* The top players of the day: world champion Mikhail Botvinnik, and those who had qualified for ( or been seeded into ) the inaugural Candidates Tournament in 1950: Isaac Boleslavsky, Igor Bondarevsky, David Bronstein, Max Euwe, Reuben Fine, Salo Flohr, Paul Keres, Alexander Kotov, Andor Lilienthal, Miguel Najdorf, Samuel Reshevsky, Vasily Smyslov, Gideon Ståhlberg, and László Szabó.

He stayed on to play in a Buenos Aires international tournament after the Olympiad, and tied for first place with Miguel Najdorf with 8. 5 / 11 (+ 7 = 3 − 1 ).

* 2. Nc3 may lead to a variety of systems, depending on White's next move, and has been used by even strong players, who intend to play an open Sicilian, for psychological reasons ; while 2 ... Nc6 or 2 ... e6 are the usual replies, each obviates the possibility of playing the Najdorf.

In 1950, Unzicker shared the prize for best top-board score (+ 9 − 1 = 4 ) with Miguel Najdorf for his performance on first board for the West German team at the Dubrovnik Chess Olympiad.

Fischer had been famous for his unusually narrow opening repertoire: for example, almost invariably playing 1. e4 as White, and almost always playing the Najdorf Variation of the Sicilian Defense as Black against 1. e4.

He was the first to play 6. Be3 against the Najdorf Variation of the Sicilian Defense ( 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Be3 ); this system has been named for him and has been very popular since the mid-1980s.

Because of the success of various players with these variations, White often plays 6 Be2 and goes for a quieter, more positional game, whereupon Black has the option of transposing into a Scheveningen Variation by playing 6 ... e6 or keeping the game in Najdorf lines by playing 6 ... e5.

Miguel Najdorf ( born Mendel ( Mieczysław ) Najdorf in Grodzisk Mazowiecki near Warsaw, Poland, April 15, 1910 – died in Málaga, Spain, July 4, 1997 ) was a Polish-born Argentine chess grandmaster of Jewish origin, famous for his Najdorf Variation.

In September 1939, after the 8th Olympiad, Najdorf tied for first with Paul Keres at Buenos Aires ( Circulo ); the two scored 8½ / 11.

In 1946, Najdorf tied for 4th – 5th with László Szabó at Groningen, with 11½ / 19 ; the event was won by Mikhail Botvinnik.

Despite his strong results, Najdorf was not invited to the 1948 World Championship tournament as a replacement for Reuben Fine.

In 1954, he tied for 2nd-3rd with Miguel Najdorf, behind René Letelier, at Montevideo at age 72.

Interestingly, in the famous Bg5 Najdorf Sicilian, the pawn advance e5 is rarely ever played at the top level because the white knight can hop into the f5 square with good practical chances for securing an advantage.

The most prominent example of such a preference for the Najdorf move order was seen in World Chess Championship 1984, where after game one when Kasparov had difficulties in the opening, he never allowed the Keres Attack and finally switched to the Najdorf move order.

Najdorf represented Poland in four pre-war Chess Olympiads.

* Miguel Najdorf vs Gideon Stahlberg, Lodz 1938, Queen's Gambit Declined, Semi-Tarrasch Defence ( D40 ), 1 – 0 These two players were destined to settle in Argentina in 1939, where they had great battles in many events.

Following the Chess Olympiad in Buenos Aires 1939, he stayed in Argentina until 1948, where he won many tournaments, some of them in competition with Miguel Najdorf: Mar del Plata 1941 ( ahead of Najdorf and Eliskases ), Buenos Aires 1941 ( tied with Najdorf ), Buenos Aires 1947 ( ahead of Najdorf, Eliskases and Euwe ).

Najdorf played 40 games at Rosario, Argentina in 1943 and 45 games in São Paulo in 1947.

Black can then choose between four major variations: in order of decreasing popularity, these are the Najdorf ( 5 ... a6 ), Dragon ( 5 ... g6 ), Classical ( 5 ... Nc6 ), and Scheveningen ( 5 ... e6 ).

In the quarterfinals, he won a complex struggle on the black side of the Najdorf Defense in game three to defeat Shakhriyar Mamedyarov 2½ – 1½ and advance to the semifinals, where he faced American Gata Kamsky.

