While the daunting amount of theory can put the average player off the Najdorf Sicilian, this book shows that an enterprising player can, with study, take up this resilient, counterattacking defense. This is accomplished by developing a thematic repertoire that relies on a single pawn structure. This allows black to develop in an understandable fashion and generally seek counterplay via a handful of methods.

John Emms is an active grandmaster and an accomplished author. Besides co-authoring NUNN'S CHESS OPENINGS (click to see reviews by Silman and Watson), he has individually authored numerous books. He has shown great ability with this book genre - both PLAY THE OPEN GAMES AS BLACK (click to see reviews by Silman and Watson) and ATTACKING WITH 1E4 (click to see reviews by Donaldson, Watson, and Bauer) were repertoire books that displayed a fine balance of theory and explanation within the context of limited time for study. He pulls it off again in this book.

The subject is the position after 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6.  Originally popularized by the Polish/Argentinean Grandmaster Miguel Najdorf, the idea is pure prophylaxis - to deny white the use of the b5 square while hoping to play .e5 to force white's knight to a passive square. White black often carries out this idea, after, say, 6.Be2 e5, the move order can also be used as a prelude to a different formation, with black playing .e6 against just about any white sixth move. This method forms the subject matter of the book.

One of the better methods for establishing a repertoire is to concentrate on a common pawn structure, and this book, to its credit, does exactly this. While the Najdorf Sicilian may have had its roots in playing for dark square control with .e5, the fact is that many Najdorf practitioners have preferred this book's structure, which is more related to the Scheveningen with black pawns on ..e6 and .d6.

This is a flexible structure that gives black control of central squares and long-term trumps based on his extra center pawn. Coupled with the half-open c-file and the minority attack with .b5, black has many ways of gaining play as long as he can defuse white's attacking chances. Many players, including Kasparov, have been willing to make this their primary black defensive strategy versus 1.e4. 

Over the years, I have often been drawn to the Najdorf. Spurred by the successes of Fischer, Browne, and others, the Najdorf was my favorite opening as a teenager, but the rise of theory often forced me to take up other less frenzied lines. The last real period where I played this on a regular basis coincided with the release of GM Daniel King's WINNING WITH THE NAJDORF back in 1993. This excellent book provided much useful updating of theory and new ideas, but, alas, after three or four years, it too was out of date.

Now Emms has given us a new set of lines that, for the moment, are tournament tested and battle-ready. Emms has also made some practical choices that cut down some of the popular, super theoretical lines. This should keep the book useful for several years and help limit the study time necessary to master the repertoire.

The book starts with a short preface and introduction. The introduction discusses some of the move order issues surrounding the repertoire, particularly why a play might wish to use the Najdorf method to reach a Scheveningen pawn structure (mostly to avoid the Keres Attack after 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 e6 6.g4, which put Kasparov, among others, off this move order). For those familiar with these openings, this is well-covered ground, but, of course, there will be those choosing this repertoire for the first time. 

The chapters cover each of white's six primary choices (Bc4, Be3, Be2, Bg5, f4, g3) as well as other sixth move options. Not surprisingly, of these, the most pages (51) are spent on 6.Be2, which leads directly into the main line of the Scheveningen variation. The author also spends a lot of pages on Bc4 (42) because of its tactical nature and Be3 (32) because of its recent popularity. By contrast, the former main move against the Najdorf, Bg5, is covered in just 26 pages. I think this breakdown is justified. First, Bg5 gives black a wide range of playable options, several of which require a lot of theoretical knowledge.  Given that, most amateur tournament players have gravitated to less testing lines.  Second, the author provides a repertoire that steers clear of a lot of white theory as well while maintaining reasonable positions - an excellent tactic in a repertoire book.

The author is a 1.e4 player who prefers Bc4 against the Najdorf, and I think the two chapters dealing with this choice for white are the book's best. Given that the author is not a regular black practitioner of the Najdorf, it is understandable that there would be a more assured feel to these chapters. At the same time, the author does not simply parrot theory in the other chapters either - there are many suggestions to be found for improving theory. 

I think Emms has gone out of his way to address his relative lack of experience with this variation (at least as black) with solid research. For example, the book's bibliography is much more extensive than is found in most current opening works. The author lists 18 books (including several recent white repertoire books) as well as the usual chess periodicals and databases. This is important, because an unfortunate recent trend in opening books has been authors who do not consult other books, instead working only with databases and periodicals like Chess Informant and New in Chess. While these are useful sources, there is much original analysis that gets overlooked as a result, with the printed theory often resembling two ships passing in the night. In general, this attention shows through in his analysis.

Ideally, one would like an opening repertoire by a seasoned practitioner - just as I found Emms' black 1.e4 e5 repertoire to have that assured feel, there are times when a bit of doubt (right or wrong) creeps in during the discussion. Given the author's strength and research, this is probably a largely unfounded fear. 

There are plenty of things to like about the book. The author often (but not always) includes more than one method for black, and in a sharp variation like the Najdorf this can assist if a line goes sour or is not to a player's liking. There are also helpful summaries at the end of the chapters. Finally, while this does not include a huge amount of prose, there are reasonable discussions of plans for both sides and move order issues. 

In the end, though, this is not a variation for the faint of heart. Even with the author's efforts to minimize the theory, there is a lot to learn, and a lot to keep current. In short, this is not the easiest repertoire to grasp or maintain. As much as it pains me to admit, ultimately, that works against the value of a Najdorf repertoire book.

In conclusion, this is now the most useful black repertoire for the black player wishing to play the Najdorf Sicilian. The repertoire is reasonable and thematic, and the theory up to date. At the same time, those looking for an easy opening life or routine opening maintenance (i.e., most of those looking for a repertoire book) may find the Najdorf a bit more than they bargained for.