The main purposes of the Najdorf variation is to be able to expand in the centre with e5.

This key-move controls the b5-square and stops White from going Bb5+.īlack should keep control of this square the whole game. This move discourages Black from going for the immediate e7-e5 plan. The main line against the Najdorf variation is the move 6. White should expand on the Kingside and attack the opponent’s king. White’s plan is to play f3, Qd2 and then possibly create a kingside pawnstorm. Be3 introduces a very popular line called the English attack. Play the move Be3 to put pressure on the Kingside The main idea behind this line is to prepare the move e7-e5, which offers Black a majority in the centre and lots of ambitious attacking ideas. The Najdorf variation is the most popular line of the Sicilian defense. The Najdorf variation is a chess opening that begins with the following moves: This aggressive tactical attack (not normally used against an Accelerated Dragon) could put your opponent in uncomfortable positions. You are better tactically than positionally.Playing someone more skilled positionally than you or.The typical idea is for White to fight and keep the Maroczy Bind positional advantage over Black.Ī Maroczy Bind is white pawns on c4 and e4 - Where Black doesn’t have control over d5. This, in contrast, to a regular dragon, leads to games that are extremely positional and strategic. Now let's say you are playing against an Accelerated Dragon. So against the same Dragon, you choose to play the more positional Classical Variation - where you castle on the same side, retreat your Knight to b3 (which opens up the d5 square for your queen) and launch a less aggressive kingside attack. In these cases, you may want to choose to play more positional games. So if you play tactical lines against someone worse than you - you could just make one mistake and lose the game.If your opponent is playing the Sicilian Dragon, they are probably very tactical - since the Sicilian Dragon is the sharpest defense in chess.If you are better tactically, choose lines that aggressively attack your opponent.įor example, if your opponent plays a Sicilian Dragon, you’d want to play the most aggressive attack - which is the Yugoslav attack. Steer the board toward positional or tactical lines That time the niche variation (called the Sicilian pin variation) was played. You can also see this in another World Championship match, this time by the former World Champion, Garry Kasparov against Anatoly Karpov. This move is a good move of the Sicilian that is uncommonly played and can give you a nice edge against your opponent (since they are most likely unprepared for it). Knowing this, Fabiano Caruana, played a niche variation of the Sicilian called the Rossolimo Variation. This opening is very commonly played and Magnus knows a lot of theory and made a lot of preparations for it. This is what is done at the highest levels of chess.įor example, in a game played between World Champion Magnus Carlsen and number one contender Fabiano Caruana, Magnus wanted to play a Sicilian accelerated dragon opening. So if you know a niche line well, you can counter the Sicilian Defense extremely well. So to counter the Sicilian, what you could do is specialize in a niche line that most people playing the Sicilian Defense don’t know and use that as your weapon of choice.Ī niche line of the Sicilian is a side line of the Sicilian that is not typically played. It is not possible to study and master the hundreds of different sidelines of the Sicilian. The Sicilian Defense is one of the most complicated and difficult openings to learn and master. Choose lines that will lead to positional or tactical games.So how do you counter the Sicilian Defense? In the Scheveningen variation, Black sets a “small centre” by playing e6. In the Classical Variation, Black develops the b8-knight earlier than in the other variations, and challenges White’s d4-Knight. In the Dragon variation, Black fianchettoes his f8-Bishop to gain the control of crucial dark squares. In the Najdorf variation, Black plays a6 to avoid the possible Bb5+ move and prepares the ambitious advance e7-e5. The Open Sicilian Defense is divided into four major variations based on Black’s response, although there are many other less-played options to be explored. The idea behind the Sicilian Defense is: White has played e4 at the first move, trying to fight for centre since the very beginning of this open game.īlack responds by moving the c-pawn, also controlling the important central d4-square and creating an asymmetrical position. The Sicilian Defense is a chess opening when the following moves are played:

Classic chess opening moves