Robert Ris’ Fast and Furious: A fascinating Najdorf

by Robert Ris
6/2/2022 – This week Robert Ris looks at the game Wang Hao vs Anish Giri from the Norway Chess Tournament. Both sides were ready for a Najdorf, both sides were well prepared and both sides were willing to enter sharp and complicated lines. | "Fast and Furious" is available on-demand with a ChessBase Premium Account. You can register a Premium account here.

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In this video course, twenty-nine examples with multiple questions are presented in the interactive format, which is ideal for a range of playing strengths. Step by step you will be taken through the complex positions.

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The game Wang Hao-Giri feautured a highly topical Sicilian Najdorf with 6.h3. Up till move 22 the players were following a game between Yu Yangyi and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave but with the spectacular exchange sacrifice 22...Rxc3! Giri improved upon that game.

With precise play by both players the game soon ended in a draw, but that wasn't for granted. As often, the most amazing variations remained under the surface! In the analysis of the game we will explore various moments where things could have gone wrong for either side.  

Exercise: Take a look at the following position, reached after 27.b3 Qb4 (27.Qxd7 was Wang Hao's choice). Do you see White's only move to stay in the game?

 

Feel free to move the pieces on the live diagram!


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Robert is an International Master who mostly spends his time training and coaching talented youngsters. On the PlayChess server The Fast and the Furious is a popular show where he explains sharp opening lines for a wider audience. He is also a well-known ChessBase author who produced numerous DVDs and regularly contributes to ChessBase Magazine as well. Since 2015 he is the organizer of the Dutch Rapid Championships in his home town Amstelveen. He has started a YouTube channel with chess analysis as well.