King's Indian Defence, Sämisch Variation
Encyclopedia
The Sämisch Variation of the King's Indian Defence
is a chess opening that begins with the moves:
The opening is named after the German master Friedrich Sämisch
. In the Encyclopedia of Chess Openings, the Sämisch Variation is covered in chapters E80 to E89.
The Sämisch has been played by numerous grandmasters, including world champions Mikhail Botvinnik
, Mikhail Tal
, Tigran Petrosian
, Boris Spassky
, Anatoly Karpov
and Garry Kasparov
.
A player who had trouble against the Sämisch was Bobby Fischer
. Mednis' How to Beat Bobby Fischer showed that five of Fischer's losses were against the Sämisch King's Indian, and remarked that Fischer eventually avoided the King's Indian if he believed he would face the Sämisch.
Compared to the classical King's Indian lines where White plays Nf3, the Sämisch allows relatively little counterplay for Black on the kingside and grants chances for a kingside initiative. The Sämisch has therefore been noted as a good line for aggressive attacking players. A drawback to White's plan is that the pawn on f3 deprives the g1-knight of its most natural square, a point summarized by Eduard Gufeld
: "Ask the king's knight what it thinks of 5.f3." (Gufeld's favorite victory was a win with black over Vladimir Bagirov
against the Sämisch.)
is largely determined by how Black decides to counteract in the center. The traditional break is to play ...e7-e5, but the alternative pawn break, ...c7-c5, even as a sacrifice
has received more attention recently. After 5.f3, the main continuation is 5...0-0 6.Be3, although the popularity of the Sämisch Gambit (6...c5) has led many White players to explore 6.Nge2 and 6.Bg5 instead. After 6.Be3, Black has a wide choice of lines.
ed bishop on g7, and Black may need to work out plans to activate this piece in the middlegame, however if the bishop somehow is released, it may become very powerful. White has the choice between closing the centre or to maintain the central tension. According to the theory by Cherniaev and Prokuronov, closing the centre with 7.d5 gives White good chances for an opening edge, although Garry Kasparov
frequently played the Black side of this line, while maintaining the tension with 7.Nge2 is "less promising", but is an important line for White players who prefer the 6.Nge2 move order.
When White chooses to close the center with 7.d5, White's typical plan is to castle queenside, and then launch an assault on the kingside with moves like g4 and/or h4. Black's main decisions are on what pawn breaks to play for. Main lines include an immediate break with 7...c6, a preparation for the ...f5 break with 7...Nh5 or 7...Ne8, and closing up the c-file with 7...c5 and eventually play for breaks with ...b5 or ...f5. A particularly sharp line is David Bronstein
's queen sacrifice
7...Nh5 8.Qd2 Qh4+ 9.g3 Nxg3 10.Qf2 Nxf1 11.Qxh4 Nxe3, where Black has given up the queen for two bishops and a pawn, and will also win a second pawn after 12...Nxc4. In return for the material, Black obtains a solid and compact position devoid of weaknesses, the safer king, and control over the dark squares. Cherniaev and Prokuronov were sceptical of whether Black had sufficient compensation after 12.Qf2, but the line is very dangerous if White plays nonchalantly.
When White maintains the tension, Black's main moves are 7...c6 and 7...exd4, while 7...Nc6?! 8.d5 Ne7 leaves the Black knight on e7 poorly placed. Although trading in the centre with 7...exd4 opens up the diagonal for the bishop, White enjoys a space advantage with a grip on the d5 square. Continuing to maintain the tension with 7...c6, and development with ...Nbd7 is Black's most flexible option.
began exploring the line as a deliberate gambit
, and the line is now considered to give Black full compensation.
The compensation Black has for the pawn includes:
A possible practical drawback to the gambit is that White is more or less able to force a draw
against Black's best lines, e.g. after 9.Bxc5 Nc6 10.Nd5 Nd7 11.Bxe7 Nxe7 12.Nxe7+ Kf8 13.Nd5 Bxb2 14.Rb1 Bg7 15.Nh3 Nc5 16.Ng5, when Black should allow the repetition of position by 16...Kg8 17.Ne7+ Kf8 18.Nd5 Kg8.
