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1.Opening

Sicilian Najdorf

You play BlackB90SharpAdvanced

The most respected answer to 1.e4, favored by Fischer and Kasparov. One quiet pawn move — ...a6 — that does a lot.

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 …

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English Attack: position after 10 moves1h2g3f4e5d6c7b8a
English Attack: position after 10 moves
2.Ideas

What the opening is about

Key ideas

  1. ...a6 stops Nb5/Bb5 and prepares ...b5 queenside expansion.
  2. ...e5 grabs space; the d5 square is the key battleground.
  3. ...Be6 and ...Nbd7 keep d5 covered.
  4. Opposite-side castling means a pawn-storm race — speed matters more than material.
3.Main line

Main line · 20 moves

English Attack

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Your moves Opponent
No. White Black1
e4White grabs the center and opens lines for the queen and light-squared bishop.
c5The Sicilian: fight for d4 from the side instead of mirroring with ...e5. The position becomes unbalanced, which gives Black real winning chances.
2
Nf3White develops toward the center and prepares d4.
d6Controls e5, so White can never push e4–e5 to kick a knight on f6. It also opens the c8 bishop.
3
d4White opens the center while ahead in development.
cxd4Trade a flank pawn for a center pawn. Black now has two central pawns (d and e) against White's one — a long-term plus.
After 3…cxd4
After 3…cxd4
No. White Black4
Nxd4White recaptures with a strongly centralized knight.
Nf6Develops with tempo: the knight attacks e4, forcing White to spend a move defending it.
5
Nc3White defends e4 with a developing move.
a6The Najdorf! Takes b5 from White's knight and bishop, and prepares ...e5 or ...b5.
6
Be3The English Attack: White plans f3, Qd2, O-O-O, then g4–g5 to storm Black's king.
e5Kicks the knight off d4 and grabs central space. d5 becomes a hole, so Black must keep it covered.
After 6…e5
After 6…e5
No. White Black7
Nb3The knight retreats to a safe square where it still eyes c5 and d4.
Be6Controls d5 — the most important square in the whole position.
8
f3Supports e4 and takes g4 away, so ...Ng4 can never hit the e3 bishop.
Be7Modest but useful: prepares to castle and covers the f6 knight.
9
Qd2Connects the queen with the e3 bishop and clears the way to castle long.
O-OBlack castles kingside — the king is safest where White's pawns haven't arrived yet.
After 9…O-O
After 9…O-O
No. White Black10
O-O-OOpposite-side castling: both sides will now race to attack the other king.
Nbd7Covers c5 and f6 and supports ...b5. Black's attack starts with ...b5–b4, kicking the c3 knight.
After 10…Nbd7
After 10…Nbd7
4.Play

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5.More

More defenses against 1.e4