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Sicilian Najdorf: English Attack

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 · B90

Part of Sicilian Defense: Najdorf Variation

Starting positionWhite to move

0 / 20

It is a race, and both sides are sprinting

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The idea

The most popular attacking setup against the Najdorf: Be3, f3, Qd2 and long castling, followed by a pawn storm down the g- and h-files.

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 Nbd7

What White wants

  • Play g4 and h4 to open lines against the black king
  • Castle queenside and use the kingside pawns as a battering ram
  • Watch for the ...d5 break and meet it with the right piece

What Black wants

  • Counterattack on the queenside with ...b5 and ...b4 before White's storm lands
  • Keep the king flexible and try ...d5 to open the centre
  • Trade off White's attacking pieces, especially the bishop on e3

Key idea

Understand this and the moves stop needing to be memorised.

It is a race, and both sides are sprinting

White throws the g- and h-pawns forward while Black pushes ...b4 and ...b5. Whoever's attack arrives first usually wins, and there is almost no room to play quietly — which is why the whole line is memorised to move twenty.

Common mistake

Castling long and then playing g4 without stopping ...d5. If White lets the central break through, ...d5 arrives before the pawn storm does and it is the king on c1 that gets exposed when the centre opens.

Representative position

The position this opening is aiming at. Copy the FEN, or open it in the analysis board and let the engine tell you what it is worth.

r2q1rk1/1p1nbppp/p2pbn2/4p3/4P3/1NN1BP2/PPPQ2PP/2KR1B1R w - - 5 11

Analyze this position

Related openings

Sicilian Defense: Najdorf Variation1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 · B90–B99The most analysed opening in chess: 5...a6 takes the b5 square away from White's pieces and prepares ...e5 and ...b5 in one move.Sicilian Najdorf: Poisoned Pawn Variation1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 · B97Black grabs the b2 pawn with the queen and wanders around the white position for several moves while White builds a huge attack — the sharpest line in modern chess.Sicilian Dragon: Yugoslav Attack1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 · B75–B79White castles long and storms the kingside while Black counterattacks on the queenside — the defining opposite-side-castling battle of the Sicilian.Sicilian Defense: Scheveningen Variation1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 · B80–B89A flexible, small-centre setup: Black builds a compact pawn wall with ...d6 and ...e6 and chooses the counterattack after seeing where White commits.