cyano group was also installed to not only further acidify the adjacent proton but also enhance C1 selectivity during the cyclization stage. Subjecting donor 6a, which was readily synthesized from 2-(pyridin-2-yl) acetonitrile, to the standard conditions with L6 led to the desired 6-membered adduct 7a in 83% yield and 91% ee. Interestingly, switching of the ligand to commercially available L4 resulted in comparable yield (81%) and enantioselectivity (95% ee). Therefore, L4 was employed to investigate the scope and limitations of this process.