Sicilian Nimzowitsch
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.e5
This and 3.Nc3 are almost equally popular, but the text scores five percentage points more in ChessBase's 2026 Mega database.
3...Nd5 4.Nc3 e6 5.Ne4
This is a reasonably common alternative to the mainline 5.Nxd5 exd5 6.d4.
5...f5 6.Nc3 Ne7
Nimzowitsch played 6...Nxc3 in the stem game, a loss to Yates at Carlsbad 1929, but the text, which can perhaps be regarded as the chief modern continuation, scores a fabulous 61% in Mega26.
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| How should White proceed? |
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7.d4
Stockfish18 and Dragon1 like the text and 7.Nb5!?
7...cxd4 8.Nb5!? Nec6!? 9.Nbxd4
The engines are not keen on this, more-or-less settling on 9.a4!? or 9.Be2.
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| What should Black play? |
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9...Nxd4
The engines reckon Black is slightly better after 9...Nxe5!? 10.Nxe5 Qa5+ 11.c3 Qxe5+, a position reached in the game.
10.Nxd4!?
10.Qxd4 avoids transposing into the previous note, and is slightly preferred by the engines.
10...Qa5+ 11.c3
This is almost certainly best.
11...Qxe5+ 12.Be2
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| How would you assess the position? |
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Black is a pawn up and has the only pawns on the two centre files. But White has an edge in development, with the promise of harassment of the black queen to come. The engines reckon Black is slightly better (Stockfish18) or at least has the better part of equality (Dragon1).
12...a6
But the engines reckon this is unnecessary, preferring development with 12...Be7 or 12...Nc6.
13.0-0 Nc6 14.Nf3?!
Avoiding an exchange of knights, while hitting the black queen. But the engines strongly dislike it, claiming 14.Re1!? gives White the upper hand, one point being 14...Nxd4?? loses to 15.Bh5+.
14...Qf6!? 15.Bg5 Qf7
If 15...Qg6?!, then 16.Re1 is difficult to meet, eg 16...Be7 17.Bxe7 Nxe7 (17...Kxe7!? might be better) 18.Ne5 Qf6 19.Bh5+ g6 20.Bf3, with good play for a pawn.
16.Re1 Be7 17.Bxe7 Qxe7 18.Nd4!? 0-0
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| Now both sides have castled, how would assess the position? |
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Black remains a pawn up, with the only central pawns, and has almost caught up in development, but has a bad bishop. The engines more-or-less agree Black has a slight edge.
19.Bf3 Nd8!?
The engines like this, along with 19...Qd6.
20.Qc2 Qc5 21.Rad1 Nf7 22.b4 Qc7 23.c4 Ng5 24.Qd3 Rb8 25.h4!?
This is the engines' top choice ...
25...Nf7
... and they agree with not capturing on f3.
26.c5 g6?!
Reinforcing f5, to make ...e5 possible, but the engines prefer 26...b6 or 26...Ne5.
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| How can White best exploit Black's last move? |
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27.Nb3
The engines reckon White has much more than enough compensation for a pawn after 27.Qe3!?, eg 27...b6 28.c6!? f4 29.Qa3 e5 30.b5! exd4 31.Rxd4 d6 32.Rxf4, with what they agree is a winning attack.
27...b6 28.cxb6?!
This is probably the wrong idea. Instead White is slightly better after something like 28.Qc3, according to the engines.
28...Rxb6 29.Rc1 Qb8 30.Nc5?!
Probably better is 30.a3.
30...Ne5 31.Qd2 d6 32.Rxe5?
This is not good. The engines give 32.Nd3!? Nxf3+! 33.gxf3, but award Black the upper hand after both 33...e5 and 33...Qb7, but note that 32...Nxd3 33.Qxd3 Rxb4, winning a second pawn, is problematic after 34.h5, eg 34...e5 35.Qd2 Be6 36.Qh6 Rf6 37.Rc6, with equal chances, according to the engines.
32...dxe5 33.a3 Rd6
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| Black is untying his position, emerging up the exchange and a pawn |
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34.Qg5 Qa7 35.h5 Qg7 36.hxg6 hxg6 37.Re1 e4 38.Be2 Qf6 39.Qe3 Kg7 40.f3!? exf3 41.Bxf3 Rfd8 42.Bb7!? Kf7?!
There is nothing wrong with 42...Bxb7, as 43.Nxb7 is simply met by 43...Rd3.
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| White to play and seriously reduce Black's advantage |
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43.Qh6
Missing 43.Bxc8 Rxc8 44.Ne4!, after which 44...Qd4 45.Nxd6+ Qxd6 leaves Black a pawn up and, according to the engines, winning, but the position is far from trivial.
43...Qd4+ 44.Qe3 Qxe3+ 45.Rxe3 Bxb7 46.Nxb7 Rd1+ 47.Kh2 R8d3
But this position is trivially winning.
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