Fischer almost always met the Sicilian with open lines, ie lines based on 2.Nf3, 3.d4 and (after 3...cxd4) 4.Nxd4.
One of the most-popular variations in his day and, if anything, even more popular today, was the Najdorf: 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6.
Fischer usually met this with the aggressive 6.Bc4.
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| Position after 6.Bc4 |
Black alternatives to 6...e6
A) 6...b5 is usually a harmless transposition after 7.Bb3 e6, but Black should avoid 7...b4? as White has 8.Nd5, when 8...Nxe4, the most-popular move in Mega20, runs into 9.Qf3 Nc5 (best, but insufficient) 10.Nxb4 Nxb3 11.axb3 Ra7 12.Ndc6.
B) 6...Nxe4? looks silly after 7.Qh5 (other moves also give a winning advantage), eg 7...e6 8.Nxe4 d5 9.Ng5 g6 10.Qf3, after which Black is a piece-for-a-pawn down.
Early in his career, Fischer usually met 6...e6 with 7.0-0, but he came to prefer 7.Bb3, and that is what I am recommending.
The move ensures neither ...b5 nor ...d5 can come with tempo against the light-square bishop, and similarly rules out ...Qc7 or ...R(either)c8 coming with tempo against the same bishop. It also prevents the knight-fork trick ,,,Nxe4 followed by ...d5.
Black plays 7...b5
This is recommended by Tony Kosten in Easy Guide To The Najdorf (Everyman 1999). Fischer usually played the mainline 8.0-0.
A) 8...Be7 (easily the most-popular move in Mega20) 9.Qf3 Qc7 (Kosten gives this an exclamation mark - Black should avoid 9...0-0? 10.e5 dxe5 11.Nxe6 and 12.Qxa8).
This position first appears in Mega20 in the following game.
Fischer - Friðrik Ólafsson
Buenos Aires 1960
10.Qg3
This is still overwhelmingly the choice today.
10...b4
The main line runs 10...0-0 11.Bh6 Ne8 12.Rad1 Bd7, when there is a divergence of opinion. Stockfish12 reckons White is better after 13.f4!?, which is marginally less popular than 13.Nf3; Komodo11.01 reckons Black has equal chances.
Kosten recommends 10...Nc6 11.Nxc6 Qxc6 12.Re1 Bb7. He gives this gambit move an exclamation mark, but the engines reckon 13.Qxg7 Rg8 14.Qh6 0-0-0 15.Qh3 Kb8 16.f3 Rg6 17.Be3 Rdg8 18.Re2 is better for White, despite Kosten's suggestion of 18...h5 or 18...Bd8 in place of 18...Nd7, which was played by Polugaevsky in a blindfold loss to Ivanchuk. However the position is far from clear.
11.Nce2 g6
The commonest move in Mega20 is 11...Nxe4?, but after 12.Qxg7 Bf6 13.Qh6 White is well on top (winning, according to Stockfish12).
After the text Fischer played 12.c3?! and only drew. The engines reckon White is comfortably better after 12.Bh6.
B) 8...Bb7 (this logical move is second in popularity in Mega20) 9.Re1 (Fischer played 9.Bg5 and 9.f4 earlier in his career, but in 1970 switched to what is the main line and is the engines' choice).
Fischer - Jorge Rubinetti
Interzonal (Palma de Mallorca) 1970
9...Nbd7
The normal move, and a typical placement for the queen's knight in the Najdorf. From d7 it supports the king's knight, eyes the e5 square and may go to c5 to swop off White's aggressively placed light-square bishop (although Black has to be careful to get the timing right).
10.Bg5
The engines prefer the little-played 10.a4!?, one line running 10...b4 11.Nd5! (a typical idea when White's king's rook is lined up against Black's uncastled king) exd5 12.exd5+ Be7 13.Nf5 Ne5 14.Nxg7+ Kd7 15.Nf5 with a big attack for White in Tomasz Warakomski (2375) - Jacek Szwed (2162), Polish U19 Team Championship 2005 (1-0, 30 moves).
