Sicilian Defense: Najdorf Variation (6. Bg5 e6)
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Bg5 e6
The Sicilian Defense: Najdorf Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO B95, reached after 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Bg5 e6. It is a line of the Sicilian Defense. White is to move. 1 named line continues from this position.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 5,017 times by this move order. White won 47%, 5% were drawn and Black won 48%. The most popular continuation is 7. f4 (56% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.17 (Stockfish, depth 55; best line 7. f4 h6 8. Bh4 Qb6 9. a3 Nc6)
- ECO
- B95
- Moves
- 12 plies
- FEN
rnbqkb1r/1p3ppp/p2ppn2/6B1/3NP3/2N5/PPP2PPP/R2QKB1R w KQkq - 0 7- PGN
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Bg5 e6
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 205 | |
| 1500-1999 | 2,153 | |
| 2000+ | 2,659 | |
| All | 5,017 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 7. f4 Najdorf Variation (6… e6 7. f4) | 2,800 (56%) | |
| 7. Qd2 | 507 (10%) | |
| 7. Bd3 | 408 (8%) | |
| 7. Bc4 | 321 (6%) | |
| 7. Be2 | 252 (5%) | |
| 7. Qf3 | 241 (5%) | |
| 7. f3 | 123 (2%) | |
| 7. Qe2 | 113 (2%) |
Master games
1,993 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 45%, draw 16%, Black 39%). The strongest:
- Pedone 20200420 (3574) – AllieStein v0.6-n14.3beta (3815) 0-1 · 5th TCEC Cup 2020 · 2020-04-26
- AllieStein v0.6-n14.3beta (3815) – Pedone 20200420 (3574) 1-0 · 5th TCEC Cup 2020 · 2020-04-25
- Pedone 20200420 (3574) – AllieStein v0.6-n14.3beta (3815) 1-0 · 5th TCEC Cup 2020 · 2020-04-25
- AllieStein v0.6-n14.3beta (3815) – Pedone 20200420 (3574) 1-0 · 5th TCEC Cup 2020 · 2020-04-25
- Stockfishdev-20250802-a37b38bd (3731) – Berserk20250622 (3650) 1/2-1/2 · TCEC 28 Premier 2025 · 2025-08-23
Search all games of the Sicilian Defense: Najdorf Variation and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- qdxds (2911) – TIMETOLOCKINN (2668) 0-1 · 2026-09-02 · 180 + 0s
- FM Buyofl (2717) – GladiatorDefence (2777) 0-1 · 2026-09-03 · 180 + 0s
- chaaa116 (2695) – sapphire_phoenix (2774) 1-0 · 2026-09-07 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Sicilian Defense: Najdorf Variation (5… a6 6. Bg5) 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Bg5
Continuations
- Sicilian Defense: Najdorf Variation (6… e6 7. f4) B96 · 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Bg5 e6 7. f4
More Sicilian Defense lines (all)
- Sicilian Defense (1. e4 c5) B20
- Sicilian Defense: Amazon Attack B20
- Sicilian Defense: Big Clamp Formation B20
- Sicilian Defense: Bowdler Attack B20
- Sicilian Defense: Brick Variation B20
- Sicilian Defense: Czerniak Attack B20
- Sicilian Defense: Czerniak Attack, Queen Fianchetto Variation B20
- Sicilian Defense: Euwe Attack, Prins Gambit B20
- Sicilian Defense: Gloria Variation B20
- Sicilian Defense: Grob Variation B20
- Sicilian Defense: Keres Variation B20
- Sicilian Defense: King David's Opening B20
Opening names and moves from the Lichess openings dataset; statistics from the Lichess open database, 2026-09 (CC0), sample of 12.6 million games, bots excluded; evaluations from Lichess cloud analysis (all CC0). Master games from The Week in Chess #920–#1664 by Mark Crowther, used with permission.