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Not the refutation of
the Najdorf Variation
by Evgeny Postny
The topic of current
survey is the following variation: 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4
Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Bg5 e6 7.f4 Nbd7 8.Bc4
If Black is afraid to
enter the sharp "poisoned pawn" variations which arise after 7...Qb6
8.Qd2 Qxb2, then 7...Nbd7 is normally preferred. In this case the main
line is 8.Qf3 Qc7 9.0-0-0. The resulting positions are less forced than
the "poisoned pawn variation", nevertheless rather sharp as well.
However, in our present survey we will concentrate on a less common, yet
quite venomous continuation, 8.Bc4. Obviously a normal developing move,
though rarely seen in combination with 6.Bg5. White is mixing up some
ideas of the Najdorf and Sozin systems, meanwhile retaining the option
of castling to either side, according to the circumstances.
As a whole, this line is
not new at all. The pioneer of 8.Bc4 was the great Paul Keres,
back in 1954. Since then the line appeared in practice from time to time
in the 60's and 70's, but without real success for White. In our days
the interest in this line has reawakened once more. Recently White has
been achieving excellent results with 8.Bc4. Moreover, a
considerable number of games, including those played in grandmaster
tournaments, ended in an opening disaster for the second player who got
caught unprepared.
The point of 8.Bc4
is quite clear - White is intending to press against the e6-pawn by
f4-f5 in order to force the ...e6-e5 advance which will give him full
control over the key d5 square. Quite often the bishop sacrifice on e6
is possible and dangerous for Black. The typical e4-e5 breakthrough in
the centre has always to be watched out for. If the second player is not
careful enough, one of the above-mentioned ideas might finish him off
before he even reaches move 20! Black has a wide choice of replies on
his 8th move, but most of these replies are just bad! Therefore, his
next move is already an important one. It is well known that the precise
order of moves is highly important in the Sicilian Defence, especially
for the second player.
Now let us proceed to
concrete, move by move, variations in this fascinating line.
A) 8...Qc7?
It is hard to imagine a
move more natural than this one, but it's already a mistake! After 9.Qe2
b5 10.Bxe6! fxe6 11.Nxe6
White's attack was too
strong for Black to survive in the game
Nataf,I -
Mohota,N 1-0.
B) 8...Qa5?
Another natural move, and
a mistake as well. White's plan is simple: 9.Qe2 h6 10.Bxf6 Nxf6
11.0-0-0
and he is far ahead in
development. The decisive breakthrough in the centre will come soon, as
in the game
Savchenko,B - Zubov,O 1-0.
C) 8...b5?!
This continuation is
also risky. Black should be ready for the piece sacrifice 9.Bxe6!
fxe6 10.Nxe6 which is typical for this line. Out of the two possible
queen moves, 10...Qb6? fails to 11.Nd5! Nxd5 12.Qxd5
and Black is going down
in flames. He has to give up a full rook in view of the threat 13.Nc7+!
followed by the mating 14.Qe6+. Check the game
Savchenko,B -
Kuzubov,Y 1-0.
So, only 10...Qa5
is left. Black pins the knight, but allows White to grab another pawn
for the sacrificed piece. The following moves 11.Nxf8 Rxf8 12.Qxd6
Qb6 13.0-0-0 Qxd6 14.Rxd6 lead to the position in the diagram below:
The position is
materially balanced, but White is in possession of the initiative even
after the exchange of queens. My impression is that Black's defensive
task is rather difficult. The recent game
Sjugirov,S - Van
Wely,L 1-0 confirms my view.
Before proceeding to the
strongest continuation, I would like to mention one more option:
8...Nc5? 9.e5 h6 10.Bh4 g5
11.fxg5 dxe5 12.Nf3 Qxd1+
13.Rxd1 hxg5 14.Bxg5 Nfd7 15.Nxe5! - White wins a pawn and is clearly
better as in the game Zhigalko,A-Jakubowski,K/Warsaw 2008 ;
D) 8...Qb6!
This is the main and the
strongest continuation.
a) Previously
White tried to sacrifice the b2-pawn by playing 9.Qd2. Obviously,
Black should accept the challenge with 9...Qxb2. After 10.0-0 the most
precise reply is 10...Qb4! which reveals the main difference between
this line and the "poisoned pawn" variation: here Black could bring his
queen back into play by attacking the white light-squared bishop on the
way. White's compensation is sufficient for equality at best, as in the
game Vuckovic,B -
Lesiege,A ½-½.
b) 9.Bb3 is the most
natural reply. After 9...Be7 10.f5 White is pressing against the
e6-pawn which Black can protect only by 10...Nc5
Black is just in time to
eliminate the dangerous bishop. In the encounter
Radjabov,T -
Gelfand,B ½-½ the attempt 11.fxe6 fxe6 12.Na4 provoked
massive simplifications and total equality.
Later on, the first
player switched to 11.Qf3. After 11...Nxb3 12.Nxb3 Qc7 we witness
the following position:
In the game
Kurnosov,I -
Areshchenko,A ½-½ Igor tried short castling 13.0-0, but was fighting
for a draw for the most of the game. The more natural castling to the
queenside 13.0-0-0!? is yet to appear in practice. However, against
correct defence White gets no more than equality in this case as well.
c) Another fresh
idea for White is 9.Bxf6!? Nxf6 10.Bb3
The idea of voluntarily
giving up the dark-squared bishop is to distract Black's queenside
knight from the c5 square, thus keeping the other bishop alive. Later on
White is hoping to press on the light squares by the advance f4-f5. So
far, he was successful in the game
Naiditsch,A -
Sjugirov,S 1-0. However, Black's position contains numerous possible
improvements along the way.
Conclusion:
Summarising, I must disappoint those who expected to find in this
article a one-sided refutation of the whole Najdorf system. The line
starting with 8.Bc4 might suit well as a surprise weapon, but in fact
does not yield White an advantage. My research confirms that after
8...Qb6 Black does achieve a decent position, and at the moment this is
the verdict on the whole line. |