Another interesting try is 10.Bxe6!? (another typical idea for White when Bc4 is played against the Najdorf) fxe6 11.Nxe6 Qc8 12.Nxf8!? (the engines prefer this to the more-common 12.Nd5) Rxf8 13.Qxd6 with an unclear position in which White has three pawns and an attack for a knight.
10...h6 11.Bh4 Nc5!?
Attacking the white light-square bishop is always tempting for Black, but the engines prefer 11...g5 12.Bg3 Ne5 with a tense position that may slightly favour White, according to the engines.
12.Bd5!
Perhaps Rubinetti missed that this was possible.
12...exd5?!
Russian grandmaster Valerij Popov played the same way in a 2006 loss, but grabbing the knight is almost certainly too greedy. However the engines reckon White is much better even after their preferred line: 12...Be7 13.Bxb7 (13.Nc6 is also strong) Nxb7 14.Nc6.
13.exd5+ Kd7
Or 13...Be7 14.Bxf6 gxf6 15.Nf5 etc.
14.b4 Na4 15.Nxa4 bxa4 16.c4 Kc8
Artur Kogan (2564) - Valerij Popov (2591), EU Team Cup (Fügen, Austria) 2006 saw 16...Kc7 17.Qxa4 g5 18.Bg3 Nh5 19.c5! Bxd5 (or 19...Nxg3 20.c6 Bc8 21.Qa5+ Kb8 22.Qxd8) 20.Rac1 Nxg3 21.cxd6+ Kb7 22.Rc7+ 1-0.
17.Qxa4 Qd7 18.Qb3!?
The engines strongly prefer 18.Qc2 for a reason I will explain later.
18...g5 19.Bg3 Nh5
Here the engines give 19...h5 20.Qf3 Rh6 21.Nf5 Rg6 22.h4 gxh4 23.Nxh4 Rxg3 24.fxg3, agreeing White is much better but possibly not winning (at least according to Komodo11.01). If the white queen were on c2 instead of b3 this line would be hopeless for Black because of 20.c5, eg 20...Bxd5 21.c6 Qg4 22.Qb2, when the engines reckon Black is busted.
20.c5! dxc5 21.bxc5 Qxd5
Or 21...Bxd5 22.Qb6 Qb7 23.Qa5 Nxg3 24.c6!? (the straightforward 24.hxg3 is also very good) Bxc6 (24...Qc7 25.Re8+) 25.Nxc6 Qxc6 26.hxg3 (not 26.Rac1?? Ne2+) Bc5 27.Rac1 etc.
22.Re8+ Kd7 23.Qa4+ Bc6 24.Nxc6 1-0
Black is helpless, eg 24...Kxe8 25.Re1+ Kd7 26.Na7+ Kd8 27.Re8#.
Black plays 7...Be7
The main reply is 8.0-0 but Fischer preferred 8.Be3 and especially 8.f4, which is only fourth-most popular in Mega20 but still packs a punch and is liked by the engines.
A1) 8...Qc7 (Fischer did not face this although it is the most-common move in Mega20) 9.f5 (this seems to give White good play however Black replies) e5 10.Nde2!? (the knight is destined for g3 and possibly h5) Nbd7 11.Bg5 0-0 12.Ng3 b5 13.Nh5 Bb7 14.Bxf6 Nxf6 (14...Bxf6!? may be an improvement, although White has promising kingside play after 15.0-0 or 15.Qg4!?) 15.Nxf6+ Bxf6, as seen in Ivan Radulov - Fernand Goethals, World Student Team Championship (Sinaia, Romania) 1965 (1-0, 32 moves). The engines reckon White would be much better after 16.Qd3.
A2) 9...exf5?! (this is much less popular than 9...e5) 10.Nxf5 Bxf5 (the only reasonable try, according to the engines, as 10...0-0?! 11.Nxe7+ Qxe7 12.0-0! is very good for White as 12...Nxe4?? loses the knight to 13.Qe1) 11.exf5 0-0. White usually castles here, but the engines much prefer 12.Be3!? with the idea of castling long, when White has promising kingside play and pressure against d6.
