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This month we have an eclectic mix of games, with top ten players as well as some rank and file players, including yours truly.

Download PGN of January ’17 KID games

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Irregular Fianchetto - early ...c5 with ...cxd4 [E60]

We have seen 1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 g6 3.g3 Bg7 4.Bg2 0-0 5.c4 c5 6.Nc3 cxd4 many times, but never with 7.Qxd4!?:











This is a very unusual move here, but the idea is normal enough in related English Opening lines. In Giri, A - Nakamura, H the American player thought a long time before playing 7...Qa5 8.0-0 Qh5 Black anticipates White's Qd4-h4. Giri insists on the queen exchange with 9.Qe5 Qxe5 10.Nxe5 Nc6 11.Nd3 and had a slight edge, which Black had to gradually neutralize.

In Cheparinov, I - Bok, B we see the normal recapture with the knight from a different move order, 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nf3 Bg7 4.g3 c5 5.Bg2 cxd4 6.Nxd4 0-0 7.Nc3 Qc7. The Bulgarian plays Kramnik’s 8.Qd3 and after 8...Nc6 9.0-0 d6 10.Bg5!? is an interesting novelty:











The point is seen after 10...Nxd4 11.Bxf6! when Black had some problems to solve, which he was unable to do successfully.


‘London System’ with c4 and Bf4 [E61]

In Ali Marandi, C - Quesada Perez, Y we go from a Queen's Indian to a London System to a King’s Indian. 1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 b6 3.Bf4 Bb7 4.e3 g6 5.h3 Bg7 6.Be2 0-0 7.0-0 d6 8.c4 Nbd7 9.Nc3 Ne4! 10.Nxe4 Bxe4 is a familiar position to subscribers:











After 11.Bh2 e5 12.Nd2 Bb7 13.d5 shuts out the bishop, but the structure is fine for Black, especially with the h2-bishop so ineffective. After 13...a5 Black has a very comfortable and typical King's Indian structure.


Fianchetto Variation, Uhlmann's line 6...Nc6 7.Nc3 e5 8.dxe5 [E62]

In the popular variation 6...Nc6 7.Nc3 e5 (intending 8.d5 Nb8) the capture 8.dxe5 (!) has really been disheartening for black players. 8...dxe5 9.Bg5 Be6 10.Qa4 is just one good line for White:











In Bu Xiangzhi - Onischuk, V Black played 10...Qb8 and actually had a chance to get the upper hand before going astray, but it’s not hard to improve on White’s play.



Averbakh Variation - 6...h6 7.Be3 Nbd7 [E73]

It is unusual to see Smirin on the white side of a King's Indian, but in Smirin, I - Shabalov, A it happens after the move order 1.e4 g6 2.d4 Bg7 3.c4 d6 4.Nc3 Nf6 5.Be2 0-0 6.Bg5. Now Shabalov plays the rare 6...h6 7.Be3 Nbd7 which is a system developed by Lanka:











Black can play ...e5 or ...c5, depending on the circumstances. After 8.Qd2 Kh7 (Black can also play 8...c5 and I share some analysis I had on this line here) 9.f3 c5 10.Nh3 allows a Hedgehog structure with 10...cxd4. Shabalov gradually outplays his opponent in fine style before disaster strikes.



Classical - Makagonov 6.h3 e5 7.d5 Nh5 [E90]

After 6.h3 Na6 7.Be3 e5 8.d5 Nh5 9.g3 Qe8 10.Be2 f5 11.exf5 gxf5 12.Ng5 Nf6 13.Qd2 Nc5 14.0-0-0 we have a topical position in Otero Acosta, D - Shimanov, A:











Now 14...Na4N A thematic move which succeeds, but White missed some chances.


Petrosian 6.h3 e5 7.d5 a5 [E92]

In the Petrosian System 6.Be2 e5 7.d5 a5 8.Bg5 the move 8...Na6 is ‘a mistake’, but my young opponent certainly played this way on purpose as she had a specific plan in mind. After 9.Nd2 Bd7 10.a3 Qe8 11.b3 Kh8:











Black will play around the Bg5, and maybe even exchange it off. 12.0-0 Ng8 13.Rb1 f5 14.f3 and now instead of 14...f4?! which leads to a ‘race’ in which Black is too slow, Black has a way to get decent play. Find the answers in Vigorito, D - Yip, C. Carissa is a young star who happens to live just a few minutes away from me!


Mar del Plata 7.0-0 Nc6 8.d5 Ne7 unusual 9th moves [E97]

Allow me to indulge myself further, as I faced another unusual idea, this time from the black side in Abdi, F - Vigorito, D. My opponent is a solid master, but many American players have low FIDE rating because there are so few rated tournaments. In the Mar del Plata 7.0-0 Nc6 8.d5 Ne7 my opponent quickly played 9.Qb3!?:











What the?! I have played this opening with both colours for a couple of decades at last, but never even seen this move. But it's not so bad, and could even be compared to Eljanov's trendy 9.Qc2. I played 9...Ne8 which I think is best against 9.Qc2, although following 10.a4!? I suspect that my 10...h6 was not the best.


9.Ne1 Mainline [E99]

Kraus, Y - Kraus, O brings us back to heavy theory with 7.0-0 Nc6 8.d5 Ne7 9.Ne1 Nd7 10.Nd3 f5 11.Bd2 f4 12.f3 g5 13.Rc1 Ng6 14.c5 Nf6 15.Nb5 Rf7 16.Ba5 b6 17.cxd6 cxd6 18.Be1 and now we have another look at 18...a6:











which was a popular way to play before 18...g4 was revived in Ragger-Nakamura.



Until next month, David

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Don't hesitate to share your thoughts and suggestions with me. Any queries or comments to the KID Forum, or to me directly at david@ChessPublishing.com (subscribers only) would be most welcome.