King's Indian 101: Introduction Part IV--Sämisch Variation

Click here for Part I: Overview

Click here for Part II: Classical
Click 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:

 1.  7.d5 c6 8.Qd2 cxd5 9.cxd5 Nbd7     
       
 2.  7.Nge2 c6 8. Qd2 Nbd7 9.O-O-O a6 (see G113)

B.  6...c5 and now White has 7.Nge2, 7.dxc5, 7.d5

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

C.  6...Nc6 (Panno Variation) 7.Nge2 (7.d5?! Ne5!) a6 8.Qd2 Rb8

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

Pat He Comes, Like the Catastrophe of the Old Comedy: Carlsen Victorious in Sämisch

Just as I was winding up a brief introduction to the Sämisch Variation, I checked in on TWIC to find that Carlsen played against it today versus Ponomariov.  I'll yield to the World's No. 1 for a day.  Here's the game.  Note Ponomariov's 6.Nge2 and compare it to 6.Be3 lines. 

King's Indian 101: Introduction Part V--Averbakh System

Click here for Part I: Overview
Click here for Part II: Classical
Click here for Part III: Four Pawns Attack
Click here for Part IV: SämischVariation

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.Be2 O-O 6.Bg5

The Averbakh presents a small exception to the notion that it's White's fifth move that determines the line of th KI being played.  White usually plays 5.Be2, and that raises the Averbakh alert.  After 5...O-O, White, however, can transpose back to the Classical with 6.Nf3 or follow through with the Averbakh by 6.Bg5. (Diagram below.)

After 6.Bg5, Black is constrained from pushing 6...e5 because of the resulting pin on the Knight.  7.dxe5 dxe5 8.Qxd8 Rxd8 9.Nd5 Nbd7 10.Rd1.  Black's usual move here is 6...c5, but 6...Na6, 6...h6, and 6...e6 are played with some frequency.  6...Na6 deserves a separate post.  7.d5  (7.dxc5 Qa5 (7...dxc5 8.Qxd8 Rxd8 9.e5 Nfd7 10.e6 Nf6 11.exf7+ Kxf7) 8.Bd2 Qxc5 9.Nf3 Bg4) 7...h6 8.Bf4 (Diagram left.)  Now the most popular move is to go straight for the center-buster 8...e6, but 8...a6 deserves attention, too.  Now the position gets complex fast, and Black does need to sort out these complexities at home.  9.dxe6 Bxe6 10.Bxd6 (Diagram below right.)

The usual move now is overwhelmingly 10...Re8. And one question arising is whether the move no one plays, 11.Bxc5, is playable? 11...Qa5 12.b4 Qa6 and the position appears tenable.  Black is down two pawns, but has significant compensation.  More work is required.  After 10...Re8, the usual play goes  11.Nf3 Nc6 12.O-O Nd4 13.e5 Nd7 14.Nxd4 cxd4 15.Qxd4 Nxe5 16.Bxe5 Qxd4 17.Bxd4 Bxd4, where Black has almost enough compensation for the pawn. (Diagram below left.)

While this certainly an incomplete discussion of the Averbakh, we'll fill in the discussion with forthcoming games.  One thing that stands out in even a preliminary investigation of the this line is that there is tremendous potential for original analysis and computer research. 

Trompowsky: Nigel tromps Chuck in Havana

The Trompowsky is the bane of those who like to work things out from home.  What to do?  No less than 8 moves have been played by players rated over 2400 against the Trompowsky.  Here they are:

1.  Ne4  10261  53.8%
2.  e6      8441   54.4%
3.  d5      5599   53.6%
4.  c5      3863   50.6%
5.  g6      3093   57.3%
6.  d6      865     56.7%
7.  c6      488     50.9%
8.  h6      261     64.2%

Ivanchuk plays the principled move, 2...Ne4, and then takes the game off the heavily beaten path with 7...Qf5.  After 12 moves Black has exactly one pawn advanced as far as the 3rd rank.  White has a tremendous space advantage, but his army his scattered.  The game ultimately reduces to a Bishop and three pawns versus two Bishops, and with the draw in hand Short plays 37.Bg2?? ending the day. 

King's Indian 101: Introduction Part III--The Four Pawns Attack

For Introduction Part II, click here: Classical.

For Introduction Part I, click here: Overview.

White's fifth move of 5.f4 marks the Four Pawns Attack.  White intends to overwhelm the Black position.  The downside is that White's center is potentially overextended if Black is quick enough to take advantage.  In addition to the vulnerable pawns, White is slightly behind in development.  Black should aim, if the opportunity presents itself, to open the position without delay.  The game typically continues 5...O-O 6.Nf3.  In addition, to 6.Nf3, Black has tried 6.Be2, 6.Bd3, and 6.e5?!.  More on these in future posts.  Back to Nf3, there are two serious moves considered by Black in this position.  The first is the mainline: A.  6...c5.  The second is the more modern B. 6...Na6 (which I haven't made peace with yet). 

