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The following is one of the most beautiful of all King's Indian Defense games.
It is an outstanding MODEL GAME!!
For years, GM's would look at this game and only shake their heads wondering where White went wrong. It embodies some of the best KID ideas.
1. d4
Nf6; 2.
c4
g6; 3.
Nc3
Bg7; 4.
e4
d6; 5.
Be2
0-0; 6.
Nf3
e5; 7. 0-0,
The main line, White just
develops naturally.
[ White can't win a pawn, thanks
to a double attack.
7.dxe5
dxe5; 8.Qxd8
Rxd8;
9.Nxe5?!
Nxe4!; 10.Nxe4
Bxe5; "="
(This is a standard trap in the K.I.D.)
The position is equal, or Black
is slightly better.
The other main alternative here is: 7.d5, which is the Petrosian System. ].
7...Nc6; 8.
d5,
With this move, White stakes out a claim for space on the Queenside.
(He also gains a tempo by hitting the Black Knight on d6.)
GM
Andy Soltis says, in his sublime book, "Pawn Structure Chess," that with a Pawn on d5,
White's natural or organic play is on the Queenside. Therefore, Black's play must be on the
King-side! White's best lever, (after preparation) is Pawn/c4 to c5. Black's best lever,
(after reasonable preparation); is f7 to f5.
Normally if one side dawdles with his pawn break, he can expect that the initiative can and will pass
to the other player!!!
[ The two other alternatives
here are: 8.Be3!?, {Diagram?};
or 8.Bg5!?
].
8...Ne7;
This is the 'Classical' King's Indian. It is also called the << Main Line >> King's Indian.
I prefer the name, "The Mar del Plata Variation." It is so named because Bobby Fischer first
introduced this line into tournament praxis at the South American resort of Mar del Plata,
Argentina; in the late 1950's.
The plans here are very clear. With a pawn on d5, White's play will be on the Queen-side, the side on
which he has more space. (Tarrasch, one of the all-time greatest and one of the original GrandMaster's
said, "Always attack on the side where you have more space!") Black's play therefore MUST be on
the Kingside!
9. Nd2,
The Main Line here for nearly 30 years. Probably the primary idea behind this move is to transfer
the Knight to the Queenside, where White knows his play will be. The other benefit of this move is
to allow White to play f2-f3, anchoring his pawn on e4 and making his King slightly more safe.
[ 9.Ne1; {Diagram?}
is the older line, formerly the
main line. This line also enjoyed
a resurgence
of popularity
in the 1990's.
9.b4, {Diagram?}
is called the 'Bayonet Attack,' and is the modern way of handling this variation.
This move did not become really popular until the eighties, and now (the late nineties) has
almost
completely supplanted 9. Nd2, as the main line. ].
9...c5!;
With this move, Black plays to gain a little more space. He wants to slow down White's Queenside
play, before proceeding on the Kingside. White's natural lever, and one of his primary sources of
counterplay, is c4-c5. Black just made that impossible.
10. a3
Ne8; (Maybe - '!')
Black must get his counterplay on the Kingside rolling now as soon as possible.
Any delays will mean that his initiative and Kingside play will be too slow. Speed is of the utmost
importance on the K.I.D. Usually in the King's Indian Defense, White's attack on the Queenside
comes first!
Very often a decision point is reached. Black must decide to either try to defend
and keep the material
balance, OR to pursue his own attack on the Kingside. Normally, the MAJORITY of the time, Black
should pursue his own attack, even at the cost of material losses. The King's Indian Defense is not an
opening for half-measures or for the faint of heart!!
11. b4
b6;
It is normally not good to allow White to gain a protected passed pawn.
(Which is what happens after
b4xc5, d6xc5.)
The main strategy (here) is to barricade the Queenside, to maybe slow White down just a little;
then throw yourself fully into a Kingside attack.
12. Rb1!?
f5; (Maybe - '!')
Black must get this lever in as
soon as he reasonably can.
Pawn breaks (generally) provide organic play/counterplay.
13. f3,
A common move in the King's
Indian. White anchors his pawn
chain and tries to make it difficult
for Black to attack his King.
[ 13.Bf3!? ].
13...f4;
Black will almost never play f5 x e4.
This is because it gives BOTH of White's Knights the excellent e4-square!
14. a4
g5; (Maybe - '!')
