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Product Description
The Najdorf Sicilian has a unique place amongst chess openings: for several decades it has been regarded by the top grandmasters as the best way for Black to play soundly for a win against 1 e4. It was a particular favourite of World Champions Bobby Fischer and Garry Kasparov, and plays a vital role in the repertoires of current top players such as Viswanathan Anand and Veselin Topalov.
Black's stance is totally uncompromising. He accepts no organic weaknesses and stays flexible, ready to counterpunch in any part of the board. White has no safe or easy option. On the other hand, he does have a vast array of extremely dangerous attacking options, such as the old 6 Bg5 main line, which can lead to the Poisoned Pawn, a variation that has undergone much development in the 21st century. The current main line is 6 Be3, intending the English Attack. But given the Najdorf's importance, White has tried almost everything imaginable in the search for an advantage, with considerable bodies of theory evolving for lines that contain merely a drop of poison.
In the ever-changing Najdorf landscape, it is easy to lose sight of the strategic backbone that underpins the Najdorf. In this book, James Rizzitano, a battle-hardened Sicilian warrior, distils the most important ideas and themes from current practice to provide an ideal guide for those looking to succeed as White or Black in the Najdorf in the modern scientific era.
About the Author
James Rizzitano is a strong international master who dominated chess in the New England region during a 14-year period from 1976 to 1989 - he won 157 out of 336 events in which he competed. His career highlights include victories over Alburt, Benjamin, Benko, Christiansen, Dlugy, I.Gurevich, and Wolff. In recent years Rizzitano has made a return to competitive chess.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
One of the frustrating things about buying chess books online is not knowing what systems the author is proposing. So when I purchased this book I had no idea what to expect. I guessed that this would be a black repertoire book, but it turned out to be more of an introduction to the Najdorf sicilian. The author has collected games played in the last 10 year (most less than 5 years old) and heavily annotated them, adding other game fragments into the notes. He uses an average two games per chapter at about 4 pages per game. It appears that Rizzanto wanted to appeal to many Najdorf tastes so he evaluates several lines, rather than recommending one line, hence the thinking that this is more of an introduction/overview and less of a repertoire book.
I will list the systems that he discusses:
6)Bc4 he covers both the old lines with a quick ...b5 and the modern Nbd7, both are very different to each other.
6)Be3 (the current main line) he covers the tricky 6)....Ng4!? and the solid 6)....e5. In the english attack he looks at the line with ...h5 (why is this so trendy amongst writers?) and the ...Be7 and 0-0 line
6)Be2 gets ...e5. He takes the typical and refreshing Najdorf approach with ...e5 when possible (I'm a little tired of Scheveningen books posing as Najdorf books under the excuse of avoiding the Keres attack with a Najdorf move order.)
6)f4 e5 - the solid approach.
6)g3 e5 again! Love this approach!
Then 6)Bg5 the old main line. This gets a truly puzzling treatment, Rizzitano gives 5 alternatives!! Some of them pretty depressing for Black and it is a wonder they are included. Again, this appears to be the overview approach, giving the reader a taste of each system. He covers the Gelfand line with Nbd7, the Kasparov line with Qc7, the heavily theoretical Poisoned pawn line, the most likely dubious Polugaevsky and the old, old main line with ...Be7 which is just out of fashion.
Casting an eye over the bias of game results, one could imagine that, as this is a Black defense, the win ratio would favor black. Not true! The results are evenly split, suggesting that white players can get something positive out of this book too. That said, as a player of this defense, the black bias can be quite inspiring.
In concluding, I feel this is an inspiring up-to-date introduction to Najdorf; a starting point. I suspect that players will want to get more comprehensive books as they build their understanding of this system. For further reading I'd recommend: The sharpest sicilian! by Georgiev, Mastering the Najdorf by Arizmendi & Moreno and finally parts of Grandmaster repertoire 6 - The sicilian Defense by Lubomir Ftacnik.
I will list the systems that he discusses:
6)Bc4 he covers both the old lines with a quick ...b5 and the modern Nbd7, both are very different to each other.
6)Be3 (the current main line) he covers the tricky 6)....Ng4!? and the solid 6)....e5. In the english attack he looks at the line with ...h5 (why is this so trendy amongst writers?) and the ...Be7 and 0-0 line
6)Be2 gets ...e5. He takes the typical and refreshing Najdorf approach with ...e5 when possible (I'm a little tired of Scheveningen books posing as Najdorf books under the excuse of avoiding the Keres attack with a Najdorf move order.)