A.  6...c5

7.d5 is the common move, closing the position temporarily (diagram right).  7...e6 (7...b5?! 8.cxb5 a6 9.a4! (9.bxa6?! Qa5 10.Bd2 Bxa6 =) 9...axb5 10.Bxb5 Ba6 11.Bd2 Bxb5) 8.Be2 (8.dxe6 fxe6  9. Bd3 Nc6=) 8...exd5, and now both 9.exd5 and 9.cxd5 are possible, with 9.cxd5 being much more common. Black now has two decent possibilities in 9...Re8 and 9...Bg4 (diagram below), both of which will be the subject of future posts.

B. 6...Na6 (diagram below left)

7. Be2 e5 8.dxe5 (8.fxe5 dxe5 9.Nxe5 c5 =) 8...dxe5 9.Nxe5 Nc6 =

7.Bd3 the current fashion 7...e5 8.fxe5 dxe5 9.d5 c6 10.O-O Nc5 (Black must consider 10...Qd6) (diagram below right)

or perhaps better 7...Bg4!? 8.O-O Nd7 9.Be3 e5 and Black has not yet equalized in either of the 7.Bd3 lines

7.e5?! Nd7! 8.Be2 c5 9.exd6 exd6

King's Indian: Some Preliminary Statistics

King's Indian Statistics

The following statistics were pulled from small subsets of the ChessBase Mega 2010 and Corr 2009 databases.  These statistics will be refined by specific variations and moves as the research into the KI goes forward. 

The two sets of statistics can generally be described as:
Mega 2010:  World class players doing state of the art research in advance of the game.
Corr 2009:  Skilled players using good software and hardware for every move.

Conclusions to be drawn are limited from the below numbers, but here's what I think can be made of them:

• White does slightly better than average against the King's Indian. 
• The Classical Variation scores solidly OTB, but only averagely in CC.
• The SämischVariation scores above average in both OTB and CC, but the CC sample is small.
• The Four Pawns Attack is held in low regard at top levels and the statistics support that. 

Mega 2010 Database: 2007-2010 Both Players >2575

Overall  55.6% (315 gms)

1. 5.Nf3 58.% (175 gms)
2. 5.Be2 48.8% (42 gms)
3. 5.f3 59.5% (37 gms)
4. 5.Bd3 58.7% (23 gms)
5. 5.h3 42.5% (20 gms)
6. 5.f4 37.5% (8 gms)
7. 5.Bg5 83.3% (6 gms)
8. 5.Nge2 50% (4 gms) 

Correspondence 2009 Database: 2006-2010 Both Players > 2450

Overall 57.9% (74 gms)

1. 5.Nf3 53.3% (46 gms)
2. 5.Be2 66.7% (9 gms)
3. 5.f3 70% (10 gms)
4. 5.Bd3 75% (2 gms)
5. 5.h3 66.7% (3 gms)
6. 5.f4 50% (3 gms)
7. 5.Bg5 --   (-- gms)
8. 5.Nge2 100% (1 gm)

ICCF: Top International U.S. Correspondence Players

The top 50 U.S. players in the International Correspondence Chess Federation (ICCF) according to the rating list effective July 1, 2010:

(Rank, Title, Name, # Games Played, ICCF Rating)

1   GM Timm, John C. 68 2642
2   GM Zilberberg, Alik Samulovich 138 2613
3   GM Fleetwood, Daniel M. 252 2578 
4   GM Bokar, Dr. Jason 302 2574
5   SM Murray, Tim 86 2559
6   SM Ham, Stephen E. 112 2551
7   IM duCret, René P. 116 2549
8   GM Duliba, Dr. Edward P. 340 2536
9   SM Edwards, Jon 161 2525
10  SM Sergel, Christopher T. 118 2520
11  SM Jones, Stephen L. 97 2505
11  SM Kubach, Gary L. 221 2505
13  IM Holzmueller, Keith 82 2504
13  SM Ostriker, Jon 112 2504
15  Schmidt, Randy 38 2501
15  SM Weisskohl, Jerry 143 2501
17  SM Millstone, Dr. Michael 220 2487
17  SM Perry, Dan 160 2487
19  SM Proof, Michael C. 187 2483
19  SM Zavanelli, Prof. Max E. 179 2483
21  GM Palciauskas, Vytas Victor 225 2479 *
22  Menke, John R. sr. 57 2467
23  SM Reinhart, Kenneth M. 109 2464
24  GM DeMauro, Joseph A. 273 2454
25  SM Knudsen, John C. 204 2443
26  Green, Wesley C. 162 2440 
27  Biedermann, Thomas 239 2438 
28  IM Sunna, Hisham N. 59 2432 
29  IM Boucher, William 116 2431 
29 IM Limayo, Edgardo V. 188 2431 
31  Belka, Wieland 32 2422
32  Fields, Paul H. 52 2420
33  Fleming, Richard P. 42 2419
34  Divanbaigyzand, Mehran 79 2418 
35  Goebert, Frank 35 2412 
36  Monacell, James P. 52 2409
36  IM Stengelin, Dr. Martin 107 2409 
38  Coplin, Lawrence 75 2407
39  IM Rodriguez, Keith A. 222 2406 
40  IM Mousessian, John 133 2403 
41  IM Jones, Craig 85 2401 
42  Smith, Brian D. 32 2399 
43  Douglas, Steve R. 212 2397 
44  Ballow, John 104 2395
44  Walters, Gary 125 2395
46  IM Jacobs, Robert Merton 98 2394
47  Hill, Grayling V. 118 2384
48  IM Myers, David R. 161 2383
49  Drysdale, Gilbert P. 141 2379
49  IM Osbun, Erik 221 2379 

