Sicilian Najdorf English Attack by GM Magesh and GM Arun

GM gmarunchess

Updated: Apr 28, 2010, 11:24 PM | 19 | Opening Theory

This week we shall return to the Sicilian Najdorf English Attack. It has always been a fascinating and a favourite opening for most of the top Grandmasters. Even the legendary Kasparov used it regularly with huge success and contributed a lot in the development of this opening theory. We are sure the Najdorf will be a top priority for the imminent Anand-Topalov Match since both players are not only the experts of this system but have also introduced splendid ideas against it. So being a fan of this great system we definitely expect a couple of games in this system by these great players.

In recent times the Najdorf system suffered a lot of problems with the English Attack and 6.Bg5. But still Black players manage to find a way out and come out successfully in their encounters. In the younger generation of players, Karjakin employs the Najdorf regularly with success. In today's game we shall see one of his encounters with an elite GrandMaster Peter Svidler in which he came up with a new idea and soon it was white who was in trouble.

This is a sub variation in the English Attack. White takes a more aggressive stance with f4-f5. With this idea White has more space on the kingside and often sacrifices the g-pawn with g4 and opens the g-file. White's attack is much faster and Black needs to find a suitable plan to counter this.

After 12.Kb1 h5!? Black had a clear plan to play on the queenside and only because it was a rapid blindfold game did an elite player like Karjakin fail to find the correct plan with 27. ... a5! But the opening part was definitely a success for Black. After h5 White's attacking idea was not so clear but Black had a free run on the Queenside. Next week we shall see 12.g4!? which is another important alternative that puts Black's system to the test.

Sicilian Najdorf English Attack by GM Magesh and GM Arun

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