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Sicilian Defence: Najdorf, 6.Bg5 Nbd7

Giri–Gashimov, Tata Steel 2012 · Karjakin–Nakamura, Supreme Masters 2013 · 7:58 · ECO B94

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In this video

Game 1: Anish Giri (2714) vs Vugar Gashimov (2761)

Tata Steel 2012, 22 January 2012 · Black won (0-1) · 38 moves

Click a move to jump the video to it. Dotted moves are the opening line the video is about.

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Key moments

  1. 7.Bc4The first move after the opening line0:32
  2. 18...dxe4The queens come off1:22
  3. 30...Nf1Black stays more than two pawns ahead from here2:22
  4. 31.h4+The evaluation moves from −2.55 to −5.392:24
  5. 37.Nxg7The evaluation moves from −6.94 to −8.072:54
  6. 38...e2Black wins after 38 moves3:02

Evaluation

Above the line, White is better; below it, Black. Scores are in pawns, capped at five either way.

Game 2: Sergey Karjakin (2767) vs Hikaru Nakamura (2775)

Supreme Masters 2013, 15 May 2013 · White won (1-0) · 59 moves

Click a move to jump the video to it. Dotted moves are the opening line the video is about.

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Key moments

  1. 7.Qe2The first move after the opening line3:33
  2. 23...Ne5The evaluation moves from +0.94 to +3.154:48
  3. 26.Rd4White stays more than two pawns ahead from here5:00
  4. 29.Nc5The evaluation moves from +2.06 to +3.465:15
  5. 37.Qd1The evaluation moves from +3.67 to +2.785:55
  6. 59.Qd6+White wins after 59 moves7:45

Evaluation

Above the line, White is better; below it, Black. Scores are in pawns, capped at five either way.

About these games

After 6.Bg5 Nbd7 Black answers the pin on the f6-knight by backing it up with the other knight, so that Bxf6 can be met by ...Nxf6 without doubled pawns. White usually brings the queen out, castles long and attacks, while Black keeps the choice between ...e6 and a ...g6 fianchetto and looks for queenside play with ...Qa5 and ...b5.

Giri–Gashimov went 7.Bc4 Qa5 8.Qd2 e6 9.O-O-O b5, and 10...b4 offered the exchange: 11.Bxa8 bxc3 12.bxc3 Qxa2 left White's king exposed. Black kept up the tactics with 14...Nxe4+ and 15...Bxg5+, and after 17...Qxa1 and 18...dxe4 the queens came off with the score at +0.22 after 16...d5 and −0.74 after 21...Ke7. Gashimov's king marched forward, and after 30...Nf1 Black stayed more than two pawns ahead. 31.h4+ moved the evaluation from −2.55 to −5.39, the e-pawn ran through, and Black won after 38...e2.

Karjakin–Nakamura used 7.Qe2 and long castling against the ...g6 fianchetto, a quieter Black set-up than Game 1's queenside counterattack. White pushed h4-h5 to open the kingside and won the d6-pawn with 23.Rxd6; after 23...Ne5 the score went from +0.94 to +3.15, and White stayed more than two pawns ahead from 26.Rd4. 29.Nc5 took it from +2.06 to +3.46, and 31.Rxf7 gave up a rook for the queen. White won the resulting queen-versus-rook-and-knight ending after 59.Qd6+.

Chapters

  1. 0:00Introduction and the opening line
  2. 0:10Game 1: Giri vs Gashimov, Tata Steel 2012
  3. 3:10Game 2: Karjakin vs Nakamura, Supreme Masters 2013

The opening line

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Bg5 Nbd7

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