Sicilian Defense: Najdorf VariationBETA

Bg5 has historically been the main move and most testing move in the Najdorf. It develops a piece, sometimes threatening to double black's kingside pawns, attempts to quickly castle queenside, and prevents black's main idea of e5. This move has been analyzed deeply for 100 years, and at the top level often results in draws since both players have studied all possible continuations. However, to this day, it remains one of the most testing moves against the Najdorf and can lead to beautiful attacking and counterattacking positions that epitomize the Najdorf itself.

The Najdorf Sicilian is one of the most popular variations in all of chess. It is highly theoretical, and leads to extremely double-edge positions with winning chances for both sides. White's lead in development means they can often build up a huge kingside attack, while black has lots of counter-attacking chances on the queenside due to their solid center and flexible pawn structure.