Sicilian Defense: Najdorf Variation
B90 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6
White scores 51.7% here across 1,426 club games — but the 13.7% who answer Bc4 score 45.6%, 6 points worse.
What White actually plays here
Across 1,426 games from a Lichess-derived book of club play, White scores 51.7% in this position. These are the replies people choose, and how each one works out.
| Reply | Games | Share | White scores | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bg5 | 342 | 24.0% | 53.1% | holds up |
| Be3 | 309 | 21.7% | 57.4% | holds up |
| Bc4 | 195 | 13.7% | 45.6% | below the line |
| Be2 | 145 | 10.2% | 54.8% | holds up |
| f3 | 117 | 8.2% | 49.6% | holds up |
| Bd3 | 94 | 6.6% | 46.3% | below the line |
| a4 | 63 | 4.4% | 51.6% | holds up |
| h3 | 50 | 3.5% | 58.0% | holds up |
| f4 | 29 | 2.0% | 50.0% | holds up |
"Below the line" means the reply scores at least three points worse than the position does overall. Replies played fewer than 25 times are left out: the sample is too small to read.
Is this costing you anything?
A table of averages cannot tell you whether you go wrong here — only your own games can. Opening Leak Lab reads your Chess.com or Lichess archive, finds the decisions you repeat, and checks each one against this book and a bundled Stockfish.