Author: Arizmendi & Moreno Carnero

224 pages

Gambit Publications (2004)

www.gambitbooks.com

$27.50

Reviewed by John Donaldson

Ask any top Grandmaster to give you a short list of quality defenses against 1.e4 and you are sure to find the Najdorf Sicilian at or near the top of the list. This favorite of Fischer and Kasparov combines soundness and dynamic play. It also doesn't yield its secrets easily but a new book, MASTERING THE NAJDORF by Julen Arizmendi and Javier Moreno Carnero seeks to make this task easier. Unlike another recent Najdorf repertoire book by John Emms where Scheveningen setups (...e6) were the core, here the two Spanish Olympiad team members advocate a pure Najdorf approach with ...e5, which to quote the authors "gains more space and chases the potentially dangerous d4-knight away, thus avoiding any direct attacks against the Black King." Only against 6.Bc4 and 6.Bg5 is ...e6 called upon.

MASTERING THE NAJDORF is a very current and up to date book. The way the 224 pages are weighted shows how theory has changed in the past twenty years. Two decades ago 6.Bg5 would have been given pride of choice with 6.Bc4 and 6.Be2 next in line. Now the English-Attack with 6.Be3 is top dog with coverage of this line taking up around 50 pages. The authors conscientiousness in covering this line and the book as a whole is revealed in their comments at the start of the chapter on the English Attack, "for us it is a real challenge to offer the reader a reliable weapon to face this critical system, mainly because we know that theory grows constantly and new ideas are discovered daily, this being especially patent in what is probably the most investigated line in the world." To this end the two Spaniards not only present the best of existing theory but also anticipate how things might develop soon.

Arizmendi and Moreno Carnero cover all the main lines (6.Be2, 6.g3, 6.f4, 6.Be3/6.f3, 6.Bg5, 6.Bc4, 6.a4 and lesser lines like 6.Bd3, 6.h3 and 6.Rg1) with lots of analysis but also plenty of explanation to describe what both sides are trying to accomplish. To make the material more accessible it is grouped around model games.

If you have ever wanted to take up the Najdorf but thought it was too much work, this book might be just the guide you need.

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