I grew up playing the English from white side and Caro Kann and Semi - Slav from the black side. I was addicted to positional chess, mostly read books written by Dvoretsky, Nimzowitch and those are the only chess books I have.

I got stuck in a draw mode where I went unbeaten in 3 tourneys. I played a total of 23 rounds and drew 18 games.

This is when I switched my openings to 1.e4 and started playing Dragon and Najdorf.

I still sometimes make passive moves while playing sicillian and I get creamed by top players and these days even kids are good at punishing passive moves.

I then started preparing openings with the help of engines(switching off the opening book and letting it analyse at Infinite mode) This worked well for me against master level players.

My weakest part is the transition period from opening to middle game. This is one of the most important phase in a chess game.

(i) 4.Bd3 (Kopec variation), defending the pawn: 4...Nc6, ...g6 (transposing to Pirc?) or ...Bg4, with a view to taking on Nf3 and delaying d4. Rogozenko recommends the third of these. Ward gives a line 4 ...Nc6, 5 h3 d5!?, where both sides have lost a tempo.

(ii) 4.Bd2 ( Basman variation) "contains a lot of poison" (Rogozenko, cf. Svidler vs Kasparov, 1997). Most popular reply in Opening Explorer is ...g6, which I haven't explored yet: the main alternatives are ...Nbd7, ...Nc6 and ...Bd7. I don't trust Nc6 because of 4.d4 cd (Nxe4??), 5.cd Qa4+ 6.Nc3 and black has nowhere useful to put the knight. Rogozenko recommends Bd7: black may have to concede the bishop pair after 5.e5, but gets better development.

(i) 3.Bb5+ (Moscow) gives us a few dilemmas. ...Nd7 seems the most logical, but it is tricky, and I for one don't know any theory. I have tried it once but got into a very closed and uncomfortable position. If we are going to play it, homework is necessary. ...Bd7 seems the most popular reply, and the only one I have theory on (from Rogozenko). Any thoughts?>

I don't know the theory either, but I am in a correspondence game right now with Black in this line, and I played 3...Nc6 4.O-O a6 5.Bxc6+ bxc6 reaching this position (B51): Opening Explorer

3... Nc6 doesn't look great statistically, but I think this is because it hasn't been explored much. On general principles it seems sound, trading a Knight for a Bishop, central control is enhanced with that doubled pawn on c6, we have the half-open b-file, and all this for just the minor weakness of the doubled pawns.

I don't think I would actually recommend this move for this game, but I would be willing to try it if we had a consensus. 3... Nd7 would probably be my first choice.

If 3.Nc3, then I would vote for 3...Nc6 simply because I it is the main line and I have had more wins than losses with it in correspondence games.

<(ii) 4.Bd2 ( Basman variation) "contains a lot of poison" ....> did you mean 4.Be2 ?

Now after the exchange, we decide if we want <Najdorf-Schveningen type complex> or some <Dragonish> variation.

Actually, an infinite number of days of discussion would be very interesting in my opinion.

So, no anti-Sicilians this time round.

<did you mean 4.Be2 ?>

<Zebra>: As for the longer term, I would be more than happy if there was enough support for a Dragon, but I suspect there isn't and I am not going to try and plug it. So my second suggestion would be to go for a Najdorf / Scheveningen type position. As <Jess> says, these are really very similar. I used to like Kasparov's early approach, of playing d6 and a6 and delaying the development of the QN to keep both options open, though usually he ended up playing it to c6. (Classic example: Karpov vs Kasparov, 1985). I would be interested to know when and why he abandoned that system, if anybody knows.

Maybe it would be a good idea to assemble a little shared collection of relevant games as we go on? I have started a selection of Sicilians at Game Collection: Sicilian beauties which could be used for the purpose, or we could start a new one.

<TheAlchemist>: the most common position that arises from the Yugoslav attack, it's only 38.2% for White and 36.5% for Black: Opening Explorer

Fischer vs Larsen, 1958, Karpov vs Korchnoi, 1974, Anand vs Kasparov, 1995, A Planinc vs Velimirovic, 1975, J Littlewood vs Botvinnik, 1962

Korchnoi and Botvinnik were successful with Black in the Dragon, as far as I remember.

<hitman84>: If we are playing the dragon, this line leads to a draw with perfect play from both sides..

Opening Explorer

<hitman84> This line is a good one for black.. White has to be very careful.

Opening Explorer

I play the dragon only when I badly need to win and this is the line I play..

Opening Explorer

The best continuation for white is Nd5 and I once drew a master from black's side.

<Zebra>: I normally play this one (Opening Explorer), which is Ward's favourite.

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Also, my suggestion of players whose opening repertoires we should consult regarding the Najdorf include: Kasparov, Topalov, Anand, Fischer, Polugaevsky, maybe I've forgotten someone, so feel free to add your own suggestions.

Some game collections that might prove useful: Game Collection: How to Play the Najdorf Vol. 1, Game Collection: John Emms: Starting Out: The Sicilian, Game Collection: Najdorf, English Attack, Game Collection: Grandmaster Polugaevsky, Game Collection: The Sicilian Defense, and I've probably missed some.