Download PGN of July ’17 KID games
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Fianchetto Variation Early ...Qa5+ - 4...c5 5.Bg2 Qa5+ [E60]
As we have seen before, the line 1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 g6 3.c4 Bg7 4.g3 c5 5.Bg2 Qa5+ is tricky, but White should be able to count on a slight edge. After 6.Nc3 Ne4 7.Qd3 cxd4 8.Nxd4 Nc5 9.Qd1 Nc6 10.e3 Ne6 11.0-0 0-0 12.Nxe6 dxe6 13.Bd2 Qb6 is a rare move, but not something to change the assessment of the position:
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Black still managed to gradually turn the tables in Friedel, J - Belous, V.
Fianchetto Uhlmann's line 6...Nc6 7.Nc3 e5 8.dxe5 [E62]
In the popular line 6...Nc6 7.Nc3 e5 (intending 8.d5 Nb8) the capture 8.dxe5 has really been causing problems. After 8...dxe5 9.Bg5 Be6 10.Qa4 Black has really struggled:
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However, all is not yet lost! In Kazakovskiy - Kovalev Black went for the uncommon 10...Qe8! and with deep preparation he solved Black's problems, at least concerning 10.Qa4.
Gallagher Variation - 6...Nbd7 7.Nc3 e5 8.e4 exd4 [E68]
The Gallagher concept with 7...e5 8.e4 exd4 9.Nxd4 Re8 10.h3 a6 is not seen so much these days. One line that is not considered to be dangerous is 11.Re1 Rb8 12.Be3:
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After 12...Ne5 13.b3 scores horribly, but it is probably not as bad as the statistics imply, as analysis shows. In Wheeler, C - Bachmann, A White followed old recipes however, and ended up losing quickly.
Classical Fianchetto - 6...Nbd7 7.Nc3 e5 8.e4 c6 [E69]
The game Xiong, J - Petrosian, T was important in the World Open. After 9.h3 the little move 9...a6 has been played a lot, perhaps to avoid the heavily analysed lines. Black is feinting ...b5, but it looks like bluff to me. Xiong’s 10.Be3 Re8 (10...b5 11.c5! works out well for White) 11.d5 should be enough for an edge.
Sämisch System - 6...c5 7.Nge2 Nc6 8.d5 Ne5 9.Ng3 h5 [E81]
In the long line with 6...c5 7.Nge2 Nc6 8.d5 Ne5 9.Ng3 h5 10.Be2 h4 11.Nf1 e6 12.f4:
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12...Nxc4! 13.Bxc4 b5 14.Bxb5 exd5 15.e5, the evaluation of 15...dxe5 swings from ?! to ! See Hesham, A - Kovalev, V for the latest details.
Classical - Petrosian Mainline 7.d5 a5 8.Bg5 [E92]
We have not looked at the main line Petrosian 7.d5 a5 8.Bg5 h6 9.Bh4 Na6 10.Nd2 Qe8 11.0-0 Bd7 12.b3 Nh7 13.a3 h5 14.f3 Bh6 for a while. Now 15.Kh1 Be3 16.Qc2 is Kramnik's idea:
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After 16...f5 17.exf5 gxf5 18.Bf2 Bxf2 19.Rxf2 Black plays the rare 19...Qe7!? in Arab, A - Amin, B. This looks pretty good and Black wins an interesting game.
Classical 7.0-0 Na6 8.Re1 Qe8 [E94]
In the line 7...Na6 8.Re1 Qe8 has been the trendy move for a while, but Black is experiencing some small problems. 9.Bf1 Bg4 10.d5 Nb4 11.Be2 a5 12.Be3 Na6 13.Nd2 Bd7 14.b3 gives White a good Petrosian setup:
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It is not easy for Black to get in ...f5, and even if he does, White will likely be faster in the 'race'. 14...Kh8 15.a3 b6 is less common than 15...Ng8, and based on Postny, E - Sethuraman, S, it is not as reliable.
Classical Bayonet Attack 7.0-0 Nc6 8.d5 Ne7 9.b4 Ne8 [E97]
9...Ne8 is a risky line, and following 10.c5 f5 11.a4 Nf6 12.Nd2 f4 13.Nc4 g5 I believe that 14.Nb5 is critical and may just blow up the whole line:
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But it's still possible to go wrong as Shimanov, A - Forcen Esteban, D shows. Black does have some alternatives along the way, however, as shown in the notes.
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.