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Tricks and Traps Vol. 3: accessible:
The Flank Openings
by Nigel Davies

World Champion's Guide

to the Kings Indian, 2nd ed.
by Rustam Kasimdzhanov

ChessBase
Cafe Playing on the Flanks: Not Just for
Hypermoderns
Steven B. Fritz 13
by ChessBase
Dowd This month we'll look at two opening DVDs. One by GM Nigel Davies on the
flank openings, and the other is the second edition of Kasimdzhanov's Guide
to the King's Indian. Both of these have plenty to offer the student of these
openings.

Tricks and Traps Vol. 3: The Flank Openings (DVD), Nigel Davies,
Translate this page ChessBase. Playing Time: 4 hours. $34.95 (ChessCafe Price: $28.95).

In this third volume of his Tricks & Traps series,

Davies gets to the meat of his expertise the flank
openings. If you want to see for yourself, go to his
Chess Improver blog and see this game. He played 1.
g3 in five out of his six white games when he No Fear of 1.d4, Vol. 1
returned to competitive chess in the recent British by Sergei Tiviakov
Rapidplay Championships. Davies states that, "it
puts the emphasis on a broad knowledge of opening
formations rather than specific preparation."

In the introduction to this DVD, GM Davies notes

that there are fewer tricks and traps in the flank
Rating Chart openings, simply because the position stays closed longer (few quick f7 or f2
weaknesses) and that the pieces do not engage each other rapidly. This makes
Awful
his job a bit harder, as he has to search for examples of traps (there are
Poor probably more neat tricks here than traps), but he has done a remarkably and
I cannot think of any better word for it eclectic job. If you are thinking about
Uneven playing flank openings in the future, or wish to find ways to encounter some
of them on better footing, this DVD is for you. First Steps in Defence
Good
by Andrew Martin
Great Here are the thirty-three different sections. I could only find one lesson that I
did not consider of the highest quality (and Davies notes he added this one
Excellent with reluctance), and had a few quibbles with one other.

Introduction
h1-a8 diagonal 1
h1-a8 diagonal 2
h1-a8 diagonal 3
Hedgehog 7.Re1 trap 1
Hedgehog 7.Re1 trap 2
Hedgehog 9.Bg6 trap
English Grnfeld trap
Petrosian-Ree
Semi-Tarrasch failure
 Keres pawn sacrifice
h8-a1 diagonal e4 killer
h8-a1 diagonal Ljubojecvic-Stein
h8-a1 Hartston trap 1
h8-a1 Hartston trap 2
h8-a1 diagonal Davies-Thiel
Positional trap King's Indian Attack with an early e5
Positional trap King's Indian Attack with an early 0-0
Positional trap King's Indian Attack with Uhlmann playing f5
General traps Queen fork
General traps Reti Gambit with Bg4
General traps English with Nd4
General traps Queen fork
General traps Traffic jam
General traps Mikenas attack with a Queen trap
General traps Larsen Opening with a fork trap
Chamber of horrors From Gambit mates
Chamber of horrors Orang Utan 2...Qd6
Chamber of horrors Deadly Dunst tricks
Chamber of horrors Grob and Summing Up

Not just one theme here, as noted earlier, but an eclectic assortment, placed in
an order that is best for learning. Since there are so many things I like about
this trainer, I will first state some of the things I didn't like. First of all,
"positional" is misspelled as "positianal," not once, but four times. This is not
the fault of GM Davies, but ChessBase needs better quality control in this
area. Also, "stem games" are mentioned in verbiage, but not in the analysis
portion (which I usually enjoy turning to before and after the video there is
an absolute lack of commentary there, and "bare moves" are not very helpful).
Thus, you have to write down the players and other information to find the
full game in question.

One section that seemed weak to me was on the Keres pawn sacrifice: 1.c4 e5
2.g3 c6 3.Bg2 Nf6 4.Nc3 (he mentions in passing that 4.d4 might be best and
is featured on his DVD on the English Opening; I still would like to have
heard a bit about it, because my experience has shown, as Shatkes noted years
ago, that the queen is rather exposed on d4. Since d4 is "avoiding the trap" of
the pawn sacrifice, I expected more) 4...d5 5.cxd5 cxd5 6.Qb3 Nc6 7.Nxd5
Nd4 8.Nxf6+.

[FEN "r1bqkb1r/pp3ppp/5N2/4p3/3n4/1Q4P1/
PP1PPPBP/R1B1K1NR b KQkq - 0 8"]

Here he analyzes the well-known 8...gxf6. This move may seem surprising
but is best. He notes that 8...Qxf6 is "both quite interesting" and gives Black
"compensation for the pawn." This is certainly true, but it certainly is quite
inferior to the capture with the pawn. After 8...gxf6, he analyzes only 9.Qd1
and again, since some books consider 9.Qd3 to be superior, I wonder why he
did not mention it. Also, I was left wanting at the end Black is considered,
after more than a dozen moves, to have compensation, perhaps even into the
endgame, but no examples were given of how that compensation could be
specifically exploited.

Davies does give a line that is better than the pawn sacrifice. Instead of 7.
Nxd5, 7.d3 is to be preferred. However, this section could perhaps have used
a part two, as we have for some other sections. But this is a minor quibble,
and perhaps is due to the fact that I have played the line for more than forty
years as Black I expect perhaps too much from this introductory video.

