Sicilian Defense: Najdorf Variation, Lipnitsky Attack
The Lipnitsky Attack, also called the Fischer–Sozin Attack, is 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Bc4, White's bishop sortie against the Najdorf, with the idea of playing against f7. Read the guide
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Statistics from Lichess
2,470,476 games: White 48.0% / Draw 4.5% / Black 47.5%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 1,662,7761.7M | ||
| 255,239255K | ||
| 240,033240K | ||
| 97,44397K | ||
| 80,53881K | ||
| 74,10274K | ||
| 38,32838K | ||
| 8,1358,135 |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 22, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.13 The position is about equal
Best play: 6... e6 7. a4 Be7 8. O-O O-O 9. Be3 Qc7 10. Qe2 Nbd7 11. a5
Stockfish 19, depth 30, after the line's last move. Scores are in pawns, from White's side.
By rating
The stronger the players, the better this line does for White: White scores 49% under 1400, 53% at 2200 and up and 49% in master games (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 163K | |
| 1400–1799 | 956K | |
| 1800–2199 | 1.5M | |
| 2200 and up | 363K | |
| Masters, over the board | 7,689 |
Master games
- Kramnik, V. – Carlsen, M.
- Morozevich, A. – Kasparov, G.
- Aronian, L. – Ding Liren
- Aronian, L. – Vachier Lagrave, M.
- Aronian, L. – Nakamura, H.
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 26, 2026
Description
The Lipnitsky Attack, also called the Fischer–Sozin Attack, is 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Bc4, White's bishop sortie against the Najdorf, with the idea of playing against f7.
History
Veniamin Sozin introduced the move in the 1930s, but it received little attention until Bobby Fischer adopted it regularly. It was a frequent guest at the top level through the 1970s.
Main lines
Because the bishop aims at f7, Black usually counters with 6...e6 7.Bb3 b5. The Sozin has become less popular because of 7...Nbd7, after which Black intends ...Nc5 later. White can avoid 7...Nbd7 with 7.O-O, but that gives up the aggressive option of castling long. The same bishop move against the Classical Variation is the Sozin Attack.
The numbers
On Lichess White wins 48.0% of the 2.5 million games and Black 47.5%. Black does a little better below 1800, while from 2200 up White is ahead, 50.5% against 43.8%. In 7,689 master games over the board White won 31.1%, Black 34.1%, and 34.9% were drawn.
Suggest an improvement or report a mistake
How to play against the Sicilian Defense: Najdorf Variation, Lipnitsky Attack
The most played answer, 6…e6, also scores best for Black: 50.7%, with Black winning 48.4% and White 47.0% of 1.7M games. Of the main answers, 6…b5 scores lowest: 46.7%. Stockfish's first choice is also 6…e6.
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
The Sicilian Defense: Najdorf Variation, Lipnitsky Attack has lost ground since 2016: 0.072% of Lichess games in 2025, down from 0.11% (its peak: 0.14% in 2018).
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.11% | 40,100 |
| 2017 | 0.12% | 68,408 |
| 2018 | 0.14% | 106,138 |
| 2019 | 0.13% | 157,884 |
| 2020 | 0.13% | 375,593 |
| 2021 | 0.11% | 431,050 |
| 2022 | 0.093% | 350,541 |
| 2023 | 0.082% | 308,949 |
| 2024 | 0.076% | 274,131 |
| 2025 | 0.072% | 248,076 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.069% | 75,704 |
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 (1)
Sources
- History and theory: adapted from the Wikipedia article Sicilian Defence, Najdorf Variation, version of 3 November 2026, under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Results: Lichess opening explorer, figures collected from September to November 2026.
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “Sicilian Defense: Najdorf Variation, Lipnitsky Attack (B90)”. Lichess data as of 22 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/sicilian-defense-najdorf-variation-lipnitsky-attack