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Sicilian, Najdorf, 7...Be7 Main line (B99)
1 e4 c5 2 Nf3 d6 3 d4 cxd4 4 Nxd4 Nf6 5 Nc3 a6 6 Bg5 e6
7 f4 Be7 8 Qf3 Qc7 9 O-O-O Nbd7

Number of games in database: 690
Years covered: 1938 to 2009
Overall record:
   White wins 42.5%
   Black wins 28.0%
   Draws 29.6%

Popularity graph, by decade

Explore this opening  |  Search for sacrifices in this opening.
PRACTITIONERS
With the White Pieces With the Black Pieces
Milan Matulovic  16 games
Jan Timman  12 games
Mikhail Tal  8 games
Walter Shawn Browne  29 games
Nick DeFirmian  19 games
Robert James Fischer  16 games
NOTABLE GAMES [what is this?]
White Wins Black Wins
Kholmov vs Bronstein, 1965
Navara vs J Helbich, 1998
Tal vs Koblents, 1961
Keres vs Fischer, 1959
Smyslov vs Fischer, 1959
Minic vs Fischer, 1970
<< previous chapter next chapter >>

 page 1 of 28; games 1-25 of 690  PGN Download
Game  ResultMoves Year Event/LocaleOpening
1. W Kunerth vs K Wojtyla  1-027 1938 KrakowB99 Sicilian, Najdorf, 7...Be7 Main line
2. C B Van den Berg vs Ujtelky  1-031 1955 NED-CSRB99 Sicilian, Najdorf, 7...Be7 Main line
3. F Aguado vs Najdorf  0-133 1956 MontevideoB99 Sicilian, Najdorf, 7...Be7 Main line
4. S Bernstein vs Fischer 0-144 1957 New York ch-USB99 Sicilian, Najdorf, 7...Be7 Main line
5. Vukcevich vs Ivkov  ½-½15 1957 SomborB99 Sicilian, Najdorf, 7...Be7 Main line
6. Keres vs J Beherensen  1-029 1957 Mar del Plata (21.03.57)B99 Sicilian, Najdorf, 7...Be7 Main line
7. Keres vs Aronin  ½-½41 1957 Moskva ch-SU (03.02.57)B99 Sicilian, Najdorf, 7...Be7 Main line
8. V Mikenas vs Spassky  0-143 1957 RUSB99 Sicilian, Najdorf, 7...Be7 Main line
9. V Mikenas vs Aronin 0-133 1957 Ch URSB99 Sicilian, Najdorf, 7...Be7 Main line
10. Bannik vs Petrosian 1-026 1957 Ch URSB99 Sicilian, Najdorf, 7...Be7 Main line
11. Ragozin vs Spassky 0-161 1957 Ch URSB99 Sicilian, Najdorf, 7...Be7 Main line
12. Suetin vs Tolush  ½-½37 1957 LeningradB99 Sicilian, Najdorf, 7...Be7 Main line
13. Nikitin vs Suetin  0-160 1957 LeningradB99 Sicilian, Najdorf, 7...Be7 Main line
14. V Mikenas vs Vasiukov  1-051 1957 URS-ch sfB99 Sicilian, Najdorf, 7...Be7 Main line
15. E Paoli vs V Nestler  1-028 1957 ITA-chB99 Sicilian, Najdorf, 7...Be7 Main line
16. Boleslavsky vs Aronin  ½-½22 1957 URS-ch24B99 Sicilian, Najdorf, 7...Be7 Main line
17. Tolush vs Aronin  1-033 1957 24th USSR ChampionshipB99 Sicilian, Najdorf, 7...Be7 Main line
18. O Sarapu vs B Marsick  1-031 1958 North Island ChampionshipB99 Sicilian, Najdorf, 7...Be7 Main line
19. Y Safvat vs A Vestol  0-125 1958 13th olm final CB99 Sicilian, Najdorf, 7...Be7 Main line
20. Y Safvat vs Ojanen  0-129 1958 13th olm qual. group 2B99 Sicilian, Najdorf, 7...Be7 Main line
21. E Paoli vs Tolush 0-123 1958 Asztalos memB99 Sicilian, Najdorf, 7...Be7 Main line
22. W Ader vs Fischer 0-136 1959 SantiagoB99 Sicilian, Najdorf, 7...Be7 Main line
23. E Walther vs Fischer ½-½67 1959 ZurichB99 Sicilian, Najdorf, 7...Be7 Main line
24. Tal vs Fischer ½-½35 1959 ZurichB99 Sicilian, Najdorf, 7...Be7 Main line
25. Gligoric vs Fischer ½-½57 1959 Yugoslovia Cand. Tourn.B99 Sicilian, Najdorf, 7...Be7 Main line
 page 1 of 28; games 1-25 of 690  PGN Download
  REFINE SEARCH:   White wins (1-0) | Black wins (0-1) | Draws (1/2-1/2)  
 

