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Sicilian Defence: Najdorf, English Attack 6...e5 — Part 2 of 2

Leko–Shirov, SuperGM Sarajevo 1999 · Topalov–Wojtaszek, 41st Olympiad Open 2014 · 6:48 · ECO B90

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In this video

Game 1: Peter Leko (2694) vs Alexei Shirov (2726)

SuperGM Sarajevo 1999, 17 May 1999 · Black won (0-1) · 44 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. 8...Nbd7The first move after the opening line0:36
  2. 22.Qb7+The evaluation moves from 0.00 to −1.331:39
  3. 23...Bxd7The queens come off1:46
  4. 28...Rxf6Black stays more than two pawns ahead from here2:12
  5. 43.c5The evaluation moves from −3.14 to −5.003:24
  6. 44...Kd6Black wins after 44 moves3:32

Evaluation

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

Game 2: Veselin Topalov (2772) vs Radoslaw Wojtaszek (2735)

41st Olympiad Open 2014, 12 August 2014 · 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.

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Key moments

  1. 8...Nbd7The first move after the opening line4:08
  2. 21.dxc6The queens come off5:05
  3. 31.Ke4The evaluation moves from +3.04 to +0.845:55
  4. 32...Rb7The evaluation moves from +1.16 to +2.26, and White stays more than two pawns ahead from here6:02
  5. 35...Bb6+The evaluation moves from +2.66 to +5.566:18
  6. 39.Rxg7White wins after 39 moves6:35

Evaluation

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

About these games

With 6...e5 Black gains space and drives the knight to b3, accepting a backward d6 pawn and a hole on d5. After 7...Be6 8.f3 White prepares Qd2, g4-g5 and often long castling, using the g-pawn to dislodge the f6 knight and win control of d5. Black aims for quick queenside play with ...b5, and in both games here 8...Nbd7 supports the centre and keeps options for the knight.

Leko–Shirov, 1999: Shirov answered 9.g4 with 9...b5 and routed the knight via b6 to c4, removing White's light-squared bishop after 14.Bxc4 bxc4. Leko then played 15.Nd4 exd4 16.Bxd4, giving a knight for a pawn and open lines, and Shirov took the bishop pair. The game stayed level until 22.Qb7+, which moved the evaluation from 0.00 to −1.33. After 23...Bxd7 the queens were off, and from 28...Rxf6 Black stayed more than two pawns ahead. With 43.c5 the score went from −3.14 to −5.00, and Black won after 44...Kd6.

Topalov–Wojtaszek, 2014: Topalov pushed 10.g5 and met 10...b4 with 11.Nd5, recapturing 12.exd5 to fix a pawn wedge on d5. The light-squared bishops came off with 13.Bd3 Bxd3, then 16.a3 opened the a-file and 19.Nxa5 won a pawn. The queens left with 21.dxc6, and White's king, never castled, marched forward from e2. The score fell from +3.04 to +0.84 at 31.Ke4, but after 32...Rb7 it rose from +1.16 to +2.26, and 35...Bb6+ took it from +2.66 to +5.56. Unlike Game 1, the queenside opening favoured White, who won after 39.Rxg7.

Chapters

  1. 0:00Introduction and the opening line
  2. 0:10Game 1: Leko vs Shirov, SuperGM Sarajevo 1999
  3. 3:40Game 2: Topalov vs Wojtaszek, 41st Olympiad Open 2014

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

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