6 Be3 Ng4
7 (B retreats somewhere) Nf6
8 Be3 Ng4
9 (repeat of 7)
10 Be3 Ng4
11 (repeat of 7) DRAW
This is a well-known grandmaster draw in the English Attack.
6 Be3 Ng4
7 (B retreats somewhere) Nf6
8 Be3 Ng4
9 (repeat of 7)
10 Be3 Ng4
11 (repeat of 7) DRAW
This is a well-known grandmaster draw in the English Attack.
The English Attack 6.Be3 is a Scheveningen/Najdorf hybrid. The feared Keres Attack 6.g4 in the Scheveningen is the big brother variation of the English Attack.
In the 1980's and into the 1990's 6.Bg5 was all the rage. In the 2000's 6.Be3 is the trend. From the perspective of experienced players of the Black pieces it is known that in response to 6.Be3 to answer with 6...e6. The reason is because White's early Be3 has restricted the type of anti-Scheveningen he can adopt. Which means that at the appropriate juncture in the game Black will make a move that will transpose the position. Black will transpose from the English Attack Variation which is a Scheveningen/Najdorf hybrid into the Scheveningen Variation where White's choice of type of anti-Scheveningen system he can adopt is restricted because of his early 6.Be3.
In other words, the recent trends in the English Attack will have no effect on an experienced player of the Black pieces who knows exactly when to transpose into a variation of the Scheveningen that favors Black.
It's not really recent...the English attack has been the primary way to attack the Najdorf for at least 30 years, maybe longer.
@gundamv, that's not really a "grandmaster draw", it's just a technically possible repetition that never happens, either white plays Bg5 which is its own line or back to c1 to await f3 to develop again.
It's not really recent...the English attack has been the primary way to attack the Najdorf for at least 30 years, maybe longer.
@gundamv, that's not really a "grandmaster draw", it's just a technically possible repetition that never happens, either white plays Bg5 which is its own line or back to c1 to await f3 to develop again.
See, e.g., Guseinov-Khalifman (2012); Li-Wang Yue (2011).
Probably they did the quick draw just because they needed a draw to win the tournament, or place in the top 3, etc.
Exactly. That is indeed one of the benefits of this line - ability to score a draw via repetition (so, it could be used even if agreed draws are not allowed before a certain number of moves, like in some tournaments).
Another benefit is the ability to launch a kingside attack. Several benefits of 6 Be3:
* Support of f4 pawn push
* Support of other key kingside black spaces
* Allows White to castle queenside (which is actually important, given the aforementioned kingside pawn storm plan)
The trend is that people are realizing that 6 Be3 is a viable and strong way to attack the Najdorf. Hence, as Yaroslavl said, it has become a main line, if not the main line.
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