Secrets of Opening Surprises

Kibitzer's Corner
< Earlier Kibitzing  · PAGE 2 OF 2 ·  Later Kibitzing >
Aug-08-05
Premium Chessgames Member
  WannaBe: <RonB52734> Just read your profile, a lot of the names you mentioned doesn't have a bio on their page. Would you care to add a few words to their page(s)? :-) Or ask the players themselves to join us and chip in a few words.

Do they all in your town?! And what town is that, if I may ask?

Aug-08-05
Premium Chessgames Member
  RonB52734: Yes, they're all here (Stanislav G Kriventsov may not live here -- I'm not sure. But he plays here frequently).

And "here," of course, is Pittsburgh. www.pittsburghcc.org

With the exception of Stanislav G Kriventsov and Alexander Shabalov (sometimes called "the Pittsburgh pounder"), the fellows I mentioned in my bio are strong local players who do get the chance to play in some top-level competitions and so they have turned up in the cg.com database (but, sadly, generally with losses against great competitors).

Aug-08-05   jamesmaskell: Do you know the 10 year olds name? Im curious...
Aug-08-05
Premium Chessgames Member
  RonB52734: Well of course I know the 10 year old's name! He sat across the board from me in a Tuesday night tournament and took my lunch money! (Quite a young gentleman, actually, and well known in local chess circles).

On principle, I won't post a 10-year old's name on the Internet, although, to paraphrase Robert Novak, his name can be determined from the USCF's website.

Aug-09-05
Premium Chessgames Member
  WannaBe: <RonB52734: ... took my lunch money!...> Ouch... I'd take him back to the dark and deserted alley and get the lunch money back! And then take his! :-))
Aug-20-05
Premium Chessgames Member
  TheAlchemist: In the variation <10.Bd3 h6 11.Bh4 g5!? 12.fxg5 Ne5> I have come up with a dubious Queen sacrifice <13.gxf6?! Nxf3 14.gxf3>, which is (most likely) fundamentally unsound, but can be very tricky. I have analyzed it with my computer a bit, but I would like to hear comments from a human perspective. Anyone? Thank you.

P.S.: Here is one game, with the usual 13.Qe2: Gulko vs Savon, 1973

Nov-01-05
Premium Chessgames Member
  TheAlchemist: Here's an unforced, almost surreal line I came up with CM10:

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Bg5 e6 7.f4 Be7 8.Qf3 Qc7 9.O-O-O Nbd7 10.Bd3 h6 11.Bh4 g5 12.fxg5 Ne5 13.gxf6 Nxf3 14.gxf3 Bf8 15.Rhg1 b5 16.a3 Bb7 17.f4 d5 18.e5 Rc8 19.Ncxb5 Qb6 20.f5 axb5 21.Bxb5+ Bc6 22.fxe6 Bxb5 23.exf7+ Kd7 24.e6+ Kc7 25.e7 h5 26.Kb1 Bh6 27.Rg7 Kb8 28.Rg6 Be3 29.Nxb5 Qxb5 30.Rg8 Rhxg8 31.fxg8=Q Rxg8 32.f7 1-0

