Sicilian Defense: Najdorf Variation (5. Nc3 a6)
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6
The Sicilian Defense: Najdorf 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. It is a line of the Sicilian Defense. White is to move. 10 named lines continue from this position.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 30,757 times by this move order. White won 48%, 4% were drawn and Black won 48%. The most popular continuation is 6. Bg5 (23% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.25 (Stockfish, depth 60; best line 6. Be3 Ng4 7. Bg5 h6 8. Bh4 g5)
- ECO
- B90
- Moves
- 10 plies
- FEN
rnbqkb1r/1p2pppp/p2p1n2/8/3NP3/2N5/PPP2PPP/R1BQKB1R w KQkq - 0 6- PGN
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 1,528 | |
| 1500-1999 | 15,207 | |
| 2000+ | 14,022 | |
| All | 30,757 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 6. Bg5 Najdorf Variation (5… a6 6. Bg5) | 7,206 (23%) | |
| 6. Be3 Najdorf Variation, English Attack (5… a6 6. Be3) | 5,417 (18%) | |
| 6. Bc4 Najdorf Variation, Lipnitsky Attack | 4,134 (13%) | |
| 6. Be2 Najdorf Variation, Opocensky Variation (5… a6 6. Be2) | 3,808 (12%) | |
| 6. f3 | 2,566 (8%) | |
| 6. Bd3 Najdorf Variation, Yates Variation | 2,553 (8%) | |
| 6. h3 Najdorf Variation, Adams Attack | 1,298 (4%) | |
| 6. a4 | 1,110 (4%) |
Master games
13,293 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 42%, draw 18%, Black 40%). The strongest:
- LCZero 0.31-dag-5350a2e-BT4-61 (3631) – Stockfish dev-20240728-2343f71 (3662) 1/2-1/2 · TCEC 26 Balanced Lines · 2024-08-01
- LCZero 0.30-dag-a9b25c2b-BT2-3 (3598) – Stockfish dev-20230409-b36d39d (3639) 1-0 · TCEC 24 Superfinal 2023 · 2023-04-11
- Stockfish dev-20230409-b36d39d (3639) – LCZero 0.30-dag-a9b25c2b-BT2-3 (3598) 1-0 · TCEC 24 Superfinal 2023 · 2023-04-11
- Caissa 1.21.2 (3545) – Stockfish dev-20241122-b7f17346 (3677) 1/2-1/2 · TCEC 27 Premier 2024 · 2024-12-15
- Stockfish dev-20241122-b7f17346 (3677) – Caissa 1.21.2 (3545) 1-0 · TCEC 27 Premier 2024 · 2024-12-12
Search all games of the Sicilian Defense: Najdorf Variation and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- kuhmft (2887) – PumASan (2879) 0-1 · 2026-09-01 · 180 + 0s
- canc3111 (2779) – winx_m (2956) 0-1 · 2026-09-05 · 180 + 0s
- Sunrise34 (2896) – LuckyStar2011 (2836) 1-0 · 2026-09-07 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Sicilian Defense: Modern Variations, Main Line 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6
Continuations
- Sicilian Defense: Najdorf Variation (5… a6 6. Bg5) B94 · 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Bg5
- Sicilian Defense: Najdorf Variation, Adams Attack B90 · 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. h3
- Sicilian Defense: Najdorf Variation, Amsterdam Variation B93 · 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. f4
- Sicilian Defense: Najdorf Variation, Dekker Gambit B90 · 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. g4
- Sicilian Defense: Najdorf Variation, English Attack (5… a6 6. Be3) B90 · 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Be3
- Sicilian Defense: Najdorf Variation, Lipnitsky Attack B90 · 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Bc4
- Sicilian Defense: Najdorf Variation, Opocensky Variation (5… a6 6. Be2) B92 · 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Be2
- Sicilian Defense: Najdorf Variation, Petronić Attack B90 · 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Rg1
- Sicilian Defense: Najdorf Variation, Yates Variation B90 · 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Bd3
- Sicilian Defense: Najdorf Variation, Zagreb Variation B91 · 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. g3
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.