Mastering the Najdorf

The Najdorf is the most popular line of the Sicilian Defence for a very good reason: Black can play for a win without taking undue risks. The Najdorf's fundamental soundness has been confirmed in countless top-level games, and in particular by Garry Kasparov's successful use of it throughout his career. White has tried a wide variety of approaches against the Najdorf, including quiet positional lines and the traditional main line with 6 Bg5. Recently the idea of a rapid kingside pawn advance has found favour. The Najdorf's landscape changes rapidly, and this presents its devotees with a complex task: they must not only keep up-to-date with sharp theoretical lines, but must also have a firm grasp of the strategies that underpin the main systems, both old and new. This book lends a helping hand to those who play the Najdorf or wish to take up this complex opening. Two Najdorf experts from Spain present a flexible repertoire for Black, including a wealth of original analysis of the critical variations. They also explain the key ideas behind the Najdorf, focusing on those plans that are most relevant to modern practice.

Julen Arizmendi is a Spanish international master with two grandmaster norms. He is an experienced writer, and part of Jaque and Teoría's editorial staff. He represented his country at the 2002 Olympiad. Javier Moreno is a grandmaster from Spain who has worked with Anand and Shirov, and was a member of the Spanish Olympiad team in 2000. He has contributed to the magazines Jaque and Gambito.

"A key aspect of this book, not so common in similar works, is the high percentage of original analysis and new theoretical novelties that, despite the high risk of rapid obsolescence, are always provided with plenty of useful notes and comments on the typical plans and the strategic implications as well. There are impartial and objective assessments for both colours throughout the book." - Martin Eden, www.soloscacchi.net

"For every hard-to-please Najdorf player, this book is highly recommended." - Schachmarkt

• Casa editrice Gambit
• Codice 5368
• Anno 2004
• Pagine p. 224
• Isbn 9781904600183