Sicilian Defence, Scheveningen Variation

In the opening of a game of chess, the Scheveningen

Variation[1] of the Sicilian Defence is a line of the Open
Sicilian characterised by Black setting up a small centre with pawns on d6 and e6. There are numerous move
orders that reach the Scheveningen. One possible move
order is:

too dangerous to be ignored. 7. h4 is strongest and the

most popular. 7.g5 hxg5 8.Bxg5 Nc6 9.Qd2 Qb6 10.Nb3
a6 11.0-0-0 Bd7 12.h4 gives White an equal game at best.
7... Nc6 8. Rg1 (diagram) and here Black has two main
lines to choose from:

2. Nf3 d6

8... d5 9.Bb5 Bd7 10.exd5 Nxd5 11.Nxd5 exd5

12.Qe2+ Be7 13.Nf5 Bxf5 14.gxf5 Kf8 15.Be3
Qa5+

3. d4 cxd4

8... h5 9.gxh5 Nxh5 10.Bg5 Nf6 11.Qd2

1. e4 c5

4. Nxd4 Nf6
both of which may give White a slight edge.

5. Nc3 e6

The seemingly modest d6e6 pawn centre aords Black

provide a solid defensive barrier, control of the critical 3 Classical Variation: 6.Be2
d5- and e5-squares, and retains exibility to break in the
centre with either ...e5 or ...d5. Black can proceed with Classical Variation after 12.Bf3
rapid development and the opening provides sound counterchances and considerable scope for creativity.
Another very popular variation is the Classical[3] (also
The line has been championed by Garry Kasparov, among known as Maroczy Variation) which is initiated by 6.
many other distinguished grandmasters.
Be2. Used to great eect by Anatoly Karpov, among
other distinguished grandmasters, this methodical approach has gained many followers. The main line con1 Origin
tinues 6... a6 7. 0-0 Be7 8. Be3 0-0 9. f4 Qc7 10. a4
Nc6 11. Kh1 Re8 12. Bf3 (diagram) reaching one of
The variation rst came under international attention dur- the main tabiyas of the Classical Scheveningen . Whites
ing the 1923 chess tournament in the village Schevenin- plans here are to build up a kingside attack, typically by
gen at the North Sea coast near The Hague. During the means of g2g4g5, Qd1e1h4, Bg2, Qh5, Rf3h3,
tournament the variation was played several times by sev- etc. Black will aim for a diversion on the queenside via
eral players, including Euwe playing it against Maroczy. the semi-open c-le, or strike in the centre. Positional
pawn sacrices abound for both sides and the theory is
very highly developed, thanks to decades of research by
the most elite players such as Garry Kasparov, Vasily
2 Keres Attack: 6.g4
Smyslov, Anatoly Karpov, Viswanathan Anand, Veselin
Topalov, Boris Gelfand and many others.
Keres Attack after 8.Rg1

4 English Attack: 6.Be3

White has several dierent attacking schemes available,

but the one considered most dangerous is the Keres
Attack,[2] named after GM Paul Keres, which continues
6. g4. This move takes advantage of the fact that 5...e6
cuts o the black bishops control of g4, and plans to
force the knight on f6, Blacks only developed piece, to
retreat and force black into passivity. This also launches
White into a kingside attack. Black usually continues
with 6... h6 to stop Whites expansion. Previously moves
like 6...Nc6 or 6...a6 were also recommended for Black
but practical tests have shown that Whites oensive is

English Attack after 10.0-0-0 Bb7

The combative English Attack is modeled after the Yugoslav (Rauzer) Attack in the Sicilian Dragon. White
starts an aggressive pawn storm on the kingside with f2
f3, g2g4, h2h4, and often g4g5. White castles long
and a very sharp game is often the result. Black, however, does not have to acquiesce to passive defence and
1

has at least as many attacking threats. The main line continues 6. Be3 a6 7. f3 b5 8. g4 h6 9. Qd2 Nbd7 10.
0-0-0 Bb7. Whites plans are to force g4g5 and open
the kingside les to his advantage. The rst player may
also exert considerable pressure on the d-le. Black will
often consider an exchange sacrice or at least a pawn
sacrice to open the queenside les for the heavy pieces.
Time is of the essence and new ideas are discovered each
year. Many elite players including Alexander Morozevich, Peter Leko, and Alexei Shirov have poured many
hours of study into this critical variation.

