Sicilian Defense: Najdorf Variation, Zagreb Variation
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. g3
The Sicilian Defense: Najdorf Variation, Zagreb Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO B91, reached after 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. g3. 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 494 times by this move order. White won 48%, 8% were drawn and Black won 44%. The most popular continuation is 6… e5 (54% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.08 (Stockfish, depth 55; best line 6… e5 7. Nde2 Be7 8. Bg2 O-O 9. a4)
- ECO
- B91
- Moves
- 11 plies
- FEN
rnbqkb1r/1p2pppp/p2p1n2/8/3NP3/2N3P1/PPP2P1P/R1BQKB1R b KQkq - 0 6- PGN
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. g3
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 17 | |
| 1500-1999 | 163 | |
| 2000+ | 314 | |
| All | 494 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 6… e5 | 268 (54%) | |
| 6… e6 | 95 (19%) | |
| 6… g6 | 57 (12%) | |
| 6… b5 | 28 (6%) | |
| 6… Nc6 | 24 (5%) | |
| 6… h5 | 8 (2%) | |
| 6… Nbd7 | 5 (1%) | |
| 6… Qc7 | 4 (1%) |
Master games
3,510 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 40%, draw 26%, Black 34%). The strongest:
- Berserk 20250622 (3667) – PlentyChess 7.0.55 (3693) 1-0 · TCEC 29 Premier 2026 · 2026-03-10
- PlentyChess 7.0.55 (3693) – Berserk 20250622 (3667) 1-0 · TCEC 29 Premier 2026 · 2026-03-08
- GM Viswanathan Anand (2784) – GM Anish Giri (2798) 1/2-1/2 · 5th Zurich CC Blitz · 2016-02-15
- GM Liren Ding (2799) – GM Levon Aronian (2782) 0-1 · chess.com Speed 2021 · 2021-12-06
- GM Vladimir Kramnik (2809) – GM Anish Giri (2771) 1/2-1/2 · 8th London Classic 2016 · 2016-12-17
Search all games of the Sicilian Defense: Najdorf Variation, Zagreb Variation and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- IM beatles_21 (2750) – F1nal_Masquerade (2793) 1-0 · 2026-09-03 · 180 + 0s
- Nana_jede_cevape (2847) – Artem9630 (2636) 0-1 · 2026-09-06 · 180 + 0s
- ice2breaker (2735) – EmperorBundaloy (2572) 1-0 · 2026-09-02 · 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.