B96

Sicilian Defense: Najdorf Variation 6…e6 7. f4

Also known as Najdorf Sicilian

Chess diagram: Sicilian Defense: Najdorf Variation after 7. f4

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Statistics from Lichess

1,620,263 games: White 50.1% / Draw 4.5% / Black 45.4%

The moves played next. Pick one to see it on the board.
Next move	Games	White / Draw / BlackW / D / B
B98	981,759982K
Poisoned Pawn Variation	172,740173K
	154,755155K
	153,052153K
	73,43973K
Polugaevsky Variation	49,35549K
Neo-Classical Defense	24,89925K
	6,0666,066

Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Nov 1, 2026

Engine evaluation

+0.08 The position is about equal

Best play: 7... Qb6 8. Qd2 Qxb2 9. Rb1 Qa3 10. f5 Nc6 11. fxe6 fxe6 12. Nxc6

Stockfish 19, depth 30, after the line's last move. Scores are in pawns, from White's side.

By rating

Rating changes little here: White scores 51% under 1400, 52% at 2200 and up and 54% in master games (wins plus half the draws).

Players	Games	White / Draw / BlackW / D / B
Under 1400	10K
1400–1799	193K
1800–2199	971K
2200 and up	499K
Masters, over the board	18K

Master games

Caruana, F. – Vachier Lagrave, M. ½–½, 2017
Caruana, F. – Vachier Lagrave, M. 1–0, 2021
Caruana, F. – Vachier Lagrave, M. 1–0, 2021
Caruana, F. – Nakamura, H. 1–0, 2016
Caruana, F. – Vachier Lagrave, M. ½–½, 2018

Rated blitz, rapid and classical Lichess games by rating band, and over-the-board games of players rated 2200+ from the Lichess masters database, updated Sep 27, 2026

Overview

Sicilian Defense: Najdorf Variation (ECO B96, Semi-Open Games) is a variation of the Sicilian Defense: Najdorf Variation, reached after 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Bg5 e6 7. f4 (7 moves).

In 1,620,263 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 50.1%, Black 45.4% and 4.5% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 7…Be7, in 61% of those games.

It branches into 4 named variations; the most played are Sicilian Defense: Najdorf Variation, Poisoned Pawn Variation and Sicilian Defense: Najdorf Variation, Polugaevsky Variation. In all, 10 named lines continue from it.

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Description

How to answer 7. f4

7…h6 scores best for Black: 51.6%, with Black winning 49.2% and White 45.9% of 155K games. The most played answer, 7…Be7, scores lowest: 46.2% in 982K games. Stockfish's first choice is 7…Qb6.

Main answers: those played in at least 5% of these games. Score: Black's wins plus half the draws, in rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500. How to play against other popular openings

Popularity by year

This line has lost ground since 2016: 0.047% of Lichess games in 2025, down from 0.068% (its peak: 0.091% in 2018).

0.068%0.047%0.091%

Numbers by year

Year	Share of games	Games
2016	0.068%	24,422
2017	0.088%	48,427
2018	0.091%	71,784
2019	0.08%	99,954
2020	0.083%	242,181
2021	0.071%	279,165
2022	0.062%	231,433
2023	0.054%	203,359
2024	0.051%	181,713
2025	0.047%	164,276
2026 (Jan–Apr)	0.046%	50,734

Share of rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500 (blitz, rapid and classical) that reach this position, by year; 2026: January to April. Which openings are rising and falling

Variations (4)

All 10 named lines that continue from here

Cite this page

Caissa Codex. “Sicilian Defense: Najdorf Variation (B96)”. Lichess data as of 1 Nov 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/sicilian-defense-najdorf-variation-4