King's Tournament: King's Indian Classical with 7...Na6

The last round of the King's Tournament in Medias saw all three games end with a Black victory.  In the game Gelfand-Radjabov, Radjabov played 6...Na6 in the Classical Variation, a move he's only played once previously.  The notion behind this move is usually to avoid the body of theory after 6...e5 and 7...Nc6.  Radjabov likely knows this theory better than anyone, having played into the line more than 70 times, but even Radjabov is not above side-stepping an opponent's preparation.  Oftentimes 6...Na6 simply transposes to the more mainstream move order 6...e5 7.O-O Na6, and that's what happens here.  The verdict is out on 7...Na6 (which is this game by transposition), but the general thought is that White has additional options due to a lack of pressure on the White center.  Here, the novelty is 12...d3 and it would seem that White has won the opening phase, but it's never quite so simple....

Carlsen v. Radjabov: Same Old Song

Commentators are running out of words.  Make it four straight and a Live Rating of 2825 after today's result. Radjabov brings out the the Dragon, which you have to love since Carlsen may be the world's leading proponent of that opening.  I'm not often taken by the ineffable, but there's something of a Fischeresque quality about the kid in that he wins when maybe he oughtn't.  (If you prefer, see the pgn player at the bottom of this post.)

[Event "4th Kings"]

[Site "Medias ROU"]
[Date "2010.06.21"]
[Round "7"]
[White "Carlsen, Magnus"]
[Black "Radjabov, Teimour"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B35"]
[PlyCount "127"]
[EventDate "2010.??.??"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Nc3 g6 4. d4 cxd4 5. Nxd4 Bg7 6. Be3 Nf6 7. Bc4 Qa5  (Diagram)










8.O-O O-O 9. Bb3 d6 10. h3 Bd7 11. Re1 Rfc8 12. Qe2 Qh5 13. Nf3 h6 14. Rad1 g5 (Diagram)

15. Nd5 Nxd5 16. Bxd5 Bxb2 17. Rb1 Bc3 18. Rxb7 Bxh3 19. Nxg5 Qxe2 20. Rxe2 (Diagram)

20...Bg4 21. Nf3 e6 22. Bxc6 Rxc6 23. Bxh6 Bxf3 24. gxf3 Ra6 25. Rc7 Bg7 26. Bxg7 Kxg7

27. c3 Rb8 28. f4 Rbb6 29. Rd7 Rc6 30. Re3 Rxa2 31. e5 dxe5 32. fxe5 Rc5 33.

Rg3+ Kf8 34. Rf3 Rxe5 35. Rfxf7+ (Diagram)

 Ke8 36. Rfe7+ Kf8 37. Rh7 Kg8 38. Rdg7+ Kf8 39. Rb7 Kg8 40. Rhg7+ Kh8 41. Rge7 Rg5+ 42. Kf1 Rc2 43. Rbc7 a5 44. Rxe6 a4 45.Ra6 Rg4 46. c4 Rg7 47. Rxg7 Kxg7 48. Rxa4 Kf6 49. Kg2 Ke5 50. Ra5+ Ke6 51. Rc5 Kd6 52. Rd5+ Ke6 53. Rd4 Ke5 54. Rh4 Rc3 55. c5 Kf5 56. Rh8 Kf4 57. Rc8 Ke5 58.c6 Kd6 59. f3 Rc5 60. Kg3
(Diagram)




Rg5+ 61. Kh4 Rg1 62. f4 Ke7 63. c7 Rc1 64. Kg5 1-0

King's Indian 101: Saemisch Variation--6.Nge2

There's no better player to study than Radjabov when it comes to the King's Indian.  First, he's played the KI 122 times in Mega 2010, which is an enormous number.  Second, he's scored well enough with the opening that it's a feat of courage to even roll out the moves d4, c4, Nc3 against him.  Prior to yesterday, he had a winning percentage in every variation of the KI except the Sämisch.  Today he has a winning record in that variation, too.  The first move to consider is Ponomariov's 6.Nge2.  This is a distinct second-line move, as 6.Be3 is far more often played. 

Sveshnikov 101: 9.Nd5...11.c4

Radjabov doesn't often get pushed off the board as in the game below.  The first move to pay attention to is 11.c4.  The notion is to secure the d5 square--the oft-stated drawback is that White does so while lagging in development.  This line deserves exploration.  Much more often played--about 10 times more often--is 11.c3.