Trivia Question: Who Invented the Najdorf Sicilian?
Was it:
- Abraham Kupchik
- Reuben Fine
- Alexander Kevitz
- Efim Bogojlubov
- Saviely Tartakower
- Miguel Najdorf
- Bobby Fischer
- Johannes Von Den Bosch
- Viacheslav Ragozin
- Alexander Kotov
Miguel Najdorf acknowledged that he played ideas first worked on by Czechoslovakian (when that country still existed) masters. The names Podgorny and Pelikan come to mind, but there were some others that I can’t quite recall.
The ideas go back to how Louis Paulsen played the Sicilian Defense in the 1800’s. He played games with the “little center” and the backward pawn. These would grow into the Taimanov Variation, the Paulsen or Kan Variation, the Scheveningen Variation, and various hedgehog formations in a number of 1.c4 and 1.d4 openings. The blend of dynamics and prophylactic ideas is difficult to research and play, making these types of openings ideal for someone trying to win with Black. So far, the Najdorf Variation has not lost its allure for chess addicts.
Nobody has guessed the correct answer yet, or even come close.
Hint: It was not Najdorf and what Najdorf played was similar but not the Najdorf Sicilian as we know it today.
- S.T.