B) 8...0-0 9.Qf3 Qc7 10.f5!? (Fischer played 10.0-0 against Tal but castling here may be a little slow) Nc6 (this seems to have been first played by Polugaevsky in 1958 - more popular today is 10...e5 but 11.Nde2 b5 12.g4 b4 13.g5 bxc3 14.Nxc3! has chalked up three wins in three outings in Mega20) 11.Be3 Nxd4 12.Bxd4 b5. This position has been reached 55 times in Mega20. The engines like the somewhat-obscure 13.fxe6!? Bxe6 (the more-common 13...fxe6?! gives White a strong attack after 14.0-0-0) 14.0-0 (14.0-0-0!?) Bxb3 15.cxb3!? b4 16.Nd5 Nxd5 17.exd5 Rae8. This position was reached in Eric Chery (2155) - Éloi Relange (2490), Paris 1998. Relange went on to win, but the engines reckon White would have been better after the natural 18.Rac1.
C1) 8...b5!? (White always has to anticipate this thrust in the Najdorf, but here Fischer had prepared a strong answer) 9.e5 dxe5 10.fxe5 Nd5?! 11.Nxd5 exd5 12.Qf3. White is already winning, according to Stockfish12, although Komodo11.01 gives White 'only' the upper hand.
C2) 10...Nfd7!? (this has become the main move, but Black is teetering on a precipice) 11.Bxe6!? (the engines also like 11.Qg4!? and 11.Qf3!?, but no line is completely clear) Nxe5 (not 11...fxe6? 12.Nxe6 Qa5 - 12...Qb6 13.Nd5! - 13.Nxg7+ with a mating attack, eg 13...Kf7 14.Qh5+ Kxg7 15.Bh6+ Kg8 16.e6 etc) 12.Bxc8 Qxc8 13.Nd5. White has scored very well from here, the most-popular continuation being 13...Bc5 (the engines reckon 13...Nbc6!? may be better) 14.b4 Qd7! 15.Nf3 Bd6 16.0-0 with a slight edge for White.
D1) 8...Nbd7 9.Bxe6!? (Fischer played 9.Qf3 is a simul, but the text racks up a huge score in Mega20 and is very tricky to face) fxe6 10.Nxe6 Qa5! (the very plausible 10...Qb6 is inferior for a reason I will explain later) 11.Nxg7+ Kf7 12.Nf5 Nc5! (the engines' suggested improvement over the known 12...Nxe4? 13.Qh5+ Kf8 14.Qh6+ Ke8 15.Qe6 winning and 12...h5 13.Nxe7 Kxe7 14.Qf3 with a strong attack) 13.Nh6+ (13.Nxe7?! Ncxe4!) Kg7 14.e5. White has three pawns and an attack for a bishop. He seems to be better but the position is unclear.
D2) The reason 10...Qb6 is inferior is that after 11.Nxg7+ Kf7 12.Nf5 Black does not have 12...Nc5? as White wins with 13.Nxe7 Kxe7 14.Qd4 when Qxf6+! followed by Nd5+ is a winning threat. In this line the position of the black queen on b6 means he no longer has the resource 13...Ncxe4, which is simply met by 14.Nxe4, eg 14...Nxe4 15.Qd5+ Kxe7 16.Qxe4+, when White emerges two pawns up.
E) 8...Nc6 (Fischer did not face this unNajdorf-like move but it is a popular choice) 9.Be3 0-0 10.Qf3 Qc7 11.0-0-0. White scores an excellent 64% from this Scheveningen-type position. Most popular now is 11...Nxd4, which has been played by Kasparov, although after 12.Bxd4 (Kasparov's opponent chose the probably inferior 12.Rxd4?!) White has a winning attack, according to Stockfish12 (Komodo11.01 is much less sure of White's advantage). The main line continues 12...b5 13.Bxf6 Bxf6 14.e5 Bb7 15.Bd5! with a huge advantage, eg 15...exd5 16.exf6 or 15...Bxd5 16.Nxd5 exd5 17.exf6 or 15...dxe5 16.Bxb7 Rab8 17.Be4.
