Ideas for Black in the sicilian Najdorf (6. Bg5)

Submitted by kingvsking on Tue, 08/19/2008 at 7:17am.

Hi everybody,

Having experienced troubles in the sicilian scheveningen (e4 c5 Nf3 d6 d4 cxd4 Nxd4 Nf6 Nc3 e6) against the Keres attack (g4), I have learnt a different variation of the sicilian, the najdorf. The Najdorf sicilian is one of the soundest, most dynamic openings in the whole of chess and there is plenty of room for creativity from both sides.

I would like to present an idea from Black's point of view which in my opinion is just as good as the main lines.

The line i will show occurs after one of the main lines...

Black here has a few options but the main move by far is e6, now the critical continuation is f4 after which I recommend the popular Qc7

Here white has many options, such as Bxf6, Qe2 and Bd3 none of which I will be covering as they are not so challenging for black. In this article i would like to present my idea after the critical move Qf3.

Here Black has a choice between Nbd7 and b5 but there is also a little tested but rather interesting variation beginning with Nc6!?

Since white's knight on d4 is a little loose, the move is logical as it places pressure on it. Here are some lines to justify my choice of Nc6!? The variations are contained in the move list

I hope i have provided an interesting answer to the Bg5 sicilian and look forward to hearing from everybody's feedback.

» posted in Opening Theory

| 657 reads | 10 comments |

1 vote:

Comments:

by kingvsking - 2 months ago
Reading United Kingdom

Member Since: Aug 2008
Member Points: 25

Thanks Konstantyn for the comment :)

by Konstantyn - 2 months ago
United States

Member Since: Jun 2008
Member Points: 39

a good article

by kingvsking - 2 months ago
Reading United Kingdom

Member Since: Aug 2008
Member Points: 25

Thanks for the comment EnGliSHCheSsPlAy! As requested, I will send u a pgn version of this :)

by EnGliSHCheSsPlAy - 2 months ago
Italy Italy

Member Since: Dec 2007
Member Points: 479

REALLY REALLY INTERESTING!

by kingvsking - 3 months ago
Reading United Kingdom

Member Since: Aug 2008
Member Points: 25

Thanks for the comment hicetnunc. The thread is rather interesting and proves that 6... e5 may not be so bad unless white plays precisely. Thanks for informing me of this thread

by hicetnunc - 3 months ago
Neuilly-sur-Seine France

Member Since: Aug 2007
Member Points: 762

This 6...e5 line against 6.Bg5 is discussed in another thread, though I agree with kingvsking's analysis and conclusion.

Thread about 6.Bg5 e5

by kingvsking - 3 months ago
Reading United Kingdom

Member Since: Aug 2008
Member Points: 25

Thanks for the comment junelorena. e5 is quite a popular move against many systems in the najdorf such as Be3 and Be2. The struggle then revolves around control of the d5 square. If white can take control of this square and for example, establish a knight there, he will be doing well. However black does have good resources in these lines. The problem with e5 against Bg5 is the Bg5 is pressurising the knight on f6 which controls the d5 square. After 6.. e5 7.Bxf6 white gets a good game.. see my analysis in the moves list :)

Hope this is useful,

James

by junelorena - 3 months ago
Quezon City Philippines

Member Since: Aug 2008
Member Points: 11

when my oponent move, my autmatic move was 6...e5 - threatening the knight and opening diagonal for my bishop. my queen moves to d7 after i develop my bishop to e6, then rook on c8. castling can be made between those moves. the najdorf, 5...a6 - simply stops the knights and bishop moving to b5 square. but for me, in my point of view, the struggle is within the e4 pawn, from which can be delayed by stoping it to move. and claim the center later in the game.

by kingvsking - 3 months ago
Reading United Kingdom

Member Since: Aug 2008
Member Points: 25

thanks for the comment :)

by Variable - 3 months ago
New York United States

Member Since: Aug 2008
Member Points: 147

Hurray for the Najdorf! This is an interesting line ... The 8...nc6 line seems like a solid choice for black.

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