- The moves1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6
- OpeningSicilian Defense
- Chosen byBlack
- ECOB90–B99
- Also calledthe Najdorf
The Najdorf Variation comes after 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6. The pawn on a6 takes the b5 square away from White's knights and bishop. Black can then play …e5 later without White answering with a check on b5, and at the same time prepares …b5. It is one of the most deeply analyzed of all openings. The American opening book Modern Chess Openings calls it the Cadillac or the Rolls-Royce of openings.
The name comes from the Polish-Argentine grandmaster Miguel Najdorf, but he wasn't the first. Players were already trying 5…a6 in the 1920s, and the Czech master Karel Opočenský was among the first to combine it with …e5. Najdorf played it as early as 1937, and in the 1950s he deepened the analysis together with other Argentine players. Bobby Fischer called the variation “one of the greatest creations in chess theory,” and Garry Kasparov and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave are among the many top players who have built on it.
In the end Najdorf himself stopped playing it. The theory had grown so deep that young players who had learned the moves by heart could beat him with his own variation. “Najdorf dies at the hands of the Najdorf Variation,” he said, according to his daughter Liliana Najdorf's book about him. From then on he chose something classical, where the other player had to know how to play chess to win.
The main line, move by move
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Be3 e5 7. Nb3 Be6 8. f3 Be7 9. Qd2 O-O 10. O-O-O Nbd7 11. g4 b5 12. g5 b4
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The plans
White wants to
- In the English Attack: f3, Qd2, castling queenside and a pawn storm with g4 and g5.
- Once Black has played …e5: take control of the d5 square, ideally with a knight there.
- Once Black has played …e6: aim the bishop at e6 and f7 from c4 or b3.
Black wants to
- Play on the queenside with …b5, …Bb7 and the half-open c-file.
- Bring a knight to d5, or to c4 by way of b6.
- Choose the center to suit White's setup: …e5 for space, …e6 for a compact, flexible position.
The pawn structure
After …e5 Black has two center pawns, on d6 and e5, against White's single pawn on e4. That is Black's plus. The minus is the d5 square: no black pawn can cover it any more, and the pawn on d6 becomes backward. That is why the game so often revolves around d5. White wants a knight there; Black wants to cover the square with pieces, or to play …d5.
With …e6 instead, Black's pawns stand on d6 and e6, as in the Scheveningen. The center is smaller but more solid, and d5 is covered.
Important lines
6.Bg5 and the Poisoned Pawn
Until the 1980s, 6.Bg5 was the main line and White's great attempt to refute the Najdorf. After 6…e6 7.f4 White prepares e5. One of Black's sharpest answers is 7…Qb6: the queen attacks b2 and takes the pawn after 8.Qd2, far away from its own king. That is the Poisoned Pawn Variation. White gets a big lead in development, but Black can often hold, and several of White's tries are considered to lead to a draw with best play. Among club players 6.Bg5 is still the most common move, as the numbers further down show. With 7…Be7 8.Qf3 h6 9.Bh4 g5 instead, it becomes the Göteborg Variation.
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Bg5 e6 7. f4 Qb6 8. Qd2 Qxb2 9. Rb1 Qa3
6.Be2: the Classical Variation
With 6.Be2 White aims for kingside castling and a calmer, positional game. It is also called the Opočenský Variation. Anatoly Karpov often chose it with White and showed how White can exploit the hole on d5 after 6…e5. So when he and Garry Kasparov met in their world championship matches, Kasparov often answered 6…e6 and transposed to the Scheveningen.
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Be2 e5 7. Nb3 Be7 8. O-O O-O
6. Be2
White develops quietly and prepares kingside castling.
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6.Bc4: the Sozin Attack
The bishop aims at e6 and f7. Veniamin Sozin introduced the move in the 1930s, but it got little attention until Bobby Fischer took it up regularly and won many games with it. In master games Black often answers 6…e6 and, after 7.Bb3, 7…b5. The line became rarer as Black found good ways to hit back, among them 7…Nbd7 with the plan …Nc5.
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Bc4 e6 7. Bb3 b5 8. O-O Be7
6. Bc4
The bishop aims at Black's kingside through e6 and f7.