* Former World Champion

King's Indian 101: A Partial Bibliography

Understanding the King's Indian by Mikhail Golubev (Paperback - Nov. 14, 2005)

King's Indian: A Complete Black Repertoire by Victor Bologan (Paperback - July 14, 2009)

Fighting the Anti-King's Indians: How to Handle White's tricky ways of avoiding the main lines (Everyman Chess) by Yelena Dembo (Paperback - Sept. 16, 2008)

Dangerous Weapons: The King's Indian: Dazzle Your Opponents! (Everyman Chess) by Richard Palliser, Glen Flear, and Yelena Dembo (Paperback - May 5, 2009)

The King's Indian Defense Chess Opening DVD by Viktor Bologan by ChessBase (DVD-ROM) - Windows Vista / XP

Beating the King's Indian and Grunfeld - Taylor

The Classical King's Indian Uncovered by Krzysztof Panczyk and Jacek Ilczuk (Paperback - Aug. 25, 2009)

Beat the Kid: Three Lines Against the King's Indian by Jan Markos (Paperback - Mar. 1, 2009)

Starting Out: King's Indian (Starting Out - Everyman Chess) by Joe Gallagher (Paperback - June 1, 2002)

Bronstein On the King's Indian by David Bronstein (Paperback - Aug. 1, 1999)
 
The Samisch King's Indian Uncovered (Everyman Chess) by Alexander Cherniaev (Paperback - Feb. 12, 2008)

King's Indian 101: Introduction Part II--The Classical Variation

Click here for Introduction Part I

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.Nf3

You'll recall that it's White's fifth move that will largely define the variation of the KI that will be played.  The Classical is marked by 5.Nf3.  This forecloses the other major KI variations.  The Knight at f3 blocks the f-pawn, which is required to be pushed in both the Four Pawns (5.f4) and Saemisch variations (5.f3), and the Averbakh (5.Bg5) is foreclosed more indirectly, as Nf3 doesn't usually appear in the early moves of the Averbakh.mainlines.  In the Classical, the Knight develops to f3 naturally and supports the d4 and e5 squares.  The notion here is to review in a straightforward way the gist of the play, which you can add to with your own research, whether as White or Black.  Separate posts will be dedicated to the major sublines of the Classical, including the Mar del Plata, Petrosian, Old Mainline, Na6, Gligorich System, and Exchange.

After 5.Nf3, Black invariably plays 5...O-O.  Note that Black can't play e5 yet, as his game's a mess after 5...e5 6.dxe5 dxe5 7.Qxd8+ Kxd8 8.Nxe5 Nxe4 9.Nxe4 Bxe5 10.Bg5+ Ke8 11.Nf6+ Bxf6 12.Bxf6 Rg8 13.0–0–0. After 5...O-O, the major White response is 6.Be2, with 6.h3 serving as a fashionable minor alternative.  Following 6.h3, Black continues 6...e5 (6...c5 is a minor response) 7.d5 (7.dxe5 is sometimes played with dxe5 following and now White has 8.Qxd8, 8.Be3, or 8.Bg5) and now 7...Na6!? (7...a5) with play potentially continuing 8.Bg5 h6 9.Be3 Nc5 (White will be slow to exchange the dark-squared Bishop for this Knight).  Now back to the mainline.  After 6.Be2, Black usually replies 6...e5, but Black obviously has other options, including 6...Na6 (see G116) and White has the major response of 7.O-O and minor responses of 7.Be3 (Gligorich System), 7.d5 (Petrosian System), and 7.dxe5 (Exchange Variation).  Black next plays 7...Nc6 to reach the diagrammed position (right diagram). If Black plays 7...Nbd7, then it's the Old Mainline.  If Black rather plays 7...exd4, then it's sometimes called the Glek Variation.  After 7...Nc6, Black should anticipate 8.d5 Ne7 (often referred to as the Mar del Plata Variation), and now White has three often played moves, which will be the subject of separate posts: 9.b4 (the Bayonet), 9.Ne1, and 9.Nd2 (see Game 39 here, and Game 117 here) (diagram below).