The gambit is rarely accepted in contemporary grandmaster play, instead the main line is to head for a Benoni Defense
type structure with 7.Nge2 followed by 8.d5.
White can decide to halt Black's ...b5 break by playing 7.a4 at the cost of weakening the dark squares on the queenside. After 7...a5, Black has gained control over the b4 square, and will usually win the c5 square as well. White has other lines that allow Black to play ...b5. 7.Qd2 usually intends queenside castling. 7.c5 (or 7.Nge2 a6 8.c5) is a positional line, aiming to clamp down on the queenside and gain control over the b6 square. Probably the most popular response to the Byrne is 7.Bd3 aiming for a speedy mobilization of the kingside pieces, but allowing Black to proceed with the ...b5 plan. White's prospects of gaining an initiative on the kingside mean that Black often delays castling so as not to come under attack there.
If Black wants to transpose into the Byrne while avoiding the 7.Bd3 lines, the flexible 6...a6 can be played first. This way, Black retains the option of playing ...c5 or ...c6 depending on the circumstances.
, is a sharp and highly theoretical system which can lead to very complicated play. Black holds back the c-pawn for the time being, and aims to put the knight on d4. The immediate plan is to prepare queenside counterplay with ...a6, ...Rb8 followed by ...b5.
The main line of the Panno goes 7.Nge2 a6 8.Qd2 Rb8. White's main positional system is to continue with 9.Nc1 e5 (Black needs to secure a hold of the center) 10.d5 Nd4. Here the pawn grab 11.Bxe4? exd4 12.Qxd4 loses to 12...Nxe4!, so White usually challenges the d4-knight with 11.Nb3 or 11.N1e2.
Other seventh move alternatives inlude the aggressive continuations 7.h4 and 7.g4 aiming for a kingside attack, and 7.Rb1 and 7.Rc1 which aims to meet the ...b5 break.
6...a5 is a line favored by Mark Hebden
. The idea behind the move is to advance the a-pawn down the board to a4. Spending two tempi on pushing the pawn to a4 costs time, but Black has secured the a5 square as a comfortable perch for the queen, and the advance ...a4-a3 may come up later in the game.
6...b6 was once played as a means of preparing the break with ...c5, but since the Sämisch gambit shows that 6...c5 can be played immediately, Ward considers the line to be slightly inferior..
after 7.dxe5 dxe5 8.Qxd8 Rxd8 9.Nd5.
King's Indian Defence
The King's Indian Defence is a common chess opening. It arises after the moves:Black intends to follow up with 3...Bg7 and 4...d6.The Grünfeld Defence arises when Black plays 3...d5 instead, and is considered a separate opening...
is a chess opening that begins with the moves:
- 1.d4 Nf6
- 2.c4 g6
- 3.Nc3 Bg7
- 4.e4 d6
- 5.f3
The opening is named after the German master Friedrich Sämisch
Friedrich Sämisch
Friedrich Sämisch was a German chess grandmaster .-Main results:* 2nd at Berlin 1920...
. In the Encyclopedia of Chess Openings, the Sämisch Variation is covered in chapters E80 to E89.
The Sämisch has been played by numerous grandmasters, including world champions Mikhail Botvinnik
Mikhail Botvinnik
Mikhail Moiseyevich Botvinnik, Ph.D. was a Soviet and Russian International Grandmaster and three-time World Chess Champion. Working as an electrical engineer and computer scientist at the same time, he was one of the very few famous chess players who achieved distinction in another career while...
, Mikhail Tal
Mikhail Tal
Mikhail Tal was a Soviet–Latvian chess player, a Grandmaster, and the eighth World Chess Champion.Widely regarded as a creative genius, and the best attacking player of all time, he played a daring, combinatorial style. His play was known above all for improvisation and unpredictability....
