Najdorf Variation, Opocensky Variation

With 6. Be2, also called the Classical Variation, White gives up the sharp attacking setups of 6. Bg5 and 6. Be3. The bishop guards g4, White castles short, and the players usually castle on the same side. White builds slowly on the kingside with f4-f5 or g4-g5, and the struggle often turns on which pieces get exchanged and which weak squares can be exploited. Anatoly Karpov, following Efim Geller's lead, made the line a regular weapon. He specialized in targeting the d5 hole after 6...e5.

The quiet approach leaves Black free to pick a structure. The most common reply is 6...e5 7. Nb3 Be7 8. O-O, and here 8...Be6 is the Modern Line and 8...O-O the Traditional Line. The second choice, 6...e6, transposes to the Classical Scheveningen. Kasparov used this route against Karpov to avoid the d5 problem. 6...g6 and 6...Nbd7 are less common, and White scores better against 6...g6. The engine rates the position roughly balanced, and decisive results split almost evenly between the two sides.