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How it goes in real games
How the games ended once they had reached the positions, in blitz, rapid and classical games. White wins, draws and Black wins, as a percentage of the games. A position counts however the game got there.
| Position | Level | Games | White wins | Draw | Black wins |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Najdorf Variation 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 | Club players | 17,315,826 | 48% | 5% | 47% |
| Strong players | 7,971,691 | 48% | 5% | 46% | |
| Najdorf Variation, main line 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Be3 e5 7. Nb3 Be6 8. f3 Be7 9. Qd2 O-O 10. O-O-O | Club players | 242,057 | 49% | 4% | 47% |
| Strong players | 156,065 | 47% | 5% | 48% | |
| 6.Bg5 and the Poisoned Pawn 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Bg5 e6 7. f4 Qb6 | Club players | 172,719 | 47% | 5% | 48% |
| Strong players | 135,468 | 47% | 5% | 48% | |
| 6.Be2: the Classical Variation 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Be2 e5 7. Nb3 Be7 8. O-O | Club players | 173,587 | 46% | 6% | 48% |
| Strong players | 110,474 | 45% | 7% | 48% | |
| 6.Bc4: the Sozin Attack 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Bc4 e6 7. Bb3 | Club players | 655,877 | 51% | 5% | 44% |
| Strong players | 427,879 | 51% | 5% | 44% |
The most common moves after 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6
Share of the games in the position, for club players and strong players. A dash means the move isn't among the most common in that group.
| Move | Club players | Strong players |
|---|---|---|
| 6.Bg5 | 24% (4,185,561) | 26% (2,106,171) |
| 6.Be3 | 19% (3,291,178) | 18% (1,444,823) |
| 6.Bc4 | 14% (2,378,231) | 13% (1,013,996) |
| 6.Be2 | 12% (2,135,417) | 13% (1,002,207) |
| 6.f3 | 8% (1,352,974) | 8% (658,653) |
| 6.Bd3 | 7% (1,281,891) | 4% (346,540) |
| 6.h3 | 4% (665,547) | 5% (434,249) |
| 6.a4 | 4% (626,058) | 3% (268,952) |
| 6.f4 | 2% (389,517) | 3% (203,798) |
| 6.g3 | 2% (274,524) | 2% (161,368) |
Source: games on Lichess, fetched November 6, 2026 and November 7, 2026. Club players means games where the players average 1600 or more, strong players games where they average 2000 or more. Positions that aren't in our numbers aren't shown.
Explore the position on the analysis board: the moves club players choose from here, how the games tend to end, and what Lavi thinks of each move.
A famous game
In Gothenburg in 1955, three Argentines played the same prepared Najdorf line against Keres, Geller and Spassky in the same round, and lost all three games. The Göteborg Variation
The main line with all the comments as text
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 The Najdorf Variation. The b5 square is covered, and Black hasn't yet decided where the e-pawn belongs. 6. Be3 The English Attack, today one of the main systems at the highest level. It is named after a group of English players, among them John Nunn, Nigel Short and Murray Chandler, who took it up in the 1980s and 1990s. White wants f3, Qd2, castling queenside and a pawn storm with g4. 6… e5 Black takes space in the center and chases the knight. The price is a hole on d5. 7. Nb3 The knight retreats. On f3 it would stand in the way of the f-pawn. 7… Be6 The bishop watches d5, the square the game will revolve around. 8. f3 The pawn supports e4 and prepares g4. It also stops …Ng4, which would otherwise chase the bishop on e3. 8… Be7 9. Qd2 Queen and bishop on the same diagonal, and queenside castling is ready. 9… O-O 10. O-O-O The kings are on opposite wings. Now it's about getting there first. 10… Nbd7 The most common move here. The knight can go on to b6 and from there toward c4 or a4. 11. g4 The pawn storm begins. White wants to drive away the knight on f6, which guards Black's king. 11… b5 Black answers in kind on the other wing. 12. g5 The knight on f6 is attacked. 12… b4 Black hits back at once against the knight on c3. Both sides have a knight attacked, and neither is thinking about defense first. Here a single tempo can decide.
Read more
Sicilian Defense
1…c5 breaks the symmetry at once. Combative, sharp and loved by Fischer and Kasparov.
Dragon Variation
5…g6: the dragon on g7 and the race to the kings.
Sveshnikov Variation
5…e5: a hole on d5 in exchange for time and active pieces.
Every move on this page has been checked against the rules of chess.
Updated November 14, 2026
5… a6
The Najdorf Variation. The b5 square is covered, and Black hasn't yet decided where the e-pawn belongs.