Sicilian Defense: Najdorf Variation, Neo-Classical Defense
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Bg5 e6 7. f4 Nc6
The Sicilian Defense: Najdorf Variation, Neo-Classical Defense 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 Nc6. 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 41 times by this move order. White won 34%, 3% were drawn and Black won 63%. The most popular continuation is 8. Nxc6 (61% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.83 (Stockfish, depth 55; best line 8. Nxc6 bxc6 9. e5 h6 10. Bh4 g5)
- ECO
- B96
- Moves
- 14 plies
- FEN
r1bqkb1r/1p3ppp/p1nppn2/6B1/3NPP2/2N5/PPP3PP/R2QKB1R w KQkq - 1 8- PGN
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Bg5 e6 7. f4 Nc6
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 1 | |
| 1500-1999 | 8 | |
| 2000+ | 32 | |
| All | 41 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 8. Nxc6 | 25 (61%) | |
| 8. Qd2 | 8 (20%) | |
| 8. Nb3 | 5 (12%) | |
| 8. Bc4 | 1 (2%) | |
| 8. Nf3 | 1 (2%) | |
| 8. Qf3 | 1 (2%) |
Master games
127 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 46%, draw 19%, Black 35%). The strongest:
- GM Gadir Guseinov (2613) – GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (2762) 0-1 · FIDE World Blitz 2014 · 2014-06-20
- GM Ngoc Truong Son Nguyen (2641) – GM Deepan Chakkravarthy J. (2535) 1-0 · Titled Tuesday 22nd June · 2021-06-22
- GM Niclas Huschenbeth (2541) – GM Marcin Tazbir (2516) 0-1 · Millionaire TB U2550 · 2015-10-11
- GM Dragan Solak (2618) – IM Oleg Loskutov (2393) 1-0 · Pavlodar Open 2013 · 2013-12-11
- GM Jonny Hector (2505) – IM Helgi Dam Ziska (2499) 0-1 · Whitsun GM 2014 · 2014-06-05
Highest-rated Lichess games
- Ante373 (2606) – Carobee (2653) 0-1 · 2026-09-01 · 180 + 0s
- top1blitzplayer (2516) – krama2026 (2405) 1/2-1/2 · 2026-09-02 · 180 + 0s
- Entrenamiento2023 (2439) – Bars95 (2440) 1-0 · 2026-09-03 · 180 + 2s
Comes from
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
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.