What is a good way to play against the Najdorf? - Chess Forums - Page 2

FM workhard91

May 1, 2017

0

#21

I think there are many decent systems which you can play against the Najdorf. Considering your playing strength you probably don't want to spend so much time on openings since this barely decides your games. So I would go with a simple to learn system like 3.Bb5+ Variation and avoid memorizing variations of the open sicilian. Hope this helps!

NM LogoCzar

May 1, 2017

0

#22

dpnorman wrote:

@Khalayx "'Anti-Sicilians' are surprisingly popular in internet play but give up your advantage as white and, imo, are pretty boring. If you prefer this style of play I would not recommend e4. (I recognize many on here will disagree)"

Yeah, I disagree pretty strongly with this, so you got that right

I also disagree.

I play the Grand Prix attack, and I can still try to get an opening advantage with it!

kindaspongey

May 1, 2017

0

#23

"... There is no doubt in my mind that if you really want to test the Sicilian then you have to play the main lines of the Open Sicilian. The problem is that there are just so many of them: Najdorf, Sveshnikov, Dragon, Taimanov, Kan, Scheveningen, and many lesser lines. Each of these has its own huge body of theory and keeping up with developments in all of them is a substantial task. ... as you become older, with other demands on your time (family, job, etc.) ... it may make sense to reduce your theoretical overhead by adopting one of the 'lesser' lines against the Sicilian ..." - GM John Nunn, commenting (2005) on a 1994 game where he chose 2 c3 (after 1 e5 c5).

In Starting Out: The Sicilian, GM John Emms introduces a lot of possibilities.

chessychurro

Apr 14, 2020

0

#24

Just avoid all of it all together and go for the Smith Morra Gambit (e4 c5 d4 cxd4 c3).

llama44

Apr 14, 2020

0

#25

LogoCzar wrote:

dpnorman wrote:

@Khalayx "'Anti-Sicilians' are surprisingly popular in internet play but give up your advantage as white and, imo, are pretty boring. If you prefer this style of play I would not recommend e4. (I recognize many on here will disagree)"

Yeah, I disagree pretty strongly with this, so you got that right

I also disagree.

I play the Grand Prix attack, and I can still try to get an opening advantage with it!

+1

I was playing the Rossolimo before Carlsen - Caruana 2018

It's tremendously boring to play 3.d4 main lines on either side. Your (sometimes fairly bad) opponent copies 20 moves of theory and you get some equal position that you've both seen on the engine at home. Amateurs who want to pretend they're pros. It's silly to play this way unless you're a strong GM IMO.

Utopia247

Apr 15, 2020

0

#26