Click here for Part I: OverviewClick here for Part III: Four Pawns Attack
Click here for Part V: Averbakh System
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.f3 introduces the Sämisch Variation. White fortifies e4 and employs a flexible system, including that the King can be tucked away to either side of the board. Should Black play an early c5, the opening will often look more like a Benoni than a KI. The main choice by Black now is 5...O-O; Black may also play 5...c6, 5...Nbd7, 5...e5, 5...Nc6, and 5...a6. In response to 5...O-O, White has a major move, 6.Be3, and two minor choices, 6.Bg5 and 6.Nge2 (see G111). After 6.Be3, Black has no less than seven moves that have been played more than 1,000 times in Mega 2010. Kasparov has played five of them. For purposes of this introduction, let's reduce the numbers by looking at 2600+ players, with the winning percentage, as always, from White's persepective:
6...e5 22 Games 47.7%
6...c5 20 Games 45%
6...Nc6 7 Games 57.1%
6...Nd7 5 Games 70%
6...c6 3 Games 83.3%
6...a6 3 Games 83.3%
6...b6 1 Game 50%
So, it's 61 games, with more than two-thirds of those games involving one of two moves: 6...e5 or 6...c5, with those two moves showing a plus on the Black side. Unless there be any mistake, the players of the White pieces in all of the above games were also above 2600. The thrust of this intro is to identify some of the major lines of play, and, as always, the details of the opening will be drawn out through games.
A. 6...e5 and now White has 7. d5 and 7.Nge2, with mainline play as follows:
2. 7.Nge2 c6 8. Qd2 Nbd7 9.O-O-O a6 (see G113)
1. 7.Nge2 (keeps the tension) Nc6 8.d5 (8.Qd2) Ne5 9.Ng3 e6
2. 7.dxc5 dxc5 8.Qxd8 Rxd8 9.Bxc5 Nc6 and Black's compensation is indicated by that in over 700 games, White has a mere 47% win rate despite the extra pawn. (See G114)
3. 7.d5 e6 8.Qd2 exd5 9.cxd5 a6
