Download PGN of June ’19 KID games
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Fianchetto Variation 6.b3 without c2-c4 [A49]
We looked at this 6.b3 last month too. In Meier, G - Carlsen, M the World Champion had a surprise in store, 6...b5!?:
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A rather shocking move. I doubt Meier prepared for this before the game! 7.Ne5 does not really work, so 6...b5 is playable, at least.
Early ...Bf5 Variation 1.d4 d6 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.c4 g6 4.Nc3 Bf5 [E61]
This line continues to be trendy, as the theory is not so set in stone. In Torres Rosas, L - Shimanov, A White tries 5.h3!? Ne4 6.Qb3!? Interesting, but I do not think this is the critical try:
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6...Nxc3 7.Qxb7 is met with 7...Be4! when Black gets good play.
Chernobay, A - Yuffa, D sees White play the most common move, 5.g3. After 5...Ne4 6.Bg2 Nxc3 7.bxc3 Be4 Black again seems quite ok.
Karpov System 4.e4 d6 5.h3 with 6.Be3 [E71]
This line has given Black headaches. Recently Black has tried an interesting move order with 5...Nbd7!?:
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Black wants to hit the e4 pawn before White has time to defend it with f3 or Ne2-g3. 6.Be3 e5 7.d5 Nc5 and now 8.f3 does not work because of 8...Nh5, so in Anton Guijarro D- Adhiban, B White played 8.Qc2. Although White won (Black won every other game in this month’s column!) I think we will see further action here.
In Bosiocic, M - Gukesh, D Black plays the conventional 5...0-0 6.Be3 Na6 Another move order is 6...e5 7.d5 Na6 8.g4 Nc5; instead we have seen that 6...c5 7.Nf3 is a bit annoying. 7.g4 e5 8.d5 Nc5 9.f3!? Even though Black won, White got an edge. There are some ways to improve, however.
Sämisch System - 6.Be3 a6 7.Qd2 Nbd7 8.Nh3 [E81]
Black has developed some interesting lines against the Sämisch in recent years. 6.Be3 (Recently we looked at the similar 6.Bg5 a6 7.Qd2 Nbd7 8.Nh3 c5 9.d5 b5.) 6...a6!? 7.Qd2 Nbd7 8.Nh3 (Avoiding 8.Nge2 b5!?) 8...c5 9.d5 b5 10.cxb5 Qa5!:
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With a decent Benko in Thorhallsson, S - Djukic, N.
Sämisch Panno - Smirin’s Line 8...Bd7 9.g4 b5 [E83]
White can try many things here, but 9.g4 b5 10.Ng3?! should not be one of them. This is a typical mistake, but not one we’d expect from a 2500+ player. White abandons the d4-square and after 10...e5! Black is already better. See Basso, P - Korobov, A.
Classical - Petrosian Variation 7...c5 [E92]
The champ continues to experiment with 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 c5 Another move order would be 2...g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.Nf3 0-0 6.Be2 e5 7.d5 where 7...c5 is exceedingly rare. 3.d5 g6 4.Nc3 d6 5.e4 Bg7 6.Nf3 0-0 7.Be2 e5:
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So now we have a Petrosian where Black has effectively played 7...c5. Perhaps 8.Bg5 is critical here, but in Keymer, V - Carlsen, M White 8.0-0 which should also be good. There is a lot of play left however, as Carlsen shows.
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.