The material on the Grob is the portion he added with reluctance, but he only
superficially covers this poor opening move. This was one of the places
where, as advertised, he does place "an emphasis on the psychological side of
things" by noting that many players lose to the Grob, as they consider it
something of an insult. But there is not much more than that, and an
admonition not to take the g4-pawn. The other advertised item, "positional
traps that can occur in flank openings which can lead to miserable positions if
players are unaware of them," was well-represented. That they were mostly in
the King's Indian Attack was terrific for me, since this is an opening I often
play.

Everything else on this trainer was very well-done. I will give two examples
of things I particularly liked. The first was what he calls the Hartston trap (and
is the "main event" in the a1-h8 diagonal section): 1.c4 c5 2.g3 g6 3.Bg2 Bg7
4.Nc3 Nc6 5.a3 e6 6.b4 Nxb4! (6...cxb4 leads to positions similar to the
Benko Gambit) 7.axb4 cxb4. As he notes, there is now quite a body of theory
that has developed here such a comment may seem small, but it gives the
viewer a starting point to do more research. The knight is pinned to the rook,
and if it moves, the bishop will take the rook.

After discussing the main line, where he shows how White can still emerge
with a decent game, even after losing the pawn, there is a part two with a very
interesting exchange sacrifice ("probably the most interesting game the
English opening has to offer").

Here is the game in full:

Hodgson, Julian M (2580) Gulko, Boris (2590)

Groningen, 1994
English Opening [A36]

1.c4 c5 2.g3 g6 3.Bg2 Bg7 4.Nc3 Nc6 5.a3 e6 6.b4 Nxb4 7.axb4 cxb4

Davies: "I suspect Julian fell into this by accident, and then decided to
sacrifice the exchange as well."

8.Nb5

[FEN "r1bqk1nr/pp1p1pbp/4p1p1/1N6/1pP5/
6P1/3PPPBP/R1BQK1NR b KQkq - 0 8"]

8...Bxa1 9.Qa4 Be5

This eliminates the check on d6, but later analysis indicated 9...Bf6 might be
better, to bring the king over f8 to g7. 9...Bf6 10.d4 a5 11.Bf4 Ra6 had
actually been played some twenty years earlier, Barle-Smejkal, Vidmar
Memorial 1973, with Black winning. White has to really drum up his
compensation here, according to Davies.

10.Nf3 Bb8 11.Bb2 f6 12.h4!

Bringing the white rook into play.

12...a5 13.h5 gxh5

He obviously cannot play 13...g5? here.

14.Rxh5 Qe7 15.Ng5 Ra6 16.Ne4 e5

Hoping to block the bishop's diagonal.

17.c5 Kf8 18.Nbd6 Bxd6 19.Nxd6 Rxd6 20.cxd6 Qxd6

Sacrificing back the exchange doesn't quite work, White still has means of
breaking through.

21.d4 exd4 22.Rd5 Qc7 23.Rxa5

"All Black's pawns are weak, and Black's king is standing with the wind in his
hair on f8"

23...Ne7 24.Qxb4 d6 25.Rb5 Kg7 26.Qxd4 Rf8 27.g4 Qd7 28.Rh5 Kg8 29.
g5

In the end, White dominates the a1-h8 diagonal, when Black did early on.

29...Qg4 30.gxf6 10

Black doesn't have any way to stop the threats. Although this game is
interesting, Davies thinks just going down a pawn as white (which most likely
would be regained with a good position) is the way to go when all is said and
done. I found that approach intriguing show the neat piece sacrifice after
first demonstrating how it can be dealt with with quiet play. Then in part two
present an attempt at refutation that is wildly interesting but probably fails
with best play. This provides a bit of cognitive dissonance and makes the
student consider the various options he might pursue in his own games. I've
already found myself trying to find ways to make White's position work after
9...Bf6. But in the end, I'll probably end up playing the safer continuation.

My second favorite was the section on the Sokolosky (Orang Utan) where he
notes the potential trap 1.b4 d5 2.Bb2?! Qd6!. Davies doesn't mention this,
but this is known as the German Defense. He does note that the intent is to
play for a large pawn center with e5. If White is not careful and plays 3.b5?,
he loses a pawn to 3...Qb4!

[FEN "rnb1kbnr/ppp1pppp/8/1P1p4/1q6/8/
PBPPPPPP/RN1QKBNR w KQkq - 0 4"]

What I especially liked about this section and he does this in other sections
as well is that he looks at the move and how it might be applied to the white
side. For example, 1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 b5 3.Bg5 4.Qd3 a6 5.Nbd2 and White will
again strive for a large pawn center that will be difficult for Black to crack.
The idea of playing Qd3 in d4-openings is not new, but surely with an added
target on b5, White has good chances in a position that will be, in all
likelihood, new to the second player.

This one gets a near-perfect score from me. I was even able to immediately
implement some of the traps and ideas in my online games, which is a test I
use for every trainer I review. For anyone 1600 and above (below that level
you probably shouldn't be playing many flank openings anyway!), this is an
excellent way to engage not just tricks and traps, but many of the ideas behind
the flank openings.

My assessment of this DVD:

Order Tricks and Traps Vol. 3: The Flank Openings

by Nigel Davies

Order all three volumes of Tricks & Traps and automatically save an extra
$6.00!

A World Champion's Guide to the King's Indian, 2nd ed. (DVD), by Rustam
Kasimdzhanov, ChessBase. Playing Time: 7 hours. $36.