3 — Sidestepping ...h5, 6.h3 8.Ng3 — ...h4 Kicks Back, 6.h3 8.Bg5 — Answering the Pin with ...Be6
• Chapter 5: Beating the Anti-Sicilians
  Lines: The Moscow Check: 3.Bb5+, The Alapin: 2.c3 Met by 2...Nf6, The Closed Sicilian: 2.Nc3 and the Nd4 Plan, The Moscow Deep — ...Ne4 and the c-file, The Moscow 4.c4 — The Bind Declined, The Alapin Deep — Grinding d4, The Alapin 5.cxd4 — Trading Queens, The Closed Deep — ...Nd4 and ...Rb8, The Closed with 6.Be3, The Grand Prix Attack — 2.Nc3 and 3.f4, The Smith-Morra — Declining with ...Nf6, The Closed with 6.Nge2, The Wing Gambit — 2.b4
• Chapter 6: Rare Sixth Moves — 6.a4 and 6.Bd3
  Lines: 6.a4 — Stopping ...b5, 6.Bd3 — The Modest Bishop, 6.Bd3 with 7.Nf3 — The Boleslavsky Knight

Free sample: the main line, move by move

• 1. e4 — 1.e4 — White grabs the center.
• 1... c5 — The Sicilian! Instead of mirroring White with 1...e5, Black fights asymmetrically: the c-pawn trades itself for White's d-pawn, leaving Black with a central pawn majority and the half-open c-file to attack down. It is the highest-scoring reply to 1.e4 for a reason.
• 2. Nf3 — White develops and prepares d4.
• 2... d6 — Control e5 and open the diagonal for the c8 bishop. This flexible move keeps White guessing: Black might play ...e5, ...e6 or ...g6 depending on what White shows first.
• 3. d4 — The open Sicilian — White stakes the center.
• 3... cxd4 — Make the trade that defines the Sicilian: a wing pawn for a central pawn. Long-term, Black's extra central pawn and the open c-file promise real winning chances — that's why fighting players love this defense.
• 4. Nxd4 — The knight recaptures, centralized but also kickable.
• 4... Nf6 — Develop with a threat against e4. White is now forced to spend a move defending — the knight comes to c3, blocking the c-pawn from supporting the center.
• 5. Nc3 — White defends e4.
• 5... a6 — The Najdorf move! One quiet pawn move does three jobs: it takes b5 away from White's knights and bishop forever, prepares ...e5 without allowing Bb5+ annoyances, and starts the ...b5 expansion that drives Black's queenside play. Fischer and Kasparov built careers on it.
• 6. Be3 — The English Attack: White plans f3, Qd2, O-O-O and a kingside pawn storm.
• 6... e5 — Strike immediately! The pawn kicks the d4 knight to the passive b3 square and grabs a full share of the center. Yes, it leaves d5 as a hole — but White can never comfortably occupy it, and the space and activity Black gets are worth far more.
• 7. Nb3 — The knight retreats to its standard square.
• 7... Be6 — The bishop takes the key diagonal, covering the d5 hole and eyeing White's queenside — exactly where our attack is headed. In the English Attack, ...Be6 always comes before ...Be7: the c8 bishop has only one good square, so give it first pick.
• 8. f3 — White supports e4 and prepares the g4 storm.
• 8... Be7 — Complete kingside development. The bishop is modest on e7 but does everything needed: it covers the d6 pawn's neighbor squares, connects castling, and can later swing to g5 to trade off attackers.
• 9. Qd2 — White connects queen and bishop, ready to castle long.
• 9... O-O — Castle into the storm — on purpose. It looks brave, but this is hundred-year theory: White must spend many moves getting g4-g5 to bite, and Black's ...b5-b4 counterattack strikes the c1 king faster. Opposite-side castling means the faster attacker wins, and the Najdorf player is the faster attacker.
• 10. O-O-O — White castles long — the race is on.
• 10... Nbd7 — The last piece finds its home. From d7 the knight supports ...b5-b4, can jump to b6 to fight for c4 and d5, and keeps the f6 knight backed up. The setup is complete — everything from here is attack.

Learn the Sicilian Najdorf — start your 7-day free trial →