, Tigran Petrosian
Tigran Petrosian
Tigran Vartanovich Petrosian was a Soviet-Armenian grandmaster, and World Chess Champion from 1963 to 1969. He was nicknamed "Iron Tigran" due to his playing style because of his almost impenetrable defence, which emphasised safety above all else...
, Boris Spassky
Boris Spassky
Boris Vasilievich Spassky is a Soviet-French chess grandmaster. He was the tenth World Chess Champion, holding the title from late 1969 to 1972...
, Anatoly Karpov
Anatoly Karpov
Anatoly Yevgenyevich Karpov is a Russian chess grandmaster and former World Champion. He was the official world champion from 1975 to 1985 when he was defeated by Garry Kasparov. He played three matches against Kasparov for the title from 1986 to 1990, before becoming FIDE World Champion once...
and Garry Kasparov
Garry Kasparov
Garry Kimovich Kasparov is a Russian chess grandmaster, a former World Chess Champion, writer, political activist, and one of the greatest chess players of all time....
.
A player who had trouble against the Sämisch was Bobby Fischer
Bobby Fischer
Robert James "Bobby" Fischer was an American chess Grandmaster and the 11th World Chess Champion. He is widely considered one of the greatest chess players of all time. Fischer was also a best-selling chess author...
. Mednis' How to Beat Bobby Fischer showed that five of Fischer's losses were against the Sämisch King's Indian, and remarked that Fischer eventually avoided the King's Indian if he believed he would face the Sämisch.
Strategic ideas
By playing 5.f3, White postpones the development of the kingside pieces in order to solidify the center. The pawn on f3 also prevents Black from utilizing the g4 square.Compared to the classical King's Indian lines where White plays Nf3, the Sämisch allows relatively little counterplay for Black on the kingside and grants chances for a kingside initiative. The Sämisch has therefore been noted as a good line for aggressive attacking players. A drawback to White's plan is that the pawn on f3 deprives the g1-knight of its most natural square, a point summarized by Eduard Gufeld
Eduard Gufeld
Eduard Yefimovich Gufeld was a Soviet International Grandmaster of chess, and a chess author.By the late 1950s he established himself as one of the strongest players in the world...
: "Ask the king's knight what it thinks of 5.f3." (Gufeld's favorite victory was a win with black over Vladimir Bagirov
Vladimir Bagirov
Vladimir Bagirov was a Soviet-Latvian grandmaster of chess, chess author, and trainer. He played in ten USSR Championships, with his best result being fourth place in his debut in 1960. Bagirov was World Senior Champion in 1998...
against the Sämisch.)
Main variations
The resulting middlegameMiddlegame
The middlegame in chess refers to the portion of the game that happens after the opening and before the endgame. There is no clear line between the opening and middlegame, and between the middlegame and endgame. In modern chess, the moves that make up an opening blend into the middlegame, so there...
is largely determined by how Black decides to counteract in the center. The traditional break is to play ...e7-e5, but the alternative pawn break, ...c7-c5, even as a sacrifice
Sacrifice (chess)
In chess, a sacrifice is a move giving up a piece in the hopes of gaining tactical or positional compensation in other forms. A sacrifice could also be a deliberate exchange of a chess piece of higher value for an opponent's piece of lower value....
has received more attention recently. After 5.f3, the main continuation is 5...0-0 6.Be3, although the popularity of the Sämisch Gambit (6...c5) has led many White players to explore 6.Nge2 and 6.Bg5 instead. After 6.Be3, Black has a wide choice of lines.
Black plays 6...e5
The classical reply to the Sämisch is to counter in the centre with 6...e5. This does lock in Black's fianchettoFianchetto
In chess the fianchetto is a pattern of development wherein a bishop is developed to the second rank of the adjacent knight file, the knight pawn having been moved one or two squares forward....
ed bishop on g7, and Black may need to work out plans to activate this piece in the middlegame, however if the bishop somehow is released, it may become very powerful. White has the choice between closing the centre or to maintain the central tension. According to the theory by Cherniaev and Prokuronov, closing the centre with 7.d5 gives White good chances for an opening edge, although Garry Kasparov
Garry Kasparov
Garry Kimovich Kasparov is a Russian chess grandmaster, a former World Chess Champion, writer, political activist, and one of the greatest chess players of all time....
frequently played the Black side of this line, while maintaining the tension with 7.Nge2 is "less promising", but is an important line for White players who prefer the 6.Nge2 move order.
