4. Najdorf: Poisoned Pawn Variation (7...Qb6)
The Poisoned Pawn Variation, made famous by Fischer, is one of the most analyzed lines in chess. Black captures b2 with the queen and faces White's attack, which opens the center with e5. It can only be played with a thorough knowledge of the moves.
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Bg5 e6 7.f4 Qb6 8.Qd2 Qxb2 9.Rb1 Qa3 10.e5 dxe5 11.fxe5 Nfd7
Move by move
- 1.e4 – White occupies the center with the king's pawn, controls d5 and f5 and frees the queen and the f1-bishop. This is the move we answer with the Sicilian.
- 1...c5 – The Sicilian Defense: Black controls d4 with a flank pawn instead of occupying the center. If White plays d4, Black will trade c5 for d4 and have two central pawns against one and the half-open c-file.
- 2.Nf3 – White develops the knight toward the center and prepares d2-d4 to open the game: it is the road to the Open Sicilian, the most ambitious try against us.
- 2...d6 – Black controls e5, opens the diagonal for the c8-bishop and prepares ...Nf6: after 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 the e4-pawn will be attacked right away. It is the basis of the Najdorf and the Dragon.
- 3.d4 – White opens the center: it offers the d4 pawn trade against c5 to develop quickly and use the lead in development in an open position.
- 3...cxd4 – Black trades at once: it removes White's d-pawn, keeps two central pawns (d6 and e7) against one and opens the c-file for rook and queen.
- 4.Nxd4 – White recaptures with the knight, which dominates the center from d4. In exchange for faster development it has conceded the central majority to Black.
- 4...Nf6 – Black develops with tempo by attacking e4. White has to defend it with 5.Nc3 and loses the chance to play c2-c4, which would give the solid Maróczy structure.
- 5.Nc3 – White defends e4 by developing a piece: it is the basic position of the Open Sicilian, from which the Najdorf, Dragon, Scheveningen and Classical arise.
- 5...a6 – The Najdorf: ...a6 takes the b5 square away from White's knights and bishop and prepares ...b5 or ...e5. Black waits to see White's plan before choosing the central structure.
- 6.Bg5 – The Classical Attack: the bishop pins the f6-knight to the queen. White prepares f4, Qf3 and O-O-O, and threatens to trade on f6 to weaken d5.
- 6...e6 – Black reinforces d5 and opens the diagonal for the f8-bishop. After ...e6 the capture Bxf6 no longer ruins the structure, since Black can recapture with the queen or with a pawn.
- 7.f4 – White prepares e4-e5 against the pinned knight and brings the rook to the f-file. It is the most aggressive push against 6...e6.
- 7...Qb6 – The Poisoned Pawn: the queen attacks the d4-knight and the b2-pawn, left without defense because the c1-bishop has already gone out to g5.
- 8.Qd2 – White offers the b2-pawn in exchange for a lead in development. Defending with Nb3 is possible, but 8.Qd2 is the most ambitious choice and the most studied.
- 8...Qxb2 – Black accepts: it wins a pawn but the queen is far from the king. Now Black must check every move, because the queen risks getting trapped.
- 9.Rb1 – The rook kicks the queen away with tempo and occupies the b-file, from where it will often return to b3 to attack the queen or trap it.
- 9...Qa3 – The queen retreats to a3, the safest square: from here it controls c3 and a2 and can return to a5 or c5. The b1-rook can no longer attack it with tempo.
- 10.e5 – White opens the center using the pin on the f6-knight: it wants open lines against the black king, which has not castled yet.
- 10...dxe5 – Black captures so as not to lose the f6-knight, which is attacked by e5 and pinned by the g5-bishop. It is the only way.
- 11.fxe5 – White recaptures and attacks the f6-knight again, still pinned by the g5-bishop: Black must move it at once. The f-file is half-open for the white rook.
- 11...Nfd7 – The knight retreats to d7 and attacks the e5-pawn. If White is not careful, Black will be able to take it with ...Nxe5 and put a strong knight in the center.
How to exploit the position
Black has an extra pawn but is behind in development and the king is in the center. White must attack at once, before Black completes development.
- Pin the c3-knight with ...Bb4: the b4-e1 diagonal ties it to the d2-queen and the e1-king.
- Attack the e5-pawn with ...Nxe5 if White leaves it undefended: the knight in the center also defends the king.
- Play ...h6 to clarify the g5-bishop and complete development with ...Nc6 or ...O-O as soon as possible.
- Beware of Rb3, which kicks the queen away, and of the sacrifices on e6 with Bc4: the queen must always have an escape square.
Master tips
The queen must not get trapped
After ...Qxb2 the black queen is far away and White can shut it in with Rb3 or Nb5.