I think the final position deserves a diagram:


click for larger view

Nov-02-05   azaris: The only sensible game I could find in your line is this:

[Event "Kasparov Cup"]
[Site "Moscow"]
[Date "1997.??.??"]
[Round "0"]
[White "Gashimov,Vugar"]
[Black "Kunin,Vitaly L"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Eco "B99"]
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Bg5 e6 7.f4 Be7 8.Qf3 Qc7 9.0-0-0 Nbd7 10.Bd3 h6 11.Bh4 g5 12.fxg5 Ne5 13.gxf6 Nxf3 14.Nxf3 Bf8 15.Rhe1 Bd7 16.Bg3 0-0-0 17.Bf1 Bc6 18.Rd4 Rd7 19.Red1 Rg8 20.Bf2 Rg6 21.Rc4 b5 22.Rcd4 Rxf6 23.R4d3 b4 24.e5 Rg6 25.Nb1 Bb5 26.Re3 Bxf1 27.Rxf1 Rxg2 28.Nh4 Rxh2 0-1

White appears to have insufficient compensation. Of course, he was only 11 at the time.

Nov-02-05
Premium Chessgames Member
  TheAlchemist: <azaris> Thanks for the find! After looking at it more objectively, I realize it's unsound, but still, OTB anything can happen :-)

I still favor 14. gxf3 and 15.Rhg1, though. But Black just has to play Bc6 on time, to prevent Nd5 and h6-h5 to develop the Bishop on h6. If he doesn't, then trouble might arrive.

Nov-03-05
Premium Chessgames Member
  tpstar: Fritz 7 Deep Position Analysis [20MB]:

13. gxf6 Nxf3 14. gxf3 Bf8 15. Rhg1

1) 15 ... b5

a) 16. f4 b4 17. Nce2 e5 18. Nf5 Bxf5 [-1.31/13]

b) 16. f4 Qb6 17. Kb1 b4 18. Nce2 e5 [-1.19/14]

c) 16. Be1 Bd7 17. f4 b4 18. Nce2 e5 [-1.44/14]

d) 16. Kb1 b4 17. Nce2 e5 18. Nb3 a5 [-1.47/14]

2) 15 ... b6

a) 16. Nce2 b5 17. Kb1 e5 18. Nb3 b4 [-1.16/14]

b) 16. Nb3 b5 17. Ne2 b4 18. Nf4 a5 [-1.56/13]

c) 16. f4 b5 17. Nce2 e5 18. Nb3 b4 [-1.09/14]

3) 15 ... Bd7

a) 16. Nb3 b5 17. f4 b4 18. Ne2 Bb5 [-1.50/14]

b) 16. Bf2 b5 17. f4 b4 18. Nce2 a5 [-0.94/14]

c) 16. Kb1 Qb6 17. Nde2 0-0-0 18. f4 d5 [-1.09/14]

Nov-03-05
Premium Chessgames Member
  TheAlchemist: <tpstar> Thanks! I haven't done such deep analysis myself, so yours is much appreciated.

If that buries my line objectively, it does not, however, bury my intentions of playing it, if it ever arises in a game.

So far, the furthest I got was until 10.Bd3, then my opponent played 10...b5. It was a rapid game (my opponent's rapid rating was 400 points higher), I played very well and outplayed her in a Rook ending, but lost on time.

Nov-03-05
Premium Chessgames Member
  tpstar: <TheAlchemist> I was surprised it wasn't more negative (so to speak) since White gets 2N&P versus Q. I'm guessing White's space advantage on the Kingside gives compensation, plus the advanced Pf6, also Black's lack of development. The above shows one huge drawback of computer analysis = no human would play 15 ... b6 and then play 16 ... b5, therefore you could omit #2 altogether. I do think 14 ... Bf8 is better than 14 ... Bd8 by defending the g7 entry point (especially since you planned 15. Rhg1), but also allowing ... 0-0-0 if desired. I'd be concerned that Black's Queenside Pawn storm would trump any attack you might get against Black's King, and the Queen is a potent attacker over there.

