No. The Najdorf is about the most theory heavy opening there is, akin to the Ruy Lopez and maybe French Defense.
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Plans and ideas in the Najdorf Sicilian
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For black
push pawns on queenside, I guess? preparr the timely d5 or e5 pawn break?
maybe try the Caro Kann?
Jun 18, 2016
0
#6
Don't just avoid the Najdorf avoid the Sicilian! Play something like the French Fort Knox or the Scandinavian banker variation. Won't take long for you to learn to get a reasonable position if defensive position against most players. Just Realise that they are limited and will not trouble very good players, to do that you need rolls Royce chess and the Najdorf is a beautiful defence full of ideas on both sides. One of the best defences to learn if you want to learn how great players play chess.
no thanks i'll stick to najdorf
Jun 18, 2016
0
#8
Ok it's a great defence so if you do get time to study or at least look up why you lost it won't be long before you become a strong player, make sure you look at an anti Adams attack line as over the board it's easy to get squashed. Don't develop the queenside knight too soon as often d7 is its best square
Fischer's 'My 60 memorable games' to which I just referred in another thread has a memorable chapter/game entitled 'The Najdorf against Najdorf' which is exactly that; an account of his game against Najdorf using the Sicilian Najdorf. I used to play the Najdorf when I was a youngster but after a while switched to the Modern Dragon. Had some terrific games with both.
p.s. Agree about d7 being the best square often enough (though not always) for the queenside knight. One reason I played the Modern Dragon rather than the Classical Dragon was for exactly this reason; that it allowed the possibilty of Nd7.
@yuri whoops, sorry, I usually transpose to the Scheveningen, but yeah, That is the mainline.
@yuri whoops, sorry, I usually transpose to the Scheveningen, but yeah, That is the mainline.
@yuri whoops, sorry, I usually transpose to the Scheveningen, but yeah, That is the mainline.
The Sicilian defense is the excellent defense towards the opening Giuoco Piano. To understand the variants (Najdorf, dragon, paulsen etc. ) first owes to understand the defense without variants, logician. Then the defense (without variant) starts this way: Pawn e4, Pawn c5, Horse f3, Pawn d6, Pawn d4, Pawn d4 *, Horse d4 *, Horse f6, Horse c3. Now you can see that the opponent has many available movements, one of the most common is to move the bishop to b5 doing a check, to avoid that one the Pawn moves in a7 to a6, with this movement one is already using the variant Najdorf defending his king.
pfren wrote:
uttanka wrote:
I have been trying to understand the najdorf with its plans and ideas and do not have time for lot of theory.Can you help?
Of course. Play some other opening.
Haha I literally laughed out loud on that one.
About a year and a half ago I started learning the Najdorf. This was against everyone else saying "pick another opening." But I had high ambitions and felt I would commit to the opening and learn the theory and stick to it for the long haul. So I got Daniel King's DVD on chessbase (excellent btw) and went through it thoroughly and started playing it exclusively against e4.
In a tournament within the last month I drew my first game against a 2100 using the Najdorf. Hurray! Yet, despite this success I have now decided to give up on the Najdorf. Here's why:
There are so many variations that white has against the najdorf. And within each variation there are sub variations. You HAVE to know how to respond to every single one. And the differences between the sub variations are very subtle. You may make a move that 'looks' right, but you end up getting in a really bad position.
And the onus is on black. It's much easier to play as white, but one small slip as black and you're going to be in serious trouble. And like i said, the plans and differences are so subtle it makes it hard to remember how to respond. I can't over emphasize enough how hard it is to keep track and remember the different lines and theories.
And that's just the najdorf responses.
You also need to learn how to respond to 2.nc3, c3, g3, 3. Bc4 or Bb5. Again, the move orders can get you here as well. It's A LOT to remember, and it's easier to slip as black than it is white.
My advice after a year and a half of committing to the opening; choose something else. You'll improve more quickly. If you ABSOLUTELY want to play it, then just play it for fun and get ready to take a lot of beatings. It's a MONSTER to learn well.
sarogar is right. If you arent prepared or motivated to learn tons of theory, the najdorf may not be for you.
which is the best book
Jun 23, 2016
0
#18
If you're looking to avoid theory, the Najdorf is sadly the wrong opening :( From my own experience, even White players in the 1400 range know a goodly deal of book on the Najdorf. My own advice to avoid some of the more theoretical lines:
1) Play ...h5 vs. the various f3 systems. It immediately puts most White players on their heels, since they have to start thinking for themselves. It's not necessarily theoretically a better choice for Black, but it takes you out of most of the stereotyped plans you would face versus the English Attack
2) Transpose to the Scheveningen (play ...e6 rather than ...e5). The ...e5 lines tend to feature much more concrete play than their ...e6 counterparts, and the Scheveningen is more about general ideas and plans than the pure Najdorf
3) Consider an opening other than the Sicilian. I'm not saying this in a glib fashion - but even the quietest lines of the Sicilian are much more concrete, tactical, and theory based than most options versus 1. e4. There's really no substitute for getting an opening book and pounding out some knowledge.
can't give just plans and ideas, depends on the concrete moves sequence.
chess is a concrete game.
Jun 23, 2016
0
#20
chessam1998 wrote:
can't give just plans and ideas, depends on the concrete moves sequence.
chess is a concrete game.
That's true to an extent, but some openings are much more conceptually based than others. You can get by playing the Nimzo Indian without knowing the hottest theory - plans and ideas have plenty of weight. But if you try that with the KID...it's likely to be a dumpster fire.
You can play a Sicilian like the Kan or (to a lesser extent) the Taimanov without taking on a boatload of concrete move orders...but if you do the same with the Dragon or Najdorf, life is not likely to be fun.
I have been trying to understand the najdorf with its plans and ideas and do not have time for lot of theory.Can you help?