In Sicilian Defense with pawn structure as in Scheveningen, what should black do when playing d5 does not look so good? As black, I always play the Sicilian against e4. I personally like the Scheveningen system but to avoid the Keres Attack, I play a6 before e6:

[FEN ""]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6


In that sense, the opening can also be named as Najdorf variation.

But I generally avoid playing ...e5 and prefer ...e6. I avoid ...e5 because I feel like playing ...e5 weakens the d5 square. 

My desired set up is to have:


Bishops on b7 and e7
Knights on f6 and d7 (or c6) 
Pawns on a6, b5, e6, d6
Queen on c7 (b6 or sometimes a5)


My general plan is to play d5 to open up the game for my white bishop at b7.



Now I have 2 questions:


Sometimes (especially in closed Sicilian games) against black's ...d5 white can move their pawn to e5 and so creates a pressure on my king side. In those cases I have the tendency not to play ...d5 but then my white bishop can get stuck so becomes a bad bishop. Should I allow e5 with ...d5 and do something after e5 or should I think doing a move different from ...d5?
Secondly, sometimes white pushes their pawn to c4 to block my ...d5. What could be a good strategy for black after c4?




PS. I generally prefer open Sicilian games to closed Sicilian games with maybe one exception. The exception is the variant where both sides make fianchettos on the g-file (like English opening with sides reversed) where the black has pawns on g6-e6-d6, black bishop on g7, knights on e7 and c6.

Then my strategy is to play Nd4 in order to exchange knights, making a queen side pawn rush by putting my rook to b8, and defending a possible g4 by moving my pawn to f5.

Can I apply that kind of play/strategy against white where white does not make a fianchetto with his white bishop where the game is a closed Sicilian game, (e.g. 1 e4 c5 2 c3... ) to overcome the problems that I described above.
It is generally true that, especially in the Najdorf variation, Black does not get to play ...d5 at any point early in the opening: if they do they have basically solved all the opening problems and acquired an equal if not superior position. Conversely, White's plan is to get a grip on d5 and make it the whole point of the opening, very often playing a set-up with "good Knight versus bad Bishop" (there is a good lecture with examples of the Saint Louis Chess Club here).

However, in the standard set-ups of the Najdorf variation (especially against the English attach 6.Be3 or the classical line with 6.Be2) Black plays 6...e5 themselves to avoid White from doing so (unless White plays f4 and then e5, but they have to spend two more tempi to do so) and to get their fair share of the centre. Black's bishop if often deployed in e6 and not in b7 to avoid Bc4.

A good example of this approach is the game Carlsen vs So (Sinquefield Cup (2015)).


  Secondly, sometimes white pushes their pawn to c4 to block my ...d5. What could be a good strategy for black after c4?


If White plays the standard open Sicilian set-up with 5. Nc3 then they cannot play c4 easily; Black will play ...b5 in most of the Najdorf set-ups (also allocating a Knight in c4 if allowed). Therefore the general rule is to avoid White to play c4 rather than worrying after c4 was played. If otherwise White plays an early c4 (Maróczy variation) then this is a completely different line to be analysed and does not fall in the scope of the Najdord (or Scheveningen) variation.

As a general rule, by playing the Najdorf variation, Black allows d5 to be weak, gaining back their fair share of the centre with ...e5 and counterplay on the Queen's side with ...b5 sooner or later. Moreover Black will always try to preserve their Knight on f6 and if possible play Nbd7-Nb6 and Be6 to have three pieces looking at d5. If White really wants to use that square they must do so at the cost of many tempi and converging all of their pieces there, which leaves room for counterplay meanwhile.