When White chooses to close the center with 7.d5, White's typical plan is to castle queenside, and then launch an assault on the kingside with moves like g4 and/or h4. Black's main decisions are on what pawn breaks to play for. Main lines include an immediate break with 7...c6, a preparation for the ...f5 break with 7...Nh5 or 7...Ne8, and closing up the c-file with 7...c5 and eventually play for breaks with ...b5 or ...f5. A particularly sharp line is David Bronstein
David Bronstein
David Ionovich Bronstein was a Soviet chess grandmaster, who narrowly missed becoming World Chess Champion in 1951. Bronstein was described by his peers as a creative genius and master of tactics...
's queen sacrifice
Queen sacrifice
In chess, a queen sacrifice is a move giving up a queen in return for tactical or positional compensation.-Queen sacrifice: real versus sham:...
7...Nh5 8.Qd2 Qh4+ 9.g3 Nxg3 10.Qf2 Nxf1 11.Qxh4 Nxe3, where Black has given up the queen for two bishops and a pawn, and will also win a second pawn after 12...Nxc4. In return for the material, Black obtains a solid and compact position devoid of weaknesses, the safer king, and control over the dark squares. Cherniaev and Prokuronov were sceptical of whether Black had sufficient compensation after 12.Qf2, but the line is very dangerous if White plays nonchalantly.
When White maintains the tension, Black's main moves are 7...c6 and 7...exd4, while 7...Nc6?! 8.d5 Ne7 leaves the Black knight on e7 poorly placed. Although trading in the centre with 7...exd4 opens up the diagonal for the bishop, White enjoys a space advantage with a grip on the d5 square. Continuing to maintain the tension with 7...c6, and development with ...Nbd7 is Black's most flexible option.
Sämisch gambit and Benoni lines 6...c5
Positionally, 6...c5 is Black's most natural break, attacking the White centre with a side pawn and leaving the a1-h8 diagonal open for the bishop on g7. The most obvious drawback is that 6...c5 loses a pawn to 7.dxc5 dxc5 8.Qxd8 Rxd8 9.Bxc5, and for this reason 6...c5 was previously thought to be impossible. However Valery ChekhovValery Chekhov
Valery A Chekhov is a Russian chess grandmaster and former World Junior Chess Champion ....
began exploring the line as a deliberate gambit
Gambit
A gambit is a chess opening in which a player, most often White, sacrifices material, usually a pawn, with the hope of achieving a resulting advantageous position. Some well-known examples are the King's Gambit , Queen's Gambit , and Evans Gambit...
, and the line is now considered to give Black full compensation.
The compensation Black has for the pawn includes:
- The King's Indian bishop has an open long diagonal.
- Black has a lead in development, with four pieces in play.
- White's development has been hindered with the pawn placement on f3.
- White has a hole on d4 as well as other good targets for Black's knights.
A possible practical drawback to the gambit is that White is more or less able to force a draw
Draw (chess)
In chess, a draw is when a game ends in a tie. It is one of the possible outcomes of a game, along with a win for White and a win for Black . Usually, in tournaments a draw is worth a half point to each player, while a win is worth one point to the victor and none to the loser.For the most part,...
against Black's best lines, e.g. after 9.Bxc5 Nc6 10.Nd5 Nd7 11.Bxe7 Nxe7 12.Nxe7+ Kf8 13.Nd5 Bxb2 14.Rb1 Bg7 15.Nh3 Nc5 16.Ng5, when Black should allow the repetition of position by 16...Kg8 17.Ne7+ Kf8 18.Nd5 Kg8.
