Sicilian Defense: Najdorf Variation, Polugaevsky Variation
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Bg5 e6 7. f4 b5
The Sicilian Defense: Najdorf Variation, Polugaevsky 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 b5. 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 76 times by this move order. White won 39%, 2% were drawn and Black won 59%. The most popular continuation is 8. Qf3 (39% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.60 (Stockfish, depth 53; best line 8. e5 dxe5 9. fxe5 Qc7 10. exf6 Qe5+)
- ECO
- B96
- Moves
- 14 plies
- FEN
rnbqkb1r/5ppp/p2ppn2/1p4B1/3NPP2/2N5/PPP3PP/R2QKB1R w KQkq - 0 8- PGN
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Bg5 e6 7. f4 b5
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 1500-1999 | 10 | |
| 2000+ | 66 | |
| All | 76 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 8. Qf3 | 30 (39%) | |
| 8. e5 | 25 (33%) | |
| 8. a3 | 11 (14%) | |
| 8. Bd3 | 5 (7%) | |
| 8. Qe2 | 3 (4%) | |
| 8. Ncxb5 | 1 (1%) | |
| 8. f5 | 1 (1%) |
Master games
191 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 40%, draw 15%, Black 45%). The strongest:
- GM Hao Wang (2739) – GM Hikaru Nakamura (2778) 1-0 · 45th Biel GM · 2012-07-25
- GM Anuar Ismagambetov (2531) – GM Vasyl Ivanchuk (2744) 0-1 · 41st Olympiad Open 2014 · 2014-08-09
- GM Sergei Azarov (2618) – GM Anton Shomoev (2568) 1-0 · Rector Cup MGSU · 2012-11-11
- GM Nikita Matinian (2470) – GM Jeffery Xiong (2709) 0-1 · Titled Tuesday 16th Mar · 2021-03-16
- GM Boris Savchenko (2571) – GM Anton Shomoev (2564) 0-1 · Russian Rapid GP Final 2012 · 2012-12-23
Highest-rated Lichess games
- T-80BVM (2588) – IM Angelicanmade (2527) 0-1 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 0s
- Artemov-Andriy (2447) – Greifax (2527) 0-1 · 2026-09-03 · 180 + 0s
- Eliasbaruc (2440) – Greifax (2524) 0-1 · 2026-09-07 · 180 + 0s
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
Continuations
- Sicilian Defense: Najdorf Variation, Polugaevsky Variation, Simagin Line B96 · 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Bg5 e6 7. f4 b5 8. e5 dxe5 9. fxe5 Qc7 10. Qe2
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.