Sicilian Defense: Najdorf Variation (6… e6 7. f4)
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Bg5 e6 7. f4
The Sicilian Defense: Najdorf Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO B96, reached after 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Bg5 e6 7. f4. It is a line of the Sicilian Defense. Black is to move. 4 named lines continue from this position.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 2,800 times by this move order. White won 48%, 5% were drawn and Black won 47%. The most popular continuation is 7… Be7 (60% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.04 (Stockfish, depth 55; best line 7… Qb6 8. Qd2 Qxb2 9. Rb1 Qa3 10. f5)
- ECO
- B96
- Moves
- 13 plies
- FEN
rnbqkb1r/1p3ppp/p2ppn2/6B1/3NPP2/2N5/PPP3PP/R2QKB1R b KQkq - 0 7- PGN
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Bg5 e6 7. f4
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 37 | |
| 1500-1999 | 822 | |
| 2000+ | 1,941 | |
| All | 2,800 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 7… Be7 Najdorf Variation (7. f4 Be7) | 1,679 (60%) | |
| 7… Qb6 Najdorf Variation, Poisoned Pawn Variation | 348 (12%) | |
| 7… Nbd7 | 275 (10%) | |
| 7… h6 | 269 (10%) | |
| 7… Qc7 | 94 (3%) | |
| 7… b5 Najdorf Variation, Polugaevsky Variation | 76 (3%) | |
| 7… Nc6 Najdorf Variation, Neo-Classical Defense | 41 (1%) | |
| 7… Bd7 | 9 (0%) |
Master games
4,280 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 39%, draw 20%, Black 41%). The strongest:
- AllieStein v0.5_timefix-n14.0 (3936) – Komodo 2503.05 (3912) 1/2-1/2 · TCEC 20 Premier 2020 · 2020-04-08
- Komodo 2503.05 (3912) – AllieStein v0.5_timefix-n14.0 (3936) 1-0 · TCEC 20 Premier 2020 · 2020-04-04
- GM Fabiano Caruana (2817) – GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (2803) 1/2-1/2 · 4th GRENKE Chess Classic · 2017-04-20
- GM Fabiano Caruana (2823) – GM Hikaru Nakamura (2779) 1-0 · 8th London Classic 2016 · 2016-12-15
- GM Fabiano Caruana (2822) – GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (2779) 1/2-1/2 · Saint Louis Rapid 2018 · 2018-08-12
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
- SackOnTheKing930 (2725) – Meatloaf927 (2713) 0-1 · 2026-09-01 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
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
Continuations
- Sicilian Defense: Najdorf Variation (7. f4 Be7) B98 · 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Bg5 e6 7. f4 Be7
- Sicilian Defense: Najdorf Variation, Neo-Classical Defense B96 · 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Bg5 e6 7. f4 Nc6
- Sicilian Defense: Najdorf Variation, Poisoned Pawn Variation B97 · 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Bg5 e6 7. f4 Qb6
- Sicilian Defense: Najdorf Variation, Polugaevsky Variation B96 · 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Bg5 e6 7. f4 b5
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.