A dangerous novelty on move 9 in the Najdorf?

The Sicilian Defence in general is one of the richest openings when it comes to tactical possibilities and the Najdorf variation in particular often leads to incredibly complex and dynamic positions. It used to be the favourite weapon of legends like Fischer and Kasparov, while these days almost every top player has included it in their repertoire at some point.

Many club players are afraid to learn it, claiming that there is simply too much theory and that everything has been analysed until the end. I tend to disagree with the first one, as - in my opinion - many lines can be played based on understanding and experience, adding that of course some theoretical knowledge is necessary everywhere. As for the latter, I would like to show one of my recent games.

During last week's Titled Tuesday, I played against Purushottam Silwal, a Candidate Master from Nepal. He is "only" a CM, but his blitz rating of 2721 (at the time of the game) indicates that he hasn't reached his full potential yet. What is more, he introduced an interesting novelty on move 9 in one of the sharp lines of the Najdorf and went on to beat me - although one may say that it was a typical blitz battle, with some time trouble madness... :)

Let's take a look at the encounter, which features many typical Najdorf motifs:

(Link to the actual game: https://www.chess.com/game/live/165056390541))

I hope you enjoyed the game and my analysis! What do you think about the Najdorf? Is the theory burden really too heavy, and - thinking in a broader sense - if that's the case, is Freestyle Chess the future?