Download PGN of July '13 KID games
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Classical - Exchange 9...c6 [E92]
The gambit with 9...c6 has always been considered a dynamic answer to the Exchange Variation. If White knows it perfectly, however, it is not so easy for Black to equalize. 7.dxe5 dxe5 8.Qxd8 Rxd8 9.Bg5 c6 10.Nxe5 Re8 11.0-0-0 Na6 12.Rd6 Be6 13.f4 Nc5:
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and now Chibukhchian - Fier saw White play 14.Bxf6 when Black soon equalized and went on to win (which makes us all smile a bit in the Exchange) but I do not think this is White's best.
Gligoric Variation 7...c6!? [E92]
6.Be2 e5 7.Be3 c6!? 8.d5 Ng4 9.Bg5 f6 10.Bh4 Na6 may have to go back on the shelf after White's next:
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as 11.c5! looks pretty convincing. See Korobov - Baryshpolets.
Classical Mainline - 7...Na6 [E94]
In Stokke - Lie we take another look at the most topical variation in the 7...Na6 8.Be3 line, 8.Be3 Ng4 9.Bg5 Qe8 10.Re1 exd4 11.Nd5 c6 12.Ne7+ Kh8 13.Nxc8 Rxc8 14.Nxd4 Nf6, and now 15.Bd3!? is rare, but I think Black should be ok. White comes out on top but only after Black misses serious chances.
Unusual White 9th moves [E97]
After 6.Be2 e5 7.0-0 Nc6 8.d5 Ne7 Eljanov plays an obscure line that requires some thought, 9.Qc2!? Nh5 10.Rd1!?:
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Black's life was very difficult in Eljanov - Baryshpolets so Black must find something here or look into 9...Nd7 or 9...Ne8.
9.b4 Bayonet Attack 9...Nh5 [E97]
In Kramnik's line we look at an idea that has been mentioned here, but not really analysed, 7.0-0 Nc6 8.d5 Ne7 9.b4 Nh5 10.g3 f5 11.Ng5 Nf6 12.Bf3 f4!? or perhaps ?!. Time will tell, but I do not think Black can solve his problems this way. See Goganov - Gajsin.
9.Nd2 [E97]
Last month we looked at 7.0-0 Nc6 8.d5 Ne7 9.Nd2 Ne8 10.b4 f5 11.c5 Nf6 12.f3 f4 13.Nc4 g5 14.a4 Ng6 15.cxd6!? and we see this once more in Ulibin - Lorenzo de la Riva. Again it looks promising but again White loses!
9.Ne1 Mainline [E99]
After 7.0-0 Nc6 8.d5 Ne7 9.Ne1 Nd7 10.Be3 f5 11.f3 f4 12.Bf2 g5 13.a4 in general I am not a fan of the caveman attack on the h-file starting with 13...Rf6:
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However it can work sometimes, especially if Black is flexible. In Prizant - Shimanov Black gets away with it and wins a nice game, but I think White can improve.
It is surprising to see Marcus Ragger go down so hard in his pet line arising after 9.Ne1 Nd7 10.Nd3 f5 11.f3 f4 12.Bd2 g5 13.Rc1 Nf6 14.c5 Ng6 15.Nb5 Rf7 16.Ba5 b6 17.cxd6 cxd6 18.Be1, but it happens in Ragger - Szabo. White's 22.Nh3!? looks like a strange computer suggestion.
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.