Öwe off course. :-)
Scheveningen vs. Najdorf
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Ervor
Personally, after 5...a6 the main response in my games has been 6.Be3. I do not see much 6.Bg5 and rarly ever see 6.Be2. I feel that against 6.Be3 the most solid structure for black is to play 6...e6, so your mixing the najdorf and the scheveninngan systems. 6...e6 leaves black with a space disadvantage but has the advantage over 6...e5 by not making the d6 pawn look so weak, and also can eventually help black play d5 at some point if black chooses to do so. Also against 6.Bg5, 6...e6 is again the preferred move allowing black to calmly play simple developing moves or enter the theortical realm of the poisoned pawn variation if white goes along with book moves. Against 6.Be2, 6...e5 is probably still the best option, just because it has been proven so many times. I personally have never played the true scheveninngan system, I always play 5...a6 then depending on the response I will play either the pure najdorf or the najdorf/scheveninngan mix but the simple move 5...a6 is a wonderful move that I feel it should be played before any considerations are taken into playing e6 or e5.
May 18, 2015
0
#46
18.b4 novelty according to my limited/ yet fairly quality dbs. 18...Rh2 interesting reply.
May 18, 2015
0
#47
It's a matter of preference and what you want to have to deal with:
Najdorf: 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nf3 a6
Scheveningen: 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nf3 e6
Najdorf Pros:
1) Avoids the Keres Attack
2) Black has the option to play the agressive ...e5 lines and deal with the d5-hole, or stick with the small center and transposing to the Classical Scheveningen
Najdorf Cons:
1) Theory is more dense
2) Black must deal with the 6.Bg5 lines
3) Move order tricks - Black has to handle some anti-Sicilians differently due to move order tricks in the Najdorf. For example, after 1.e4 c5 2.Nc3, Black should play 2...a6 if they are a Najdorf player, answering 3.g3 with 3...b5. The problem with 1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 Nc6 is that after 3.Nf3, intending 4.d4, what are you going to do now? Your Knight is mis-located for a Najdorf Sicilian. Now if you are one that also plays other variations of the Sicilian, like say, the Dragon, you could easily fianchetto the Bishop and if White goes 4.d4, head directly into a Sicilian Dragon. But if you are a pure Najdorf player, you must take the alternate route to avoid such a problem.
Scheveningen Pros:
1) Black still has the option not to play ...a6 and go into what is known as the "Modern Scheveningen", which is a little less known and some White players may not know the differences (similar to the popularity of the Accelerated Dragon compared to the Classical Dragon).
2) It avoids the Bg5 lines. White can play 6.Bg5, but it does him nothing in these lines unless you directory transpose to a Najdorf via 6...a6, but that defeats the purpose and you lose the advantage you originally had.
3) Move order options - Black is under no obligation to play 2...d6. He could play 2...e6, not allowing the Moscow (3.Bb5+) or the 4.Qxd4 lines that 2...d6 allows. You can still get there after 2...e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 d6.
Scheveningen Cons:
1) Higher Draw ratio, which is fine if all you need is a draw with Black.
2) The Keres Attack - It's not the end-all be-all refutation by any stretch of the imagination, but a single slip-up by Black can be fatal, so one must know what they are doing and know it like the back of their hand.
May 18, 2015
0
#48
Thriller
Excellent post.
As a pro to the Najdorf, I would also add the English Attack.
5...a3 6.Be3 Ng4!
An option not available to Shev players.
As a pro for the Shev, in the anti-Sicilians, 2....e6 can set up an early .....d5. Possibly transposing into a French.
May 18, 2015
0
#49
Another funny one for Scheveningen players is:
1 e4 c5
2 Nc3 e6
3 Nf3 a6
4 d4 (thinking it's some kind of Paulsen, Kan sicilian. If g3 b5!) cxd4
5 Nxd4 d6!
And no matter what white does, after Nf6 you are in normal Scheveningen territory.
May 18, 2015
0
#50
I found that one when I was researching move orders myself, having discovered most of Thrillers post too. I used to play e4 c5 Nf3 e6 to avoid the Moscow variation Bb5+ and I hated Bg5 when I played the Najdorf order. Nowadays however I play both the Scheveningen as the Dragon so I just use the same move order for those two to limit my homework for all the moves prior to the 5th when I have to decide to play g6 or e6, and to keep prepared OTB opponents uncertain which one I use for a bit more.
-Euwe played it first and he's underrated.
And if you don't know how to pronounce Scheveningen, how do you pronounce Euwe? It's something about the Dutch...
isn't it OY-vuh?