Sicilian Najdorf: free opening course

Key ideas

• The little move ...a6 takes b5 from White's knights and bishop and prepares ...b5 to expand on the queenside.
• Choose your centre: ...e5 grabs space and gains time on the d4 knight but leaves a hole on d5; ...e6 keeps a flexible, solid 'small centre' with ...d6 and ...e6.
• When White castles long, counterattack at once on the queenside with ...b5-b4, ...Rc8 and ...Qc7 — in opposite-side castling, speed matters more than material.
• Watch the d5 square: if White gets a knight to d5 that you cannot exchange, you are worse. Keep a minor piece (often the bishop on e6 or a knight) ready to take on d5.
• The half-open c-file is Black's highway; an exchange sacrifice ...Rxc3 to wreck White's king is a typical Najdorf idea.
• Be careful with ...Nxe4 and ...d5 tricks: they only work when White's pieces are loose; checked in the lines below.

The 5 variations in the course

• English Attack 6.Be3 e5: 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Be3 e5 … — White plays Be3, f3, Qd2, O-O-O and storms with g4-g5. Black answers with ...e5, ...Be6 and a fast queenside pawn storm with ...b5-b4. Both kings are attacked, so every tempo counts.
• 6.Bg5 main line: 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Bg5 e6 … — White pins the f6 knight, plays f4, Qf3 and O-O-O, and then pushes g4-g5 and f5. Black develops solidly with ...e6, ...Be7, ...Qc7 and ...Nbd7 and counterattacks with ...b5. The position is sharp and very well tested.
• 6.Be2 classical: 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Be2 e5 … — White develops calmly with Be2, O-O and Be3 and plays for control of d5. Black takes space with ...e5, develops with ...Be7, ...Be6 and ...Nbd7, and later aims at ...b5 or ...d5.
• Fischer-Sozin 6.Bc4: 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Bc4 e6 … — White aims the bishop at e6 and f7, ready for sacrifices there. Black answers with ...e6 and ...b5 to kick the bishop, castles, and meets Qf3-g3 and Bh6 with the calm ...Ne8.
• 6.h3 with 6...e5: 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. h3 e5 … — White prepares g4 to kick the f6 knight. Black answers with ...e5 and ...h5, stopping g4 for good, and develops with ...Be6, ...Nbd7 and ...Be7.

Traps you will learn (2)

• Sozin: ...Nbd7? walks into e5! — A warning for Black. In the Sozin, White's queen on f3 points along the long diagonal at the rook on a8, blocked only by the e4 pawn. If Black plays the natural ...Nbd7, White pushes e5 and opens the diagonal with gain of time.
• English Attack: ...Nc6?? after ...b5 — A warning for Black. Once Black has played ...b5, nothing defends the c6 square. Putting a knight there in front of White's d4 knight just loses it to Nxc6, which also attacks the queen.

How the opening courses work

Each course teaches an opening in a few main variations. For every move you read why it is played, which other moves are good, and which tempting moves are mistakes and why. Each course also shows the traps of the opening: the ones you can set and the ones to avoid.

After a lesson you play the moves yourself in a drill. The lines you learn go into your review, which brings them back when you are about to forget them (spaced repetition). 30 line courses add many short lines per opening, a few new ones a day, and every named opening, more than 3,800 lines, has a lesson of its own.