Sicilian Defense: Najdorf Variation, Main Line
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Bg5 e6 7. f4 Be7 8. Qf3 Qc7 9. O-O-O Nbd7
The Sicilian Defense: Najdorf Variation, Main Line is a chess opening classified as ECO B99, reached after 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Bg5 e6 7. f4 Be7 8. Qf3 Qc7 9. O-O-O Nbd7. It is a line of the Sicilian Defense. White is to move.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 449 times by this move order. White won 47%, 7% were drawn and Black won 46%. The most popular continuation is 10. g4 (56% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.34 (Stockfish, depth 48; best line 10. g4 b5 11. Bxf6 Nxf6 12. g5 Nd7)
- ECO
- B99
- Moves
- 18 plies
- FEN
r1b1k2r/1pqnbppp/p2ppn2/6B1/3NPP2/2N2Q2/PPP3PP/2KR1B1R w kq - 5 10- PGN
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Bg5 e6 7. f4 Be7 8. Qf3 Qc7 9. O-O-O Nbd7
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 1500-1999 | 83 | |
| 2000+ | 366 | |
| All | 449 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 10. g4 | 251 (56%) | |
| 10. Bd3 | 120 (27%) | |
| 10. Kb1 | 25 (6%) | |
| 10. Be2 | 20 (4%) | |
| 10. f5 | 15 (3%) | |
| 10. Bxf6 | 4 (1%) | |
| 10. Rd2 | 4 (1%) | |
| 10. Qg3 | 2 (0%) |
Master games
2,154 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 48%, draw 19%, Black 33%). The strongest:
- StoofvleesII d2 (3479) – Stockfishdev-20240413-c55ae376 (3657) 1-0 · TCEC 26 Premier 2024 · 2024-04-30
- Stockfishdev-20240413-c55ae376 (3657) – StoofvleesII d2 (3479) 1-0 · TCEC 26 Premier 2024 · 2024-04-27
- GM Anish Giri (2764) – GM Alexander Grischuk (2777) 1/2-1/2 · Chessbrah Inv May 2020 · 2020-05-15
- GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (2732) – GM So, W. (2757) 1-0 · Chess.com Classic Div 2 W · 2024-05-14
- GM Sergey Karjakin (2757) – GM Vasyl Ivanchuk (2731) 1/2-1/2 · 10th World Teams 2015 · 2015-04-19
Search all games of the Sicilian Defense: Najdorf Variation, Main Line and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- Dondukov (2688) – FM VladislavKrasikov_FM (2429) 1-0 · 2026-09-06 · 180 + 2s
- joobree (2531) – CM SouthAfricanWolf (2576) 1-0 · 2026-09-06 · 180 + 0s
- SolaceOfNight (2522) – The_Iceberg (2520) 0-1 · 2026-09-07 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Sicilian Defense: Najdorf Variation, Traditional Line 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Bg5 e6 7. f4 Be7 8. Qf3 Qc7
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.