Good luck with it. =)

Dec-30-05   BaranDuin: Lately I was able to do an interesting piece sacrifice after 1 e4 c5 2 Nf3 d6 3 d4 cxd4 4 Nxd4 Nf6 5 Nc3 a6 6 Bg5 e6 7 f4 Be7 8 Qf3 Qc7 9 0-0-0 Nbd7 10.g4 b5 11.Bxf6 Nxf6 12.g5 Nd7 13.f5 Pc5 (The first new move for me, I was prepared for Bxg5+) 14. h4 (Probably f6 was better) b4


click for larger view

(Pushing away the knight and slowing white 's attack considerably it seemed to me, but after 5 minutes of thought(it was a rapid game) I found : ... fxe6 15. bxc3

I lost the game because I played badly (The fact that my opponent outrated me with more than 500 points played also a role).

Dec-30-05   azaris: <BaranDuin> I suppose Black can't be allowed to pry open the b-file, so White must continue with 16. Qxf7+ Kd8 17. b3 Nxe4 18. Bg2 Bb7 19. Bxe4 Bxe4 20. Qxg7 Re8. I'm not sure if there is enough comp.
Dec-30-05   JustAFish: <RonB52734> If it's any consolation, I played the exact same game during my trevails with the Najdorf about a year ago.
Dec-30-05   BaranDuin: <Azaris> I played Qxf7+ but now i think exf7+ is better. After for example ...

Kf8 17.Qxc3 Kxf7 18. Bc4+ Ke8 19. Bd5 Bb7 20. Bxb7 Qxb7 21. Nf5... White has a very goed position.

Dec-30-05
Premium Chessgames Member
  AdrianP: <Baranduin> I'm not sure about Kxf7 in your line, allowing White to develop the attack with tempo. I think Black needs to leave the pawn there for the time being to provide some protection for his king.
Feb-22-06
Premium Chessgames Member
  waddayaplay: Play qxf7 Qxg7, bh3, and what can black do?


click for larger view

Apr-06-06   WTHarvey: Here is a collection of puzzles taken from miniatures of the Najdorf, Main Line (ECO B99): http://www.wtharvey.com/b99.html
Nov-10-06   soughzin: Can anyone with a little experience in this line help explain the differences in the 7th move options for black? I've looked into b5 already and see the unique motives there but I'm wondering about Be7,Nbd7 and Qc7. Thanks
Nov-11-06   Kean: good question. i dont know about b5, but i like qc7 for it switches the q, from the file of the white rook down there to the c-file. there she fortifies e5 & c4. then b5 could be played, bb7 and the bishop has a good diagonal, straight to the white q; nb6-c4 & the kt is supported by the q & b5. also the q is eyeing c2 & now any rook can go to c8, strengthening the pressure along the file. hey the najdorf is great!
Nov-11-06   Stanley Yee: Look up "Mastering the Najdorf" by Arizmendi & Moreno on Amazon.com which favours 7...Qc7 or 7...Nbd7 as they both cover the e5 square, although there is certainly nothing wrong with the solid 7...Be7. Read the book reviews. There is so much material out there on the Najdorf that a repertoire book is about all the memory can handle, and this book is excellent.
Dec-26-06
Premium Chessgames Member
  AdrianP: <Soughzin>

A quick summary:-

(1) 7. ...Qb6 is the poisoned pawn, which is the main reason why most White players have moved onto 6. Be3 rather than 6. Bg5. It's been more or less analysed to a draw. See Vallejo Pons v Kasparov, Linares 2004 1/2-1/2 for one of the main lines. Both sides really need to know their stuff to avoid losing - as a generalisation, White needs to keep sacrificing material and Black needs to keep finding only moves.

(2) 7. ...b5 is the Polugaevsky variation which is just as hair-raising as the poisoned pawn. There has been no 'refutation' of 7. ...b5, but its popularity has dropped off.

(3) 7. ...Be7 is the (old) main line, followed by 8. Qf3 Qc7 9. O-O-O Nbd7 and then either 10. g4 or 10. Bd3. There's a huge amount of theory including lots of interesting sacs and still some new ideas, but Black seems to hold his own.