6)f4 e5 - the solid approach.
6)g3 e5 again! Love this approach!
Then 6)Bg5 the old main line. This gets a truly puzzling treatment, Rizzitano gives 5 alternatives!! Some of them pretty depressing for Black and it is a wonder they are included. Again, this appears to be the overview approach, giving the reader a taste of each system. He covers the Gelfand line with Nbd7, the Kasparov line with Qc7, the heavily theoretical Poisoned pawn line, the most likely dubious Polugaevsky and the old, old main line with ...Be7 which is just out of fashion.
Casting an eye over the bias of game results, one could imagine that, as this is a Black defense, the win ratio would favor black. Not true! The results are evenly split, suggesting that white players can get something positive out of this book too. That said, as a player of this defense, the black bias can be quite inspiring.
In concluding, I feel this is an inspiring up-to-date introduction to Najdorf; a starting point. I suspect that players will want to get more comprehensive books as they build their understanding of this system. For further reading I'd recommend: The sharpest sicilian! by Georgiev, Mastering the Najdorf by Arizmendi & Moreno and finally parts of Grandmaster repertoire 6 - The sicilian Defense by Lubomir Ftacnik.
0 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Rizzitano gives a good grounding in the Najdorf - a variation that the databases show to be black's strongest Sicilian line against 1.e4 Essential for any player of the black pieces intending to take up the Najdorf.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
3 reviews
12 of 13 people found the following review helpful
An up-to-date introduction
21 Oct 2010
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
One of the frustrating things about buying chess books online is not knowing what systems the author is proposing. So when I purchased this book I had no idea what to expect. I guessed that this would be a black repertoire book, but it turned out to be more of an introduction to the Najdorf sicilian. The author has collected games played in the last 10 year (most less than 5 years old) and heavily annotated them, adding other game fragments into the notes. He uses an average two games per chapter at about 4 pages per game. It appears that Rizzanto wanted to appeal to many Najdorf tastes so he evaluates several lines, rather than recommending one line, hence the thinking that this is more of an introduction/overview and less of a repertoire book.
I will list the systems that he discusses:
6)Bc4 he covers both the old lines with a quick ...b5 and the modern Nbd7, both are very different to each other.
6)Be3 (the current main line) he covers the tricky 6)....Ng4!? and the solid 6)....e5. In the english attack he looks at the line with ...h5 (why is this so trendy amongst writers?) and the ...Be7 and 0-0 line
6)Be2 gets ...e5. He takes the typical and refreshing Najdorf approach with ...e5 when possible (I'm a little tired of Scheveningen books posing as Najdorf books under the excuse of avoiding the Keres attack with a Najdorf move order.)
6)f4 e5 - the solid approach.
6)g3 e5 again! Love this approach!
Then 6)Bg5 the old main line. This gets a truly puzzling treatment, Rizzitano gives 5 alternatives!! Some of them pretty depressing for Black and it is a wonder they are included. Again, this appears to be the overview approach, giving the reader a taste of each system. He covers the Gelfand line with Nbd7, the Kasparov line with Qc7, the heavily theoretical Poisoned pawn line, the most likely dubious Polugaevsky and the old, old main line with ...Be7 which is just out of fashion.
Casting an eye over the bias of game results, one could imagine that, as this is a Black defense, the win ratio would favor black. Not true! The results are evenly split, suggesting that white players can get something positive out of this book too. That said, as a player of this defense, the black bias can be quite inspiring.
In concluding, I feel this is an inspiring up-to-date introduction to Najdorf; a starting point. I suspect that players will want to get more comprehensive books as they build their understanding of this system. For further reading I'd recommend: The sharpest sicilian! by Georgiev, Mastering the Najdorf by Arizmendi & Moreno and finally parts of Grandmaster repertoire 6 - The sicilian Defense by Lubomir Ftacnik.
I will list the systems that he discusses:
6)Bc4 he covers both the old lines with a quick ...b5 and the modern Nbd7, both are very different to each other.
6)Be3 (the current main line) he covers the tricky 6)....Ng4!? and the solid 6)....e5. In the english attack he looks at the line with ...h5 (why is this so trendy amongst writers?) and the ...Be7 and 0-0 line
6)Be2 gets ...e5. He takes the typical and refreshing Najdorf approach with ...e5 when possible (I'm a little tired of Scheveningen books posing as Najdorf books under the excuse of avoiding the Keres attack with a Najdorf move order.)