As soon as he can, Black must
open lines on the Kingside.
The
main way he does this is with a
"Pawn Storm."
(Some writers refer to this as,
"The Pawn Avalanche.")
If Black wastes any time, he often will find White's attack on the Queen-side irresistible.
15. a5
Rf6!;
This Rook is going to g6, where
it will cause tremendous problems
to White, and his King
on the g-file.
16. bxc5!?,
White opens the b-file with
this move.
[ After the continuation: 16.axb6!? axb6; 17.bxc5 bxc5; White has no real targets to attack. ].
16...bxc5; (Correct.)
Capturing towards the center.
17. Nb3!?, (Hmmm.)
This is a very "normal," square
for this Knight in the KID. But
somehow it just does not seem
to work here. And it is also very
difficult to suggest any real
improvements.
[ Maybe better is: 17.Qa4!? ].
17...Rg6; 18.
Bd2
Nf6; {See the
position on the js-replay board.}
Getting another piece to the King-side.
Now Black is all ready for his g5-g4 pawn break.
19. Kh1, (Hmmm.)
Getting the King off the g-file is a
good idea, since there is a Rook
there.
[ 19.h3?!
Seems to block the attack, but will just open more lines after h7-h5, Nf6, and then
g5-g4. It also obviously weakens all the squares on the Kingside, especially the dark squares. ].
19...g4;
Black does not waste time, but
immediately pursues his
Kingside plan.
20. fxg4!?,
This is very bad. (Or at least, it
looks that way.) It opens lines to the Kingside.
But White is having
BIG problems.
Bobby has the ideal situation: White's attack on the
Queenside
is going nowhere right now, and
Black's attack on the King-side is
faster.
This is
every KID players' dream!
[ But White cannot play:
20.Ra1!?, '?!/?' 20...g3;
21.h3
Rh6; White is dead. All Black has to
do is set up to sacrifice at h3.
This position is what a good friend of mine used to call, "A Can-Opener." ].
20...Nxg4; 21.Rf3,
White is trying to defend his King.
[ Maybe better is:
21.h3!?
Ne3; 22.Bxe3
fxe3;
23.Rf3
Bh6; but the pawn
on e3
is annoying to White. ].
21...Rh6!;
Forcing a further weakening of
White's Kingside.
*****
Most of the time, I teach all my
students ... NOT to tamper with their King-side!
GM's know this,
yet a Super-GM,
(Korchnoi was one of the 5-best
blitz players in the world when this
game was
played.); is about to
majorly corrupt his K-side. (He is
going to push a SECOND pawn
in front of
his King.) This represents
a MAJOR denigration of the
squares around the White King.
So the big question is why would a player, (the caliber of a Korchnoi); do this?
The straight answer is that White
is under an almost inordinate amount
of pressure. Black has
systematically FORCED White to move the Pawns
around his King, so that he COULD
attack
them! (And the squares around them.)
*****
22. h3
Ng6;
Now this Knight joins the fray.
Black threatens the harassing move Knight at g6 to h4.
23. Kg1, (Defense.)
Now White is threatening to take
the Knight on g4, now that the
pin on the h-file has been lifted.
[ 23.Bf1?!,
is probably too passive. I have noticed that when I play the computers, they really kill
me when I get very passive. I have also noticed that very few top Grand-Master's take completely
passive positions. ].
23...Nf6, {Actual Diagram.}
Black should not feel bad about
this Knight retreat. It is only a
temporary loss of time.
[ 23...Nh4?; An unsound sacrifice. 24.hxg4 Nxf3+; 25.Bxf3 Qh4; 26.Nb5, "+/-" ].
24. Be1, (Poor White.)
To prevent ...Nh4.
(But notice while
this looks forced, White will regret
not being able to use this square
in the coming
flight of his King.)
[ 24.Ra1
Nh4; {Diagram?}
is embarrassing to White.
Now White is forced to play:
25.Rf2
Rg6-->
(K-side pressure)
when White is under a tremendous
attack on the King-side. ]
**********
The position is Black to play. What move would YOU make?
***
24...Nh8!; (Maybe - '!!')
A maneuver that was made
famous by Nimzovich. This Knight
is headed for g5, (via f7);
to set up
a sacrifice on h3! (A truly wonderful move!!)