(4) 7. ...Nbd7 is similar to 7. ...Be7 and can transpose. It's a favourite of Gelfand's and the main point is to control e5 asap and maybe save a tempo if the bishop is more comfortable staying on f8. Again, there's lots of theory. Gelfand beat off Carlsen, Radjabov and Nakamura in succession in recent times in this line.

7. ...Qc7 is also OK and tends to transpose.

Mar-18-07
Premium Chessgames Member
  TheAlchemist: It's a few months old now, I forgot to post it back then, here's my only attempt so far, which failed miserably. I tried to fight, tried with some tricks, but I was playing against a much better opponent, who played superbly:

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Bg5 e6 7.f4 Be7 8.Qf3 Qc7 9.O-O-O Nbd7 10.Bd3 h6 11.Bh4 g5 12.fxg5 Ne5 13.gxf6 Nxf3 14.gxf3 Bf8 15.Rhg1 (<Azarov-Predojevic, Torino 2006 went: 15.f4 Bd7 16.f5 O-O-O 17.Kb1 Kb8 18.fxe6 fxe6 19.Rhg1 Bc8 20.e5 dxe5 21.Nf3 Bc5 22.Rg7 Qb6 23.f7 Bb4 24.Nd2 Bxc3 25. Nc4 e4 26.Nxb6 Bxg7 27.Bxd8 Rxd8 1/2-1/2, while Brenjo-Ardeleanu, Backa Palanka 2002, went: 15.Rhg1 Bd7 16.f4 Qc5 17.Nce2 O-O-O 18.Rg7 e5 19.Nf5 Bxf5 20.exf5 Qe3+ 21.Kb1 exf4 22.Bc4 Qh3 23.Bf2 Qxf5 24.Bd5 Kb8 25.Rxf7 1-0>) Bd7 16.f4 Qc5 17.Be2 b5 18.a3 Rb8 19.f5 (<I think this was the critical moment for me in the game. Here, I considered 19.Rg3, 19.Rd3, 19.Kb1 or 19.Rg2 as well, but in the end I went for the wildest one. It was a hard decision, maybe I went wrong, but other moves probably don't help in the long run.>) b4 20.axb4 Qxb4 21.Nxe6 Bxe6 22.fxe6 fxe6 23.f7+ Kd7 24.Bxa6 Rh7 25.Rgf1 Qxb2+ 26.Kd2 Qb4 27.Bd3 (<I think it was around here that I was getting desperate, but I decided to try and hold on, come what may>) Bg7 28.Bf6 Bxf6 29.Rxf6 Rf8 30.Rb1 Qd4 31.Rb7+ Kc8 32.Rc7+ Kb8 33.Rf1 Qe5 34.Nb5 Rg7 35.Rc6 Kb7 36.Rc7+ Kb6 0-1

Apr-21-07
Premium Chessgames Member
  TheAlchemist: I just finished this, again I perished in style :-)

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Bg5 e6 7.f4 Be7 8.Qf3 Qc7 9.O-O-O Nbd7 10.Bd3 h6 11.Bh4 g5 12.fxg5 Ne5 13.gxf6 Nxf3 14.gxf3 Bf8 15.Rhg1 Bd7 16.f4 d5 17.e5 O-O-O 18.Be2 Kb8 19.Bh5 Bc8 20.Rd3 Rh7 21.a3 Bd7 22.f5 exf5 23.Nxd5 Qc5 24.Ne7 Ba4 25.Bd1 Bxe7 26.fxe7 Rc8 27.Bf6 Re8 28.Rg2 Rxe7 29.Bxe7 Qxe7 30.Nxf5 Qxe5 31.Rg8+ Ka7 32.Nd6 Bd7 33.Bf3 Rg7 34.Rxg7 Qxg7 35.Bxb7 Qg1+ 36.Rd1 Qxh2 0-1

Perhaps I should give up, but I'm not, maybe only players that are very good play the h6-g5 line.

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