The Najdorf Sicilian | Dojo Repertoire Guide

Afraid to play the Sicilian Defense? Don't be! IM David Pruess breaks down what you need to know to play the Sicilian Najdorf in this ChessDojo Repertoire Guide!
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[@fallingmasonry]

Table of Contents: Introduction - 0:00 Thematic pawn structures - 4:38 MOVE 2 VARIATIONS 2.d4 (Smith-Morra Gambit) - 13:13 2.c3 (Alapin Sicilian) - 19:52 2.Nc3 (Closed Sicilian) - 23:51 2.b4 (Wing Gambit) - 27:59 2.f4 (McDonnell Attack) - 28:59 2.Bc4 (Bowdler Attack) - 31:14 2.Nf3 d6 - 32:09 MOVE 3 VARIATIONS 3.Bc4 - 32:48 3.Bb5 (Canal Attack/Moscow Variation) - 35:50 3.d4 (Open Sicilian) - 37:18 3.c3 (Delayed Alapin) - 38:48 THE NAJDORF - 40:45 6.Be3 (English Attack) - 41:34 6.Be2 (Opecensky Variation) - 45:45 6.Bg5 - 47:20 6.Bc4 (Lipnitsky Attack) - 49:04 6.f4 (Amsterdam Variation) - 51:38 6.h3 (Adams Attack) - 52:30 6.a4 - 53:28 6.Rg1 (Freak Attack) - 54:57 6.f3 - 58:32 6.g3 (Zagreb Variation) - 58:40 6.a3 - 59:14 6.Bd3 - 1:00:35 Closing Remarks - 1:01:26

[@MrSupernova111]

Thank you!

[@isayoldchap1]

David is one of the most natural teachers I have ever seen. Always insightful and engaging. Better than 99% of chess content on youtube. I always direct people to his video on tactical elements.

[@synesthetically]

Pruess and the other Sensei are absolute bosses.

[@asdf14051]

as someone who wants to learn the najdorf solely to improve my weaknesses, youve managed to tailor the repertoire to emphasize all my weak points which is exactly what i was looking for

[@gm2407]

This is a great clear Sicilian video. I am going to make some quick memory aids to remember which developments to do in each variation coupled with reasons so I understand the positions i am playing. Often I muddle my responses, so this is gold for me. Thank you IM Pruess.

[@fareastern8201]

The senseis are really the best - alright, I'll play this and I won't be scared to just play any opening I want!

[@Socrates...]

Thank you for an amazing lesson, will go over it often

[@elindauer]

Third time through this repertoire, I feel like it's starting to come together for me. The c3 gambit lines are by far the toughest for me in practical play, probably a sign I don't calculate attacking moves for my opponent well enough and need to play it more. 😂

[@JakeLemasterGuitar]

I’m a classical Sicilian player but this was extremely helpful

[@synesthetically]

Love it, thanks David for taking the time to discuss pawn structures!

[@synesthetically]

Honestly, the pawn structures were one of the biggest curiosities I had about the Sicilian in general.

[@jonatansleiers9021]

Awesome breakdown. I really like your approach to teaching openings.

[@ocean3749]

THE VIDEO I'VE BEEN WAITING FOR!!!

[@ChessWithMouselip]

Outstanding video... thanks David!

[@bestieboots]

Fantastic content. I just wish it were a series instead of one giant video. Psychologically I have an easier time chain watching then watching one big thing.

[@exquisitecorpse4917]

There's certainly a place for memorization. But it's much more important to understand the structural ideas than a bunch of random 20 move variations. Because if you know the structures, you'll probably be able to work out something that is theoretically sound (unless it's a blunder...in which case, theory wasn't going to help anyway).

[@Simplement724]

Great video as alwayssss

[@supermario1123]

Love it! This is exactly the type of video that helps one learn an opening. Simple and stong. Thanks for posting!

[@somebody6199]

First! Also, really appreciate what seems to me to be the first comprehensive guide on such a complex opening condensed into a single video!

[@milosjovanovic4218]

Can’t wait to see what you recommend against Be3/Bc4/Bg5!!

[@leo-um6yt]

Awesome!!

[@rickerwinsor7623]

Totally appreciate your work David. Formidable! I downloaded it for my select collection. Very clear and useful I will also be looking at the games of Roman Moldavsky. Merci mil fois, David!

[@chesscomdpruess]

Merci! Very glad to hear it!

[@amitbikramroy25]

Thank you❤🫰🏻

[@GreenHope42]

Thanks for the great Najdorf overview. Plus all the anti Sicilian options can be used by any Sicilian player 🥰

[@arrow-lt3uk]

41:30 Be3 line 47:20 Bg5 line 49:04 Bc4 line

[@elindauer]

Little middlegame note vs 2. Bc4 which I see a LOT... if you setup with Bd6, Ne7, O-O you will almost always be completely winning out of the opening and it's computer approved. The knight comes to f5 and we launch the attack gg.

