The best Open Sicilian Variation (black)

What do you think is the best/most recommended  Open Sicilian variation to play as black and why. The dragon? The najdorf? The Kan?

The best line to play is the one that your opponent doesn't know.

Objectively the best is the najdorf, but you have to learn a lot to be able to play it well. The dragon is easy to play but you must know the yugoslav attack. But basically every sicilian variation is quite good. Depends on what you like and how much time you have to learn it.

I agree with post #3.  The Najdorf is the main reason why I don't play the Open Sicilian as White.  I also don't play the Najdorf as Black as it just has me stumped all around (the wires in my head don't think the way that's necessary to play the Najdorf correctly.

That said, unlike other laughing hyenas that say an opening is bad because they don't play it themselves, I have to say that from a theoretical standpoint, the Najdorf is the most respected line in the Sicilian, and in reality, Black's best line after 1...c5.  I, however, will continue to play 1...e5 and 1...g6.

hedgehog

and just because

Keep in mind, I'm talking Top GM/Computer Level players, not amateurs.  Theoretically, the Najdorf is the strongest of the Sicilians.  Practicality at the amateur level, you could play the O'Kelly and get away with it.

At the top levels, there's a reason why the Najdorf proper and the Scheveningen thru the Najdorf move order are lightyears more popular than the Sveshnikov, Dragon, or Kan.  Not saying they aren't playable, but at Anand's and Carlsen's level, there is a significant difference between +0.18 and +0.22.  At our level (2100 for me over the board, not sure where you are at), computer assessment doesn't make a hill of beans for anything between +1 and -1.  When you start getting -1.5 or +2.2, then yeah, sure, that matters!

Good old Rauzer-Sicilian

I don't think a difference of .04 makes a difference at ANY level, to be honest.

I used to play najdorf but it was so heavy on theory that I play kan

Dragon, after you get bored of winning with Najdorf.

Possibly helpful:

Starting Out: The Sicilian by GM John Emms (2009)

https://web.archive.org/web/20140627122350/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/hansen123.pdf

The February 2017 issue of Chess lists the top twenty openings compiled from a list of 4561 December games where both players were rated over 2400 Elo. One can not take position on this list too seriously because it is greatly influenced by how the openings are grouped. For example, all the Retis are grouped together, while English is separated into 1...c5, 1...e5, etc. Nevertheless, for what it is worth, some of the list entries are: 336 Retis, 198 King's Indians, 186 Caro-Kanns, 159 declined Queen's Gambits, 158 Nimzo-Indians, 148 Najdorf Sicilians, 135 Slavs, 128 1...c5 Englishes, 114 Kan Sicilians, 102 Italians, 98 1...Nf6 Englishes, 97 Queen's Indians, 88 1...e5 Englishes, and 78 Berlin Ruy Lopezes

"... anyone who is just starting out should not dive into the vast ocean of theory that is the Najdorf. For beginners, the time invested in studying even minor lines can be more productively used solving tactical puzzles and basic endgame technique.
...
... In some lines, a good understanding of basic principles will take you far, while in others, such as the Poisoned Pawn (6 Bg5 e6 7 f4 Qb6!?), memorization is a must, as one wrong move can cost you the game in the blink of an eye. ..." - FM Carsten Hansen (2006)
https://web.archive.org/web/20140626175558/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/hansen87.pdf

The Sicilian is known for not being for beginners, but certain variations are very theoretically sound and beginner friendly - for instance the Kan. The Kan is a variation in which black can avoid early attacks and sacrifices from white, and develop reasonably while restricting the white pieces. 

Just be sure not to trade your dark squared bishop for a knight for no reason other than to double the pawns by taking Bxc3.

Najdorf is sharp, and very counter-attacking so i like it because my styleis like hat. it depend on your style. though i think the scheveningen is not great because of the move g4 the keres attack.

I don’t really think there is a single best variation if you consider that a draw is a good theoretical result for Black. I’d say there are 7 legit Open Sicilian lines for Black and a few more suspect ones. The legit ones in my opinion are:

1) The Najdorf- Highly theoretical but sound with attacking chances; I find this tricky to face myself

2) The Sveshnikov- Theoretical and sharp, gives Black decent practical chances for a win; There are some lines where Black will really have to fight to get their half- point though.

3) The Dragon- Extremely theoretical and sharp; If White doesn’t know what they are doing, they can get blown off the board really quickly; If White does Black’s gonna have to play 30 accurate moves to make a draw, many of them only moves.

4) The (Hyper) Accelerated Dragon- Less theoretical than the pure Dragon but with less attacking chances; To do well Black needs to understand both some pure Dragon positions and the Black side of the Maroczy Bind quite well

5) The Taimanov- The Taimanov is generally pretty solid and flexible, but of course there are some English (and 7. Qf3) lines where Black has to defend accurately to make the draw.

6) The Kan- The Kan is known for a single word: Flexible. Black has many ways to play the Kan, but will have to make some accurate defensive moves in all as White’s space advantage will come along with relentless threats for Black to parry.

7) The Rauzer- The Rauzer is fairly theoretical, but like the Dragon, has one test: 6. Bg5. Black should be able to sit in the center with his king and make a draw, but White will be the one pressing to win.

The suspects:

1) Four Knights- Not bad, but Black has some weak squares that give White decent chances if Black doesn’t transpose to the Sveshnikov.

2) The Grivas- Not bad, but probably just a slightly worse Kan

3) The Kalashnikov/Loewenthal - Not horrible, but the irrevocable weaknesses created have allowed modern theory to find various routes advantages that Whites has decent chances of converting

4) The Scheveningen would be legit if not for the Keres Attack, which has been proven to give White good winning chances even if Black plays the opening correctly. In the main lines, White is just playing for two results and a slip by Black often will just lead to an immediate loss

5) The O’Kelly- Black is obviously fine if White is ill-informed and mindlessly plays 3. d4, but both 3.c3 (leading to a good Alapin) and 3. c4 (leading to a good Hedgehog for White) give White a decent edge to improve upon.

I prefer either Rossolimo https://chessmood.com/course/nightmare-of-rossolimo 

Or https://chessmood.com/course/sicilian-defence-accelerated-dragon Accelerated Dragon