REFERENCES

while eliminating 6.g4, still gives White additional options, and g4 is still a possibility a move after.

Much modern analysis of the Scheveningen is under the

rubric of the Najdorf. In fact, many books exploring the
Scheveningen today have Najdorf in the title. This, continuing the line of thinking in the English section above,
is technically the Najdorf Variation of the Sicilian defense with the very popular English Attack. Note that
the Modern Scheveningen only covers lines without an
early ...a6 from Black. The Classical Scheveningen includes the early ...a6. This distinction is important in
choosing books to study, as titles covering recent games
will often leave out the ...a6 early line, which can still
5 Other variations
become quite interesting and complex, and still advantageous for Black, even with the powerful English Attack. Many modern chess software programs, such as
5.1 Fischer-Sozin Attack: 6.Bc4
HIARCS, still play ...a6 early on, despite the fact that
[4][5]
With the Fischer-Sozin Attack 6. Bc4,
White tries to modern often precludes the line in denitive analysis,
the book. Vlastimil Jansa has advocated
pressure the d5-square directly. Viable Black responses depending on[7][8][9]
this
variation.
in the centre include variations of Nb8c6a5 or Nb8
d7c5, supplemented by a7a6 and b7b5b4 on the
queenside. A possible line is 6...Be7 7.Bb3 0-0 8.Be3
Na6 (aiming for the c5-square; note that in case 8...Nbd7, 7 See also
then 9.Bxe6!? fxe6 10.Nxe6 Qa5 11.Nxf8 Bxf8, and
White sacrices two pieces for a rook) 9.Qe2 Nc5 10.f3.
List of chess openings
The ensuing position is balanced, with Black ready to
counter Whites g2g4g5 with a7a6 and b7b5b4 on
List of chess openings named after places
the other ank.

5.2

Tal Variation: 6.f4

After 6. f4,[6] in one of the main lines, 6... Nc6 7. Be3

Be7 8. Qf3, White seeks to castle queenside placing his
rook on the half-open d-le, and support the g-pawns advance with the queen.

5.3

Minor lines

6. g3; 6. Bb5, etc. These moves are less dicult to meet

and are not theoretically challenging to Black.

8 References
[1] Sicilian, Scheveningen Variation (B80)". Chess openings.
Chessgames.com. Retrieved 2008-01-19.
[2] Sicilian, Keres Attack (B81)". Chess openings. Chessgames.com. Retrieved 2008-01-19.
[3] Sicilian, Scheveningen, Classical (B85)". Chess openings. Chessgames.com. Retrieved 2008-01-19.
[4] Sicilian, FischerSozin Attack (B86)". Chess openings.
Chessgames.com. Retrieved 2008-01-19.
[5] Sicilian, FischerSozin Attack (B88)". Chess openings.
Chessgames.com. Retrieved 2008-01-19.

Question of move orders and the

Najdorf Variation

The Keres Attack puts Black into a rather defensive and

potentially dangerous position. For this reason, many advocates of this defense tend to play the Najdorf Variation move order and then play 6...e6, transposing into the
Scheveningen. 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 diculties in the opening, he never allowed
the Keres Attack and nally switched to the Najdorf move
order. One should note that the Najdorf move order,

[6] Sicilian, Scheveningen (B82)". Chess openings. Chessgames.com. Retrieved 2008-01-19. (known as Tal Variation)
[7] Nunn, John. Play the Najdorf: Scheveningen Style-A
Complete Repertoire for Black in this Most Dynamic of
Openings (9781857443233): John Emms: Books. Amazon.com. Retrieved 2012-01-12.
[8] Williams, Simon.
Dynamics of Chess Strategy
(9780713486087): Vlastimil Jansa: Books. Amazon.com. Retrieved 2012-01-12.
[9] Averbakh, Yuri. The Best Move (9780890580417):
Books. Amazon.com. Retrieved 2012-01-12.

Further reading
Kinlay, Jon (1981). Sicilian: Keres Attack. Batsford.
ISBN 0-7134-2139-8.
Pritchett, Craig (2006). Sicilian Scheveningen.
Everyman Chess. ISBN 9781857444131.

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