* Boris Spassky vs Tigran Petrosian, World Championship match, Moscow 1969, game 19, Sicilian Defence, Najdorf Variation ( B94 ), 1 – 0 Aggressive style of play and brilliant sparkles of combinations shows Spassky at his heights.

* Boris Spassky vs Robert Fischer, World Championship match, Reykjavík 1972, game 11, Sicilian Defense, Najdorf, Poisoned Pawn Variation ( B97 ), 1 – 0 Fischer's only loss in his favourite Poisoned Pawn variation.

* Vasily Smyslov vs Mikhail Tal, Candidates ' Tournament, Yugoslavia 1959, Sicilian Defence, Najdorf / Opecensky Variation ( B92 ), 1 – 0 It was their first-ever meeting, and the young star Tal gets a sharp lesson from the veteran.

Keres won Mar del Plata 1957 ( 15 / 17, ahead of Miguel Najdorf ), and Santiago 1957 with 6 / 7, ahead of Alexander Kotov.

* Paul Keres vs Jaroslav Šajtar, Amsterdam 1954 ( ol ), Sicilian, Najdorf ( B94 ), 1 – 0 A typical Sicilian sacrifice on e6 leads to swift resignation.

* Complete Najdorf: Modern Lines ( 1999 ), Sterling Pub Co Inc. ISBN 0-7134-8218-4.

* Miguel Najdorf vs Robert Byrne, Buenos Aires 1964, King's Indian Defense, Classical / Petrosian Variation ( E93 ), 0 – 1 A key victory from the tournament where Byrne earned his GM title.

* Rustam Kasimdzhanov vs Viswanathan Anand, FIDE World Championship Tournament 2005, Sicilian Defense: Najdorf Variation, English Attack Anti-English ( B90 ), 1-0

* Liviu Dieter Nisipeanu vs Viktor Bologan, TCh-FRA Top 16 2006, Sicilian Defense: Najdorf Variation ( B90 ), 1-0

Najdorf won at Mar del Plata 1948 with 14 / 17, ahead of Ståhlberg ( 13½ ), Eliskases ( 12 ), and Euwe ( 10½ ).

* Glucksberg vs Miguel Najdorf, Warsaw 1929, Dutch Defence ( A85 ), 0 – 1 " The Polish Immortal " or " Najdorf's Immortal " – one of the most brilliant games of the twentieth century.

* Miguel Najdorf vs Paul Keres, Buenos Aires Circulo 1939, Queen's Gambit Declined, Slav Defence ( D11 ), 1 – 0 Keres opens the centre prematurely, and Najdorf forms a pawn roller and arranges a quick victory.

* Carlos Guimard vs Miguel Najdorf, Buenos Aires Circulo 1941, Queen's Gambit Declined, Slav Defence ( D11 ), 0 – 1 Najdorf shows how to play this line from the Black side, by comparison with the Keres game given above.

* Miguel Najdorf vs Mikhail Botvinnik, Groningen 1946, Nimzo – Indian Defence, Classical Variation ( E35 ), 1 – 0 In their first meeting, Najdorf catches the future World Champion in a maze of tactics.

* Miguel Najdorf vs Isaac Boleslavsky, Groningen 1946, Old Indian Defence ( A54 ), 1 – 0 Najdorf avoids a tactical battle with an early exchange of queens in Boleslavsky's pet variation, then grinds him down.

He had several successes at Mar del Plata: shared first with Erich Eliskases in 1951, shared first with Hector Rossetto in 1952, and shared first with Miguel Najdorf in 1956.

This kind of formation is a well known structural feature in the Najdorf ( c. f.

It has never been one of the main lines against 1. d4, though in the past a number of top players, including Alexander Alekhine, Bent Larsen, Paul Morphy and Miguel Najdorf, have used it with success.

The Najdorf Variation of the Sicilian Defence is one of the most respected and deeply studied of all chess openings.

The Najdorf Variation in the Sicilian Defense, one of the most popular openings in modern chess, is named after him.

Spassky shared second with Polugaevsky at Havana 1962 with 16 / 21, behind winner Miguel Najdorf.

Najdorf won important tournaments such as Mar del Plata ( 1961 ) and Havana ( 1962 and 1964 ).