(It is also very interesting to note
that the computers STILL do NOT
find this move,
even after 20
minutes of thought!!) {A.J.G. 12/21/99}
25. Rd3
Nf7; 26.
Bf3
Ng5; 27.
Qe2
Rg6; (Possibly - '!')
The "Primary Tactical Threat" now is 28...Nxh3+, winning
a pawn.
28. Kf1, {Diagram?}
- A meandering King. -
A viable defense may no longer
be possible.
[ 28.Kh1!?
Bd7; 29.a6
Qc8;
30.Na5
Bxh3; 31.gxh3!?,
This looks forced.
(Or 31.Rb7
Nxf3; 32.gxf3
Bg2+;
wins for Black.) 31...Qxh3+; 32.Qh2
Qf1+;
33.Qg1
Rh6+!;
Both QxQ and QxR/d3 also win. 34.Bh5
Rxh5+; 35.Bh4
Rxh4+;
36.Rh3
Rxh3#
].
28...Nxh3!; (Maybe - '!!')
A very nice move, denuding the
White King.
An interesting note is that several
minutes into the analysis of this
game under ChessBase 7.0i,
many
of the top commercial programs are recommending the entirely bogus
28...Ba6? (!!)
{A.J.G.} 07/06/00.
29. gxh3
Bxh3+; 30.
Kf2
Ng4+!; 31.
Bxg4,
Not much choice here.
[ 31.Kg1?
Ne3+; 32.Kh1
Bf1;
33.Qd2
Rh6+; 34.Kg1
Qg5+;
35.Bg2
Bxd3;
(35...Bxg2; also wins.)
36.Rb2
Bf1; "-/+"
{Diagram?}
ugly ... For White, that is.
(Or
36...Qh5; "-/+"
wins too.) ].
White Resigns. 0 - 1
(Black has a winning attack. I.e.,
32. Qc2, (Hmmm.)
Probably the best move.
[ 32.Rh3!? Bxe2; "-/+" or 32.Qf1 Qh4+; 33.Kg1 Bf3+!; 34.Bg3 Qxg3+; 35.Qg2 Qxg2# ].
32...Qh4+; 33.
Kf1, {Box?}
Probably forced, again!
[ 33.Kg1??
Bd1+; 34.Rg3
Qxg3+!;
35.Bxg3
Bxc2; 36.Kf2
fxg3+;
37.Kg1
Bxb1;
"-/+"
or 33.Rg3, Computer give-away. (What computers do in lost positions.)
33...Qxg3+; 34.Kf1
Qe3!;
35.Qg2
Bh3; 36.Rb2
f3;
37.Qxh3
Rg1#
].
33...Qh1+!;
Keeping an eye on the White King.
34. Kf2
Qh2+; (Nice.)
Not a hard move to find. Just for
starters, you have a skewer that
will win the White Queen!
[ Also winning was: 34...Bf6!?;
i.e., 35.Rh3
Qxh3; 36.Qd3
Qh2+;
37.Kf1
Qh1+;
38.Kf2
Bh4+;
39.Qg3
Bxg3#
].
35. Kf1
Bh3+!; (Maybe - '!!')
Very nice.
(Black ignores a free Queen ...
to deliver a CHECK-MATE!!)
[ 35...Qxc2; "-/+" was also good enough to force the average White player to Resign! ].
36. Rxh3,
Forced.
A pretty mate. (White is overwhelmed with his material riches, yet loses the game!)
This game is extremely beautiful.
The average Master plays
Tournament chess his entire life
and hopes
to create only a few
gems like this, if at all. It is all the
more amazing to realize that this
game was played
by both players
at the time limit of: ......
Game/05 minutes!!!
At the time this game was played, Fischer & Korchnoi were probably (easily) both in the Top Ten in the World in five-minute play.
I first annotated this game in 1999, but re-annotated it very thoroughly just recently. {A.J.G.} 07/06/00 (And again in June, 2002)
Maybe one of the prettiest five-minute games of chess ever played!!! It is also a model game ... and teaches - better than just about any other game I have ever found - the basic ideas and concepts of this very hard to learn defense!
This game was first posted on my web site on June 18th, 2002.
(Updated on: July12th, 2002)
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Copyright (c) {LM} A.J. Goldsby I
Copyright (c) A.J. Goldsby, 1995-2008.
Copyright © A.J. Goldsby, 2009. All rights
reserved.
