Download PGN of November '10 KID games
Four Pawns Attack
I have not examined the Four Pawns Attack yet on ChessPub. In the main line, after 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.f4 0-0 6.Nf3 c5 7.d5 e6 8.Be2 exd5 9.cxd5 Bg4 10.0-0 Nbd7 11.h3 Bxf3 12.Bxf3
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Black tries the unusual 12...Qa5!? in Jones, G - Hebden, M.
Fianchetto Variation
In the Panno Variation 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.g3 Bg7 4.Bg2 d6 5.Nf3 0-0 6.0-0 Nc6 7.Nc3 a6 White continues to essay 8.Qd3. This move has become fashionable because it was recommended by Avrukh in his recent book for White. in Gupta, M - Avrukh, B the Israeli Grandmaster faces his own line and goes for 8...Nd7!?:
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White does not follow Avrukh's recommendation, but he plays well and puts his famous opponent under some pressure.
The Classical Fianchetto with ...Qa5 has been popular of late. Black has many tricks, but if White is careful then Black can easily end up in a position where it is hard to create counterplay. 1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 g6 3.c4 Bg7 4.g3 0-0 5.Bg2 d6 6.0-0 c6 7.Nc3 Qa5 8.e4 e5 9.h3 Nbd7 10.Re1 Re8 11.exd4 12.Nxd4 Ne5 13.Bf1 Be6 14.Nxe6 Rxe6 15.Kg2! Rae8:
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Now in Malaniuk, V - Hausrath, D White plays 16.a3, which looks like a good move.
Makagonov Variation
This game sees another case of an author's recommendation being used against him! 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 0-0 5.Nf3 d6 6.h3 e5 7.d5 Nh5 8.g3!? This move is not very common, but it has been played a few times recently:
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This line was a secondary recommendation of Markos in Beating the KID. He does not claim any advantage for White, only an interesting strategic game, which is a fair enough assessment. In Lysyj, I - Markos, J he must face his own suggestion. Unlike Avrukh however, Markos was facing a 2600+ player. Following 8...a5 9.Nh2 (Markos's own suggestion) 9...Na6 10.Be2 Nf6 11.Ng4 Nc5 12.Nxf6+ Qxf6 13.h4 Qe7:
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Black's play looks sufficient.
Petrosian Variation
The Petrosian with 8.h3 is closely related to the Makagonov, and transpositions are possible. Swedish GM Berg again finds himself on the black side of this line. 1.c4 Nf6 2.Nc3 g6 3.e4 d6 4.d4 Bg7 5.Nf3 0-0 6.Be2 e5 7.d5 a5 8.h3 Na6 9.Bg5 Qe8 10.Nd2 Nd7! 11.a3 Nb6 (I still like 11...f6!) In Ostenstad, B - Berg, E White deviates from last month's game Berg game with my suggestion 12.b3!?:
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Black wins a typical KID battle, but I am not convinced he was doing so well out of the opening.
Gligoric Variation
In Perelshteyn, E - So, W White plays a quiet line of the Gligoric Variation that does not cause many problems for Black, 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.Nf3 0-0 6.Be2 e5 7.Be3 Ng4 8.Bg5 f6 9.Bh4 g5 10.Bg3 Nh6 11.d5 Nd7 12.0-0!?:
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A positional battle ensues with White sacrificing the exchange. He has compensation, but no more than that.
Classical Variation
White plays a nice novelty in the 8...Qe8 variation, a line where Black has been scoring well lately. 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.Be2 0-0 6.Nf3 Na6 7.0-0 e5 8.Re1 Qe8 9.Bf1 Bg4 10.d5 Nb4 11.Be2 a5 12.Be3 Nh5:
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We saw this active move in Shulman-Onischuk. 13.h3! A somewhat obvious novelty that is quite strong nonetheless. After 13...Bd7 14.c5! White quickly gained the upper hand in Le Quang Liem - Lahno,K. Black will have to rethink this line.
The pawn sacrifice with 13.Rc1 and 14.c5 remains a good practical try. In Dambacher, M - Radjabov, T White takes on the world's top KID player and holds his own. 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.Nf3 0-0 6.Be2 e5 7.0-0 Nc6 8.d5 Ne7 9.Ne1 Nd7 10.Be3 f5 11.f3 f4 12.Bf2 g5 13.Rc1 Ng6:
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Now 14.c5 (This is almost universally played, but I also call your intention to an idea I had not seen before 14.Nb5!?) 14...Nxc5 15.b4 Na6 16.Nb5 Bd7 17.a4!? remains complex.
The old main lines of 9.Ne1 are always very dangerous. Black must really know how to create counterplay, otherwise White's position is rather easy to play. After 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.Nf3 0-0 6.Be2 e5 7.0-0 Nc6 8.d5 Ne7 9.Ne1 Nd7 10.Nd3 f5 11.Bd2 Nf6 12.f3 f4 13.c5 g5 14.cxd6 cxd6 15.Nf2 h5 16.h3 Rf7 17.Qc2 Ng6 18.Rfc1 Black has several moves in a critical position. In Mkrtchian,L - Arakhamia-Grant,K Black chooses 18...Ne8?! which seems too passive. Following 19.a4 Nh4?! is an instructive error, as Black's play is too committal.
Until next month, David
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.