Sicilian Defense: Najdorf Variation, Yates Variation
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Bd3
The Sicilian Defense: Najdorf Variation, Yates Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO B90, reached after 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Bd3. It is a line of the Sicilian Defense. Black is to move.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 2,553 times by this move order. White won 43%, 4% were drawn and Black won 53%. The most popular continuation is 6… e5 (46% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.18 (Stockfish, depth 51; best line 6… g6 7. f3 Qb6 8. Nb3 Nc6 9. Bf4)
- ECO
- B90
- Moves
- 11 plies
- FEN
rnbqkb1r/1p2pppp/p2p1n2/8/3NP3/2NB4/PPP2PPP/R1BQK2R b KQkq - 1 6- PGN
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Bd3
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 260 | |
| 1500-1999 | 1,734 | |
| 2000+ | 559 | |
| All | 2,553 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 6… e5 | 1,182 (46%) | |
| 6… e6 | 622 (24%) | |
| 6… g6 | 260 (10%) | |
| 6… Nc6 | 201 (8%) | |
| 6… b5 | 164 (6%) | |
| 6… Nbd7 | 50 (2%) | |
| 6… Qc7 | 30 (1%) | |
| 6… Qb6 | 12 (0%) |
Master games
2,509 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 42%, draw 23%, Black 35%). The strongest:
- GM Ian Nepomniachtchi (2776) – GM Liren Ding (2811) 1/2-1/2 · chess.com Speed 2019 · 2019-11-18
- GM Hikaru Nakamura (2785) – GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (2796) 1-0 · 5th Norway Chess 2017 · 2017-06-10
- GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (2784) – GM Liren Ding (2791) 1/2-1/2 · Skilling Open Prelim · 2020-11-24
- GM Jeffery Xiong (2709) – GM Magnus Carlsen (2863) 0-1 · Clutch Chess Showdown Int · 2020-06-08
- GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (2784) – GM Ian Nepomniachtchi (2784) 0-1 · Airthings Masters Prelim · 2020-12-26
Search all games of the Sicilian Defense: Najdorf Variation, Yates Variation and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- kuhmft (2860) – IM khubushka2007 (2800) 0-1 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 0s
- Tempstream (2727) – ice2breaker (2751) 0-1 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 0s
- Tempstream (2721) – AnonymousBrownGuy (2721) 1/2-1/2 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Sicilian Defense: Najdorf Variation (5. Nc3 a6) 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6
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.