By far, the Najdorf is one of the most fierce defenses available to Black, catering to some of the sharpest lines ever to arise within the game of chess. It is a defense that allows Black to counter quickly and fight for a win.
Unlike the French and Caro-Kaan defenses, the Najdorf is an opening that rarely eludes to drawish play. However, there are lines that White can play to force a draw in the Najdorf quickly, as demonstrated by the newly minted 2009 US Champion Nakamura; but both sides must play accurately or suffer immediate reprisal from their opponent.
Nakamura, Hi (2710)
Ponomariov, R (2727)
[B96] Sicilian Najdorf
City of Culture GM(6), 2009.07.13
Result: 1/2-1/2
So after white plays Bxb5 a draw was offered?
ReplyDeleteNakamura sacs two pieces to open up Black's king. I'm having trouble seeing the continuation. After black's reply with ...axb5 White has Nxb5 but after Black places the queen on c6, how does White maintain the attack?
At least with the C-K or French, the positional ideas are a lot more comprehendable at our level. Yes, they could be drawish, but I'll put you to the task of proving that against me :)
White would just continue with Nd6+. Black, of course, can only play Kd8 in response and White continues with an attack to draw with something like fxe5.
ReplyDeleteI know the line well enough to avoid it as Black. Instead of the early opening move of Nbd7, I would prefer to play the old main line Be7 in lieu of.