Luis Engel: Sicilian Najdorf Variation with 6.Bd3 (Part I)
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Bd3
The Sicilian Najdorf Variation has been part of Luis Engel's repertoire practically since the beginning. In this and the next issue, the GM from Hamburg presents the recently popular continuation 6.Bd3. The first part deals with all continuations except the main move 6...e5, which Engel has saved for Part II. First, our author examines 6...e6, after which White already gains a dangerous initiative with 7.f4!, especially if Black responds with 7...Be7 or 7...Qc7. An alternative is 6...Nc6, but also here Engel sees White with a slight advantage after 7.Nxc6 bxc6 8.b3! The continuation 6...g6 is better – after 7.f3, Black can follow up with the active 7...e5, for example.
Daniel King: Czech Benoni
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 c5 3.d5 e5 4.Nc3 d6 5.e4 h5
After the opening moves of the Czech Benoni (1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 c5 3.d5 e5 4.Nc3 d6 5.e4), Black has five "standard moves" to choose from – all of which have a positive score for White in the statistics (55% and above). Much better – albeit based on a much smaller number of games – is the move 5...h5, with over 60% in Black's favour! This may have been the deciding factor for Daniel King to take a closer look at this unusual idea. Of course, Black will benefit from the surprise effect here. But the move 5... h5 also proves to be very flexible, as Black does not commit to developing his minor pieces and keeps many options open. In his analysis, Daniel King discusses various options for White on the sixth move, including 6.h4, 6.f3 and Be3.
Mihail Marin: French Advance Variation
1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 c5 4.c3 Nc6 5.Nf3 Bd7 6.Be2 Nge7
The Advance Variation is a very principled and currently quite popular choice against the French Defence. In Mihail Marin's black repertoire, the variation with 5...Qb6 used to be at the top, but due to the modern continuation 6.Bd3 cxd4 7.0-0, which promises dangerous compensation for the sacrificed pawn, our author now prefers 5...Bd7. Marin's analysis focuses on the main continuation 6.Be2 Nge7 7.0-0. Here he recommends 7...Nf5. In his video, he discusses the variations after 8.Bd3, 8.Na3 and 8.dxc5 (see the game Firouzja-Aronian, Warsaw 2025).