6)f4 e5 - the solid approach.
6)g3 e5 again! Love this approach!
Then 6)Bg5 the old main line. This gets a truly puzzling treatment, Rizzitano gives 5 alternatives!! Some of them pretty depressing for Black and it is a wonder they are included. Again, this appears to be the overview approach, giving the reader a taste of each system. He covers the Gelfand line with Nbd7, the Kasparov line with Qc7, the heavily theoretical Poisoned pawn line, the most likely dubious Polugaevsky and the old, old main line with ...Be7 which is just out of fashion.
Casting an eye over the bias of game results, one could imagine that, as this is a Black defense, the win ratio would favor black. Not true! The results are evenly split, suggesting that white players can get something positive out of this book too. That said, as a player of this defense, the black bias can be quite inspiring.
In concluding, I feel this is an inspiring up-to-date introduction to Najdorf; a starting point. I suspect that players will want to get more comprehensive books as they build their understanding of this system. For further reading I'd recommend: The sharpest sicilian! by Georgiev, Mastering the Najdorf by Arizmendi & Moreno and finally parts of Grandmaster repertoire 6 - The sicilian Defense by Lubomir Ftacnik.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
I'm turning into a Sicilian FAN!
13 Mar 2012
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
This book from Gambit publishing "Play the Nadjorf Sicilian" by James Rizzitano is an updated repetoire book for sharp defensive line(s) playing against 1. e4. I mostly play 1. d4 and have numerous books on offense and defense. Admittingly I have yet to venture into 1. e4 waters so adding this book after facing players using king pawn openings was desperately needed, and since open game systems change DAILY, only up to date BOOKS will do! I decided to jump into the thick of the fray with the Sicilian and a defense known for giving the most affordable strategic and tactical counter chances playing Black. If many GMs use this defense, why not any of us lower ranked players?
This book is a great starting point on handling Nadjorf lines on both sides of the board. It covers old/new main line theory (including the English Attack Be3/f3/Qd2 move orders and Bg5 lines) along with some minor and Anti- Nadjorf lines as well. Interstingly the author makes a point of pawn structure formations and covers the pro and cons to deal with them. As a side note, Quality Press's new line of books called the "Cutting Edge" series presents open Sicilian lines dealing with most current "ultra-Critical" lines occuring in the SD. They are recommended after you've gained some play time using the Nadjorf and other open/closed SD lines.
Play the Nadjorf Sicilian is a great buy for all players with enough diagrams, main line theory and alternative lines to put you on the winning side of either color. As always check out a book preview on the Gambit publishing website BEFORE you buy and SEE for yourself! Good buy at a good price!!....NUFF SAID
This book is a great starting point on handling Nadjorf lines on both sides of the board. It covers old/new main line theory (including the English Attack Be3/f3/Qd2 move orders and Bg5 lines) along with some minor and Anti- Nadjorf lines as well. Interstingly the author makes a point of pawn structure formations and covers the pro and cons to deal with them. As a side note, Quality Press's new line of books called the "Cutting Edge" series presents open Sicilian lines dealing with most current "ultra-Critical" lines occuring in the SD. They are recommended after you've gained some play time using the Nadjorf and other open/closed SD lines.
Play the Nadjorf Sicilian is a great buy for all players with enough diagrams, main line theory and alternative lines to put you on the winning side of either color. As always check out a book preview on the Gambit publishing website BEFORE you buy and SEE for yourself! Good buy at a good price!!....NUFF SAID
4 of 19 people found the following review helpful
Highly recommended, especially for intermediate to advanced chess aficionados
8 Aug 2010
Format:Paperback
International chess master James Rizzitano presents Play the Najdorf Sicilian, an advanced chess strategy guide to the Najdorf Sicilian tactic for Black - an aggressive maneuver that is not easily countered, but that can be counterattacked to deadly effect. Black-and-white diagrams meticulously illustrate the sample games and demonstrations. Due to the extremely heavy focus on concrete gaming examples rather than theory, Play the Najdorf Sicilian lives up to its title, revealing how to best enact this extraordinary gambit under different conditions, and how to strike back against it. Highly recommended, especially for intermediate to advanced chess aficionados.
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