Sicilian Defense: Najdorf Variation, Poisoned Pawn Variation
Play any move on the board to explore from there, or step through the line with ‹ › and the arrow keys.
Statistics from Lichess
172,719 games: White 46.8% / Draw 5.1% / Black 48.2%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 87,61088K | ||
| 41,57642K | ||
| 16,36116K | ||
| 12,07412K | ||
| 6,4186,418 | ||
| 2,1972,197 | ||
| 1,6641,664 | ||
| 1,1801,180 |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 23, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.05 The position is about equal
Best play: 8. Qd2 Qxb2 9. Rb1 Qa3 10. f5 Be7 11. fxe6 Bxe6 12. Nxe6 fxe6
Stockfish 19, depth 30, after the line's last move. Scores are in pawns, from White's side.
By rating
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 538 | |
| 1400–1799 | 11K | |
| 1800–2199 | 94K | |
| 2200 and up | 70K | |
| Masters, over the board | 7,723 |
Master games
- Caruana, F. – Vachier Lagrave, M.
- Caruana, F. – Vachier Lagrave, M.
- Caruana, F. – Vachier Lagrave, M.
- Leko, P. – Kasparov, G.
- Caruana, F. – 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 27, 2026
Overview
Sicilian Defense: Najdorf Variation, Poisoned Pawn Variation (ECO B97, 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 Qb6 (7 moves).
In 172,719 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 46.8%, Black 48.2% and 5.1% were drawn. White's most played move here is 8. Qd2, in 51% of those games.
It continues into one named variation, Sicilian Defense: Najdorf Variation, Poisoned Pawn Accepted.
Written from the Lichess opening list and explorer. Know this line well? Write about it.
Write a description or report a mistake
How to play against the Sicilian Defense: Najdorf Variation, Poisoned Pawn Variation
8. a3 scores best for White: 52.2%, with White winning 49.6% and Black 45.2% of 16K games. The most played, 8. Qd2, scores 51.0% in 88K games, and 8. Bxf6 scores lowest: 44.4%. Stockfish's first choice is 8. Qd2.
Main answers: those played in at least 5% of these games. Score: White'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, Poisoned Pawn Variation has lost ground since 2016: 0.0054% of Lichess games in 2025, down from 0.0073% (its peak: 0.0099% in 2018).
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.0073% | 2,605 |
| 2017 | 0.0095% | 5,206 |
| 2018 | 0.0099% | 7,738 |
| 2019 | 0.0086% | 10,773 |
| 2020 | 0.009% | 26,285 |
| 2021 | 0.0078% | 30,389 |
| 2022 | 0.0063% | 23,605 |
| 2023 | 0.0053% | 20,092 |
| 2024 | 0.0053% | 19,154 |
| 2025 | 0.0054% | 18,606 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.0052% | 5,648 |
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)
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “Sicilian Defense: Najdorf Variation, Poisoned Pawn Variation (B97)”. Lichess data as of 23 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/sicilian-defense-najdorf-variation-poisoned-pawn-variation