Download PGN of December ’25 KID games
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Anti-King’s Indian with 3.h4 [E60]
The line 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.h4 has been all the rage lately, with most players combating it with an early ...c7-c5. Dharda, D - Sindarov, J varied from this with 3...Bg7 4.Nc3 d6 5.e4 Nc6!?:
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with Black getting lively play and going on to win.
Anti-King’s Indian with 3.f3 [E60]
By comparison with the 3.h4 line, 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.f3 has a much longer history. Here too Sindarov has his own ideas, playing 3...d6 4.Nc3 e5:
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in Savchenko, B - Sindarov, J and obtaining a good game out of the opening at least. Note that 4.e4 e5 5.Ne2 allows another innovative idea in 5...e5, which even Magnus Carlsen has tried.
King’s Indian Fianchetto with 6...c6 and 7...Qb6 [E62]
Against the Fianchetto Variation with 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nf3 Bg7 4.g3 0-0 5.Bg2 d6 6.0-0, Sindarov has frequently employed the line 6...c6 7.Nc3 Qb6:
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, and from a very early age. Tan Zhongyi - Sindarov, J was not going his way for much of the game, but White finally went wrong in the closing stages. Stirring up trouble can get your opponent to think, and this in turn can lead to the horrors of time trouble.
King’s Indian Saemisch with 6...b6 [E82]
In the Saemisch Variation (1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.f3 0-0 6.Be3), Sindarov has another unusual preference in the old 6...b6:
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This was completely superseded by 6...c5, but in the Benoni structures that arise Black’s inclusion of ...b6 can provide a route for his queen’s rook to a7 and then maybe e7. Abdurakhmanov, M - Sindarov, J was a complex battle which Black eventually won, once again testifying to the practicality of Sindarov’s approach.
King’s Indian Makogonov with 6...a5 [E92]
I have previously covered the line 5.h3 0-0 6.Be3 a5 in the game Ghasi, A - Hebden, M, but 5.Nf3 0-0 6.h3 a5 is also an interesting option, and new to ChessPublishing.com:
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In Gledura, B - Sindarov, J I was surprised by 7.Be3 and now 7...Nbd7, but once again it presents White with new problems. On this occasion there was a transposition into the game Niemann, H - Amin, B, which I covered in a previous update. Once again, a complex struggle arose in which either player might have won.
King’s Indian Classical with 6...c5 7.0-0 Bg4 [E91]
In the Classical Variation with 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.Nf3 0-0 6.Be2, Sindarov has adopted a variety of approaches. One of his earliest antidotes was the line 6...c5 7.0-0 Bg4:
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which he returned to in the game Fakhriddinxujaev, U - Sindarov, J. Glenn Flear previously covered this in the game Paravyan, D - Gabuzyan, H, in which Black played 8...e6 rather than Sindarov’s 8...a6. It doesn’t make a huge difference as long as Black plays ...e6 before putting a knight on d7. White should be better but it’s not an easy line to face in a practical game.
King’s Indian Classical with 6...e5 7.0-0 h6 & 7...Na6 [E94]
More recently Sindarov has been using 6...e5 against the Classical, and after 7.0-0:
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he has played both 7...h6 (Dubov, D - Sindarov, J) and 7...Na6 (Murzin, B - Sindarov, J). In both these games there was something unusual early on, so in the Dubov game he tried 8.Re1 Nc6 and against Murzin there was 8.Re1 Re8. This provides a good insight into his approach, he is forever looking to surprise his opponents and give them problems to solve at the board.
That’s all for now, see you next month and, indeed, next year! Nigel
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