[@anonymous-od3de]

I'm​ really​ excited for​ Kostya's KID​ starter​ repertoire.​ Hope​ It's​ coming out​ soon!!

[@ChessDojo]

Already on the site! Available for training program members :)

[@anonymous-od3de]

Oh, I​ thought​ there​ are​ only​ variation​s against​ classical​ and​ london.​ I​ have​ to​ check​ it​ again

[@DanielBourque-oi9of]

This is great, David. There are too few resources this-sized. Some levels of the training program suggest a Short and Sweet-sized repertoire, but Short and Sweets are often designed as samplers to sell courses, not as abridged versions of the full course. It really depends on the course. The closest I've gotten to an abridged course is buying a full course and setting the lines to Priority only. Many 15-minute to 1h KZbin videos are also hit or miss. I even saw one that recommended 5. Bg5, h6 for black in the Semi-Slav, but had nothing to say about 6. Bh4, the Anti-Moscow - the sharpest variation. It didn't even acknowledge that there was chaos after that move. This is enough. I can play the Najdorf with this - and I'm looking forward to it as someone who has played 1. e4, e5 only for years. I don't mind doing further exploration on my own, as required, with this as a foundation.

[@chesscomdpruess]

Thanks for the feedback! The three of us did a lot of discussion around how to structure the opening study part of our plan, and how much to put in, where to cut things off, etc. in these videos and the repertoires that go with them. I think one of the biggest myths about the Najdorf is that you need a bunch of theory to play it, just bc a lot of theory exists, so I'm glad to hear you feeling ready to play with the amount I've given here.

[@DanielBourque-oi9of]

@@chesscomdpruess Personally, I want a focus on ideas/themes/structures (you can target it to 1200s) and a recommendation/discussion, however brief, in every major line. As a player much stronger than that, I can use the Opening Explorer, database, engine, and secondary sources as required to supplement - but I need at least that foundation of ideas and recommendations. A lot of stuff out there is barely a sample of a repertoire *or* it's so deep that the target audience is really people who already play the opening.

[@ChessWithMouselip]

Around the 19:00 mark is the Smith-Morra Gambit section. Move order is important for both sides. In your video you have White play 5.Bc4 whereas most SMG players I know will play in the order of 5.Nf3/6.Bc4/7.0-0/8Qe2 almost on autopilot and the QB will go to either f4 or g5 depending on Black’s chosen set up. White’s threat of e5 looms large over the next few moves and Black needs to be mindful of it. I am not so confident about your plan to play 5...d6 followed by 6...Nf6 because of that e5 push. For example, 1.e4 c5 2.d4 cxd4 3.c3 dxc3 4.Nxc3 Nc6 5.Nf3 (instead of Bc4) ...d6 6.Bc4 at this point SMG players would absolutely love for Black to walk into e5 by playing 6...Nf6. Stockfish goes from a slightly negative evaluation before 6...Nf6 (-0.16 on my computer) to slightly positive *after* 6...Nf6 (+0.33) because of 7.e5. I am just thinking that if you recommend this line then you should give Black more than the idea of playing d6/Nf6/e6/Be7/0-0 because the threat of e5 is stronger than you portray it here. That is why Stockfish recommends waiting to play ...Nf6 until the threat of e5 is dealt with. In conclusion, the line with 1.e4 c5 2.d4 cxd4 3.c3 dxc3 4.Nxc3 Nc6 5.Nf3 d6 6.Bc4 Stockfish recommends 6...e6 or 6...a6. I recommend giving people a bit more than what you’ve given in this video against the SMG.

[@chesscomdpruess]

I think I've given enough. You can always unearth extra details by running the computer, so no matter how much I give, there will be a specific position where because of a specific computer variation one can not follow the set up or plan suggested. In your case, black should play a6 before Nf6 so that after queens trade on d8, white does not have the annoying Nb5, but I decided that is too much detail. Better to give an amount that people can understand digest and begin working with, and then as they practice and learn they can figure out details for themselves. If I gave that much detail on other lines, the video would double in size, and the viewers would be more tired, confused, or overwhelmed, rather than more informed. Btw, your point about Nf3 v Bc4 seems to be an immediate transposition.

[@aidanwogan3202]

I came here to say the same, although in far less detailed terms. Blindly developing w/ Nf6 can lead to some quick losses for black in the morra if they're not wary of e5 in response. Sorta the whole idea of the morra is that natural Sicilian moves often fail tactically.

[@chesscomdpruess]

@@aidanwogan3202 Yeah. I warned folks to watch out for pressure against d6 and the threat of e4-e5. I rather they figure out some move orders in their own games based on those ideas, than try to memorize a bunch of variations that I have analyzed.

