Sicilian Defence, Scheveningen Variation

The variation first came to international attention during the 1923 chess tournament in the village Scheveningen at the North Sea coast near The Hague. During the tournament the variation was played several times by several players, including Euwe playing it against Maróczy.

	a	b	c	d	e	f	g	h
8									8
7									7
6									6
5									5
4									4
3									3
2									2
1									1
	a	b	c	d	e	f	g	h

Keres Attack after 8.Rg1

White has several different 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 off the black bishop's control of g4, and plans to force the knight on f6, Black's 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 White's expansion. Previously moves like 6...Nc6 or 6...a6 were also recommended for Black but practical tests have shown that White's offensive 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:

• 8... d5 9.Bb5 Bd7 10.exd5 Nxd5 11.Nxd5 exd5 12.Qe2+ Be7 13.Nf5 Bxf5 14.gxf5 Kf8 15.Be3 Qa5+
• 8... h5 9.gxh5 Nxh5 10.Bg5 Nf6 11.Qd2

both of which may give White a slight edge.

	a	b	c	d	e	f	g	h
8									8
7									7
6									6
5									5
4									4
3									3
2									2
1									1
	a	b	c	d	e	f	g	h

Classical Variation after 12.Bf3

Another very popular line is the Classical Variation[3] (also known as Maroczy Variation) which is initiated by 6. Be2. Used to great effect by Anatoly Karpov, among other distinguished grandmasters, this methodical approach has gained many followers. The main line continues 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 main tabiyas of the Classical Scheveningen . White's plans here are to build up a kingside attack, typically by means of g2–g4–g5, Qd1–e1–h4, Bg2, Qh5, Rf3–h3, etc. Black will aim for a diversion on the queenside via the semi-open c-file, or strike in the centre. Positional pawn sacrifices 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 Smyslov, Anatoly Karpov, Viswanathan Anand, Veselin Topalov, Boris Gelfand and many others.

	a	b	c	d	e	f	g	h
8									8
7									7
6									6
5									5
4									4
3									3
2									2
1									1
	a	b	c	d	e	f	g	h

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, g2–g4, h2–h4, and often g4–g5. White castles long and a very sharp game is often the result. Black, however, does not have to acquiesce to passive defence and 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 (diagram). White's plans are to force g4–g5 and open the kingside files to his advantage. The first player may also exert considerable pressure on the d-file. Black will often consider an exchange sacrifice or at least a pawn sacrifice to open the queenside files 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.

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 difficulties in the opening, he never allowed the Keres Attack and finally switched to the Najdorf move order. The Najdorf move order, while eliminating 6.g4, allows white additional options such as 6. Bg5, and g4 is still a possible move after. Basically, the Najdorf move order delays g4 by one move making the attack vastly less powerful, meanwhile the Scheveningen move order speeds up kingside development making 6. Bg5 much less powerful. As the Keres' attack is feared more than 6. Bg5 the Najdorf move order is seen more at the highest level today. Because Najdorf's original intention was to play e5 all in one go and the history of the move order, openings beginning with 5. ...a6 are often put in the Scheveningen category if e6 is played immediately 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 become quite interesting and complex, and still advantageous for Black, even with the powerful English Attack. Many modern chess software programs, such as HIARCS, still play ...a6 early on, despite the fact that "modern" often precludes the line in definitive analysis, depending on the book. Vlastimil Jansa has advocated this variation.[7][8][9]

• List of chess openings
• List of chess openings named after places

The Wikibook Chess Opening Theory has a page on the topic of: Scheveningen Variation

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