Subscribe

Sicilian Defence: Najdorf, English Attack 8...Be7 9.Qd2

Caruana–Topalov, Renova FIDE GP Zug 2013 · Nepomniachtchi–Firouzja, FIDE Candidates 2022 · 7:14 · ECO B90

Open on YouTube ↗

In this video

Game 1: Fabiano Caruana (2772) vs Veselin Topalov (2771)

Renova FIDE GP Zug 2013, 29 April 2013 · Black won (0-1) · 49 moves

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

  1. 1.
  2. 2.
  3. 3.
  4. 4.
  5. 5.
  6. 6.
  7. 7.
  8. 8.
  9. 9.
  10. 10.
  11. 11.
  12. 12.
  13. 13.
  14. 14.
  15. 15.
  16. 16.
  17. 17.
  18. 18.
  19. 19.
  20. 20.
  21. 21.
  22. 22.
  23. 23.
  24. 24.
  25. 25.
  26. 26.
  27. 27.
  28. 28.
  29. 29.
  30. 30.
  31. 31.
  32. 32.
  33. 33.
  34. 34.
  35. 35.
  36. 36.
  37. 37.
  38. 38.
  39. 39.
  40. 40.
  41. 41.
  42. 42.
  43. 43.
  44. 44.
  45. 45.
  46. 46.
  47. 47.
  48. 48.
  49. 49.

Key moments

  1. 10...a5The first move after the opening line0:42
  2. 41.Qxh5+The evaluation moves from −1.08 to −2.42, and Black stays more than two pawns ahead from here3:14
  3. 41...Nxh5The queens come off3:16
  4. 48.Ke1The evaluation moves from −3.62 to −5.243:49
  5. 49...Bb6Black wins after 49 moves3:56

Evaluation

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

Game 2: Ian Nepomniachtchi (2766) vs Alireza Firouzja (2793)

FIDE Candidates 2022, 21 June 2022 · White won (1-0) · 39 moves

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

  1. 1.
  2. 2.
  3. 3.
  4. 4.
  5. 5.
  6. 6.
  7. 7.
  8. 8.
  9. 9.
  10. 10.
  11. 11.
  12. 12.
  13. 13.
  14. 14.
  15. 15.
  16. 16.
  17. 17.
  18. 18.
  19. 19.
  20. 20.
  21. 21.
  22. 22.
  23. 23.
  24. 24.
  25. 25.
  26. 26.
  27. 27.
  28. 28.
  29. 29.
  30. 30.
  31. 31.
  32. 32.
  33. 33.
  34. 34.
  35. 35.
  36. 36.
  37. 37.
  38. 38.
  39. 39.

Key moments

  1. 10...Nbd7The first move after the opening line4:38
  2. 23...Nd6The evaluation moves from +0.45 to +2.46, and White stays more than two pawns ahead from here5:42
  3. 33...Nb2The evaluation moves from +4.92 to +6.326:32
  4. 37...Kg8The evaluation moves from +8.73 to mate in 10 for White6:52
  5. 39.Rg1+White wins after 39 moves7:00

Evaluation

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

About these games

Black's ...e5 gains central space and leaves a hole on d5, which the bishop on e6 helps guard. White plays Be3, f3 and Qd2, castles queenside, and uses the f3 pawn to support a g4-g5 advance. With the kings on opposite sides, White attacks on the kingside while Black looks for counterplay on the queenside or plays for control of d5.

Caruana–Topalov went 10...a5 11.a4 Na6, routing the knight to c7. White exchanged it with 14.Bxc7, and after 17.Nd5 Bxd5 18.exd5 Black gave up the d5 square. White pushed g4-g5 and h4-h5-h6, but Black held with ...g6, ...f5 and rooks on the f- and h-files. The score stayed near level, +0.21 at 30.Rdg1, until 34...Rxh6 won the h-pawn, giving −1.48 at 35.Qa7. 41.Qxh5+ moved the evaluation from −1.08 to −2.42, and after 41...Nxh5 the queens were off. Black's kingside pawns advanced with ...g4, ...f4 and ...f3, 48.Ke1 dropped the score from −3.62 to −5.24, and Black won after 49...Bb6.

Nepomniachtchi–Firouzja reached the same position by a different order, with 6.f3 and 8.Be3, and became a straight pawn race: 10...Nbd7 11.g4 b5 12.g5 b4. Unlike Game 1, Black played for a queenside attack. White broke through first with f4-f5 and 18.f6. After 23.exd5 Nd6 the evaluation jumped from +0.45 to +2.46, and 24.Qxb4 followed. White's passed pawn reached d6, 33...Nb2 moved the score from +4.92 to +6.32, and 36.Rxh7+ Kxh7 37.Qh5+ Kg8 left mate in 10. White won after 39.Rg1+.

Chapters

  1. 0:00Introduction and the opening line
  2. 0:10Game 1: Caruana vs Topalov, Renova FIDE GP Zug 2013
  3. 4:05Game 2: Nepomniachtchi vs Firouzja, FIDE Candidates 2022

The opening line

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Be3 e5 7. Nb3 Be6 8. f3 Be7 9. Qd2 O-O 10. O-O-O

See every video from this position →