February 2003
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Welcome to the February Update! Hi everyone, Over the last couple of weeks the eyes of the chess world have been firmly focused on Linares, a tournament so prestigious that it is often referred to as the 'Wimbledon of chess.' King's Indian hopes rested mainly on the young shoulders of Teimur Radjabov, especially after his 4 games with the opening in the recent Wijk aan Zee tournament. |
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And this time? Well, nothing I am afraid. But it is not his fault. His six Blacks produced 4 French Openings (in one of which he became the first player to defeat Kasparov at Linares since 1997) and 2 Sicilians, i.e. he had to face 1 e4 in every game. Maybe this very fact should be seen as a triumph for the King's Indian as the world's best players were too afraid to take it on! That's a joke in case you are wondering about my sanity but we are certainly in the middle of a 1 e4 epidemic!
To download the February '03 KI games directly in PGN form, click here: 
So what have I managed to rustle up for you this month? Well, to make a change from the endless Bayonets, half of the material deals with the Fianchetto Variation.
Game 1 and Game 2 examine the Panno Variation (6...Nc6) and two others tackle 8...a6 in the Classical (6...Nbd7) variation.
            
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This latter variation is what I, myself, have been playing recently and I have taken the opportunity to include a personal favourite, Rogozenko - Gallagher, even though it is a few years old now.
It is not entirely coincidental that the Fianchetto takes centre stage this month as I have just received the new book on the variation by Lasha Janjgava. I don't like it and I elaborate on this topic within the Huebner - Polzin game, and on the Reviews page.
Of course we cannot escape 9 b4 entirely but this month, in response to a request, I am taking a look at the old line with 9...Nh5 10 g3.
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The details are to be found in the Van Wely-Degraeve game.
In Huerta - Arizmendi we take a look at 6...Na6 in the Four Pawns, and in particular at a line which was supposed to be inferior for White (7 Be2 e5 8 fxe5 dxe5 9 Nxe5) but has recently been causing Black a few problems.
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In this position, 13 Nxf7! refutes an old suggestion of mine but Black players shouldn't panic as there are other ways to handle this line.
There is also the 5 Bg5 of Game 5, and the 7...Na6 versus the Classical in Game 6.
Enjoy!
Joe Gallagher
Any queries or comments to the KID Forum, or to me directly at Joe_Gallagher@ChessPublishing.com would be most welcome.