The gambit is rarely accepted in contemporary grandmaster play, instead the main line is to head for a Benoni Defense
Benoni Defense
The Benoni Defense is a group of chess openings generally characterized by the opening moves 1. d4 c5 2. d5, although Black's ...c5 and White's answer d5 are often delayed. The most usual opening sequence for the Benoni is 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. d5...
type structure with 7.Nge2 followed by 8.d5.
Byrne variation 6...c6 and 6...a6
Robert Byrne developed a flexible approach where Black plays ...c6 and ...a6 in order to prepare a push with ...b5. Black's direct counterstrike in the centre is postponed so that the queenside advance can proceed quickly.White can decide to halt Black's ...b5 break by playing 7.a4 at the cost of weakening the dark squares on the queenside. After 7...a5, Black has gained control over the b4 square, and will usually win the c5 square as well. White has other lines that allow Black to play ...b5. 7.Qd2 usually intends queenside castling. 7.c5 (or 7.Nge2 a6 8.c5) is a positional line, aiming to clamp down on the queenside and gain control over the b6 square. Probably the most popular response to the Byrne is 7.Bd3 aiming for a speedy mobilization of the kingside pieces, but allowing Black to proceed with the ...b5 plan. White's prospects of gaining an initiative on the kingside mean that Black often delays castling so as not to come under attack there.
If Black wants to transpose into the Byrne while avoiding the 7.Bd3 lines, the flexible 6...a6 can be played first. This way, Black retains the option of playing ...c5 or ...c6 depending on the circumstances.
Panno variation 6...Nc6
The Panno line, named after Oscar PannoOscar Panno
Oscar R. Panno is an Argentine chess Grandmaster.Panno won the World Junior Chess Championship in 1953, and also won the championship of Argentina the same year....
, is a sharp and highly theoretical system which can lead to very complicated play. Black holds back the c-pawn for the time being, and aims to put the knight on d4. The immediate plan is to prepare queenside counterplay with ...a6, ...Rb8 followed by ...b5.
The main line of the Panno goes 7.Nge2 a6 8.Qd2 Rb8. White's main positional system is to continue with 9.Nc1 e5 (Black needs to secure a hold of the center) 10.d5 Nd4. Here the pawn grab 11.Bxe4? exd4 12.Qxd4 loses to 12...Nxe4!, so White usually challenges the d4-knight with 11.Nb3 or 11.N1e2.
Other seventh move alternatives inlude the aggressive continuations 7.h4 and 7.g4 aiming for a kingside attack, and 7.Rb1 and 7.Rc1 which aims to meet the ...b5 break.
Other lines against 6.Be3
6...Nbd7 was popular in the early 1990s. Cherniaev and Prokuronov however believe White obtains an edge with 7.Nh3, with the plan of bringing the knight to f2.6...a5 is a line favored by Mark Hebden
Mark Hebden
Mark Hebden is an English chess player who holds the title Grandmaster.Hebden was British Rapidplay Chess Champion in 1990, 1994, 2001, 2005 and 2009....
. The idea behind the move is to advance the a-pawn down the board to a4. Spending two tempi on pushing the pawn to a4 costs time, but Black has secured the a5 square as a comfortable perch for the queen, and the advance ...a4-a3 may come up later in the game.
6...b6 was once played as a means of preparing the break with ...c5, but since the Sämisch gambit shows that 6...c5 can be played immediately, Ward considers the line to be slightly inferior..
Other sixth moves for White
Since the Sämisch gambit shows that 6.Be3 does not really prevent 6...c5, some players have turned to alternatives. These alternatives include 6.Nge2 which postpones the decision of where to put the c1-bishop, and 6.Bg5 aiming for a more active development and preventing 6...e5? due to the pinPin (chess)
In chess, a pin is a situation brought on by an attacking piece in which a defending piece cannot move without exposing a more valuable defending piece on its other side to capture by the attacking piece...
after 7.dxe5 dxe5 8.Qxd8 Rxd8 9.Nd5.