Download PGN of October '12 KID games
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Fianchetto Variation Classical 8.e4 exd4 [E68]
The classical (...e5xd4) lines of the Fianchetto are not as popular as they once were. White has a space advantage and if Black cannot find some tactics he can easily get squeezed. The line 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nf3 Bg7 4.g3 0-0 5.Bg2 d6 6.0-0 Nbd7 7.Nc3 e5 8.e4 exd4 9.Nxd4 Re8 10.h3 Nc5 is somewhat topical:
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but it is White's chances that are showcased in Mamedyarov - Nakamura.
Classical Main line 9...Qa5 [E69]
This system with ...Qa5 has never been Black's main choice but it always holds a certain degree of popularity as it is sound enough and there are many traps. 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.g3 Bg7 4.Bg2 0-0 5.Nc3 d6 6.Nf3 c6 7.0-0 Nbd7 8.e4 e5 9.h3 Qa5 10.Re1 exd4 11.Nxd4 Ne5 12.Bf1 Re8 13.Be3 c5 14.Ndb5?! walks into a familiar trap:
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14...Nxe4! See Bekker Jensen - Smith,Ax.
Sämisch System 6.Be3 c5 7.Nge2 [E81]
In Fedoseev - Kurnosov we again look at the two 'knight on the rim' variations that have been played a lot lately. 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.f3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.Be3 0-0 6.Nc3 c5 (the other line 6...Nc6 7.Nge2 a6 8.Qd2 Na5 is also considered) 7.Nge2 Nc6 8.d5 Na5!? Has been played by Grischuk a couple of times, as we have seen:
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Black still seems ok here.
Classical - Makagonov Variation [E92]
The game Movsesian - Grischuk is a high level fight that shows the conflicts of some interesting positional ideas in the Makagonov. 5.Nf3 0-0 6.h3 e5 7.d5 a5 8.Bg5 Na6 9.Be2 Qe8 10.Nd2 Nd7 11.a3 and now 11...h6 which is very rare in this position. In general I prefer to avoid this move when White can retreat to e3. Here White goes the other way and still gets an edge, although Black missed some chances to confuse the issue.
7...exd4 [E94]
The 7...exd4 line in the Classical has been played several times recently by Azeri GM Rauf Mamedov. This can actually be a tough nut to crack in the main lines. However, in Ding Liren - Mamedov following 5.Nf3 0-0 6.Be2 e5 7.0-0 exd4 8.Nxd4 Re8 9.f3 Nc6 (I also consider the sharper 9...c6) 10.Be3 Nh5:
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White plays the rare 11.Nc2!? followed by a pawn sacrifice (and then another!) and wins smashingly.
Classical - 9.b4 Bayonet Attack [E97]
After 7.0-0 Nc6 8.d5 Ne7 9.b4 Nh5 the move 10.Re1 was what brought the Bayonet back from obscurity, but after Black solved multiple problems White started looking at other lines. In Gelfand - Giri the World Championship contender plays 10...f5 11.Ng5 Nf6 12.f3 Kh8 13.Rb1 h6 14.Ne6 Bxe6 15.dxe6 fxe4 16.fxe4 Nc6 17.Nd5 Ng8 18.Bd3 Nd4 19.Qg4 g5 (all of this can be found in the archives in a couple of well-known games) 20.c5!? which is practically a new move:
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Whether he thought this line brings White anything or just wanted to check his young opponent's homework/memory is an open question.
Polish GM Wojtaszek is one of Anand's main seconds and a great theoretician. After 9.b4 Nh5 10.Re1 f5 11.Ng5 Nf6 12.Bf3 c6:
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He knocks out the modern King's Indian champion with 13.dxc6!?, a very obscure line in a position that has been seen more than a thousand times. See Wojtaszek - Radjabov.
9.Ne1 Mainline [E99]
In Kasimdzhanov - Nakamura the American defends against the fashionable 7.0-0 Nc6 8.d5 Ne7 9.Ne1 Nd7 10.Be3 f5 11.f3 f4 12.Bf2 g5 13.Rc1 Ng6 14.Nb5!? for the second time . Theoretically White may have an edge, but Black always has serious practical chances. Black has to avoid a natural but instructive error in the next few moves, and Nakamura shows that he is well aware of this.
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.