Download PGN of May ’17 KID games
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Fianchetto Variation, early ...Qa5+ - 4...c5 5.Bg2 Qa5+ [E60]
1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 g6 3.c4 Bg7 4.g3 c5 5.Bg2 Qa5+!? is a tricky line. 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 Rd8:
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This was played in a game Gelfand - Svidler. I considered this move to be suspicious, perhaps rightfully so. In Mulyar, M - Belous, V the American IM is well prepared and plays 14.Bxc6! although Black managed to hold on.
Fianchetto Variation, Yugoslav Gambit 8...Nxc6 9.Nxc6 bxc6 10.Bxc6 [E65]
In Hoefelsauer, T - Papp, Ga we look at the gambit 1.c4 c5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.Nf3 Nc6 4.g3 g6 5.Bg2 Bg7 6.d4 cxd4 7.Nxd4 0-0 8.0-0 d6 again. After 9.Nxc6 bxc6 10.Bxc6 Rb8 11.Bg2 Qa5 12.Nb5 Bb7 13.Bxb7 Rxb7 14.Bd2 Qa6 15.Bc3 Rc8 16.Na3 holds the pawn for the moment but allows Black a typical shot.
Fianchetto Variation, Yugoslav Exchange 8.dxc5 dxc5 9.Be3 [E65]
In the exchange line with 8.dxc5 dxc5 9.Be3 White hopes to get some pressure with minimum risk:
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After 9...Qa5 10.Qb3 Qb4 11.Qxb4 cxb4 12.Nd5 Ne4!? Black managed to hold the balance in Howell, D - Jones, G, although I think White missed an opportunity to keep an edge.
Classical Fianchetto - 6...Nbd7 7.Nc3 e5 8.e4 exd4 [E68]
In the classical system 6...Nbd7 7.Nc3 e5 8.e4 exd4 9.Nxd4 Re8:
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10.b3!? is bit unusual, but not bad. After 10...a6 11.Be3 Rb8 White played the novelty 12.a4 in Eljanov, P - Mamedyarov, S. Black got a decent position and won a back and forth struggle.
Hungarian Variation 5.Nge2 0-0 6.Ng3 e5 7.d5 a5 [E70]
5.Nge2 d6 6.Ng3 e5 7.d5 a5 8.Be2 Na6 9.h4 h5 10.Bg5 Qe8 11.Qd2 Nc5 was seen in a game Carlsen - Radjabov a few years back:
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In Kantor, G - Demchenko, A White played the critical 12.f3. After 12...Nh7 13.Be3 f5?! brought Black victory, but does not seem to hold up to analysis.
‘Lesser Averbach’/Karpov Variation 5.Be2 0-0 6.Be3 [E73]
5.Be2 0-0 6.Be3 has been somewhat fashionable. In Vogel, R - Saric,I Black played 6...e5 (I've discussed previously why I think that 6...c5! is a good theoretical solution) 7.d5 Na6 8.g4 c6:
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More common is 8...Nc5 9.f3 a5. 9.h4 cxd5 10.cxd5 Nc5. The position is unclear - White probably has a theoretical edge but the positions are not easy for the first player to handle.
Sämisch System - 6...e5 7.Nge2 c6 8.Qd2 [E86]
6...e5 has fallen on rather hard times over the last several years because of 7.Nge2 c6 8.Qd2:
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Here 8...Nbd7 9.d5! has caused a lot of problems, so in Hambleton,A - Van Foreest, J Black played 8...exd4!? 9.Nxd4 d5 10.cxd5 cxd5 11.e5 Ne8 12.f4 f6! The arising positions will not suit everyone, but Black’s position seems to hold up and Black came close to winning the game.
Classical - 9.Ne1 Nd7 10.Nd3 f5 11.f3 f4 12.Bf2 g5 Mainline [E99]
In Winterberg, L - Moussard, J we look at the old line 7.0-0 Nc6 8.d5 Ne7 9.Ne1 Nd7 10.Nd3 f5 11.f3 f4 12.Bd2 g5 13.Rc1 Ng6 14.c5 Nf6 15.cxd6:
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Recent years have seen White focus on 15.Nb5. In the game we have a familiar story - White is much better, but Black wins!
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.