Black plays 7...Nbd7
There is only one game in Mega20 in which Fischer faced this move, which is recommended in Mastering The Najdorf by Julen Arizmendi and Javier Moreno (Gambit 2004), and he replied with the mainline 8.f4.
Black nearly always continues 8...Nc5, which is the chief point of playing an early ....Nbd7. White needs to react energetically, and Fischer chose 9.f5!?, which is the most-popular move in Mega20.
A) 9...Nfxe4?! 10.fxe6! Qh4+ (or 10...Bxe6 11.Nxe6 fxe6 12.Nxe4 Nxe4 13.Qg4 Nc5 14.0-0 with a big attack and the bishop-pair on an open board for a pawn) 11.g3 Nxg3 12.Nf3 Qh5 13.exf7+ Kd8 14.Rg1. Black is not even a pawn up. Fischer - Jacek Bednarski, Olympiad (Havana) 1966, continued 14...Nf5 15.Nd5! Qxf7 16.Bg5+ Ke8 (if 16...Be7 then simply 17.Nxe7 is devastating) 17.Qe2+ Be6 18.Nf4 Kd7 19.0-0-0 Qe8 (19...Bxb3 20.Ne5+) 20.Bxe6+ Nxe6 21.Qe4 g6 22.Nxe6 1-0.
B) 9...Nxb3 (Fischer reached this position via a slight transposition) 10.axb3 Be7 11.Qf3 0-0 12.Be3 Bd7 (more popular in Mega20, albeit from a small sample size, is the time-consuming 12...Nd7?!, but the engines reckon White has a sizeable advantage after 13.0-0-0) 13.g4. The engines reckon 13...d5!?, which is not in Mega20, keeps White's edge reasonably small. Instead Fischer - Carlos Bielicki, Mar del Plata (Argentina) 1960, saw 13...e5 14.Nde2 d5 15.exd5 e4 16.Qg2 Bb4 17.0-0-0. after which White's attack crashed through first (1-0, 38 moves).
C) 9...Be7. This, the chief response today, was not faced by Fischer. The main line goes 10.Qf3 0-0 11.Be3 e5 12.Nde2 Nxb3 13.axb3 b5!? The position is unclear. White has dangerous threats on the kingside, and indeed 14.g4!? is the most-popular continuation, although the engines reckon 14...b4!? is a good answer and makes queenside castling unpalatable. Note that Black gets strong play after 14.Nxb5?! d5. Instead Stockfish12 gives 14.Nd5 Bb7 15.Nxf6+ Bxf6 16.Rd1 Qa5+ 17.c3 Be7 18.h4!? with unclear but dangerous play. Komodo11.01 reckons best-play involves Black sacrificing the exchange: 14.0-0 Bb7 15.Ng3 Re8 16.Rad1 b4 17.Na4!? d5 18.Nb6 d4!? 19.Nxa8 Qxa8 20.Bg5 Nxe4 21.Bxe7 Nf6 22.Qe2 Rxe7, which is also unclear despite Black only having a pawn for the exchange.
D) 9...Bd7 (given an exclamation mark by Arizmendi & Moreno) 10.Qf3 b5 (another move given an ! by A&M) 11.a3 Nxb3 (necessary, according to A&M, as otherwise White preserves the light-square bishop with Ba2) 12.cxb3!? (12.Nxb3 is also reasonable) Be7 13.Be3 Qc8. A&M also give this move an exclamation mark, claiming Black has equalised. However the engines reckon White has a slight pull after 14.0-0 0-0, eg Stockfish12 gives 15.Rad1 b4!? 16.axb4 Rb8 17.g4 h6 18.g5 hxg5 19.Bxg5, claiming White has a slight edge, a verdict with which Komodo11.01 agrees.
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