[@GeneralSunsprite]

Hey David! Great video - as a Morra Gambiteer I want to warn you about thinking that the Morra is some London System where White ALWAYS plays the same moves. Only in those Scheveningen structures with ...d6 and ...e6 together is the usual plan of Qe2, Rfd1, Rac1 and Bf4 accurate. Nxc3, Nf3 and Bc4 are always the next 3 moves White plays after dxc3, but the places White puts their heavy pieces and DSB vary depending on Black's setup.

[@chesscomdpruess]

Thanks for the warning! In fact, good players who play the London also don't always put their pieces on the same squares or in the same order. I'm aware, I'm just constantly making tough calls about how much detail to go into.

[@JamieLanncasterly]

Thats the content! Enough with chessable LTR repertoires.

[@elindauer]

I really liked this nice work! ❤ One small thing, you were quite harsh about 2.Bc4 saying White can’t stop e6 d5, but it wasn’t obvious to me how we get d5 in if white plays a natural developing Nc3. If Nf6 we seem open to e5, while if we prepare with d6 we’re allowing transpositions to the 3.Bc4 line that you send to say want so bad. What am I missing?

[@chesscomdpruess]

What's the typical response to e4-e5 if the knight does not have a good square to go to? How does it work here after Nc3 Nf6 e5?

[@elindauer]

@@chesscomdpruess Ah I see Bc4 e6 Nc3 Nf6 e5 and we just ignore the threat and play d5 anyways! Very nice.

[@chesscomdpruess]

@@elindauer Yup! That's the move. After Bb5+ (trading the bishop is worse) Nfd7 you can see that black has an amazing French, as white doesn't want to trade the good bishop on b5, and already spent two full moves putting it there. It will be hard for white to support/justify the pawn on e5. What white can do is answer Nc3 Nf6 with the calm 4.Nf3. Then after d5 ed ed Bb5+ Nc6 d4, white has full equality despite losing a tempo. Thus if black wants to really take advantage of 2.Bc4?! They need an even more accurate sequence.

[@Sun-gs6hq]

28:34

[@crapov]

Is this course only available with a Dojo subscription ?

[@ChessDojo]

You can also buy it standalone on dojoscoreboard.com!

[@sxthangel]

i cant be the only one who hears knight orf

[@cz19856]

the delayed alapin explanation was too short in my opinion, for example Be2 after Nf6 doesn't allow you to take the pawn. Maybe you should have commented this and recommend a line. The most played lines after Be2 at a master level are g6, Nc6 (very dangerous for black), Nbd7 and Bd7 so black can take on e4, but they are not very in the spirit of the Najdorf. Of course the delayed alapin is super niche, but still.

[@chesscomdpruess]

This is deliberately not supposed to go deep because I don't want to inspire 1200s to memorize too many variations, and get confused. But since Be2 does not threaten d4, black can continue with the simple g6 line. O-O Bg7 Re1 O-O Bf1 Nc6. White has spend time on Be2-f1, and probably needs to play h3 before threatening d4. Then black can play d5 or e5 or other things.

[@cz19856]

@@chesscomdpruess yeah this would be enough in the video. I was not asking for in depth analysis, just to point out the fact that you can't capture the pawn if white plays the most common move, and that Nc6 is a dangerous line as well, so you should play g6 for example, as you said.

[@chesscomdpruess]

@@cz19856 hmmm. maybe i should have shown the Qa4+ and related Nc6 d5 tactic. :/

[@Kruci96]

Which openings we can see in the program?

[@chesscomdpruess]

Right now there are "Aggressive Repertoire for White" (using e4) and Caro, French, and King's Indian.

[@milosjovanovic4218]

Finally the Sicilian!! ENoguh with the caros and the frenchs! Will we have a pgn in the program??

[@ChessDojo]

Yes in the Dojo Training Program!

[@milosjovanovic4218]

@@ChessDojo awesome

[@blitzthepawns2427]

just play the caro

[@ChessJourneyman]

They hate Caro for some reason.

[@chesscomdpruess]

​@@ChessJourneyman kzbin.info/www/bejne/kGimXq2ArLN6a5Y

[@JamesBond-xi1cz]

hello David, where can I send you an email, need a recommendation, TIA.

[@kleefan8]

I love your passion for the Polugaevsky variation. I would play Najdorf so I could play the Polugaevsky variation, but these days Bg5 isn't seen as often. I've switched to the Sveshnikov, it's similarly complicated as the Polugaevsky, but easier to get in an open Sicilian. Having said that, it's less fun to play the Sicilian these days because so many players play c3 and Bb5 anti-Sicilian systems. :(

[@randyking9489]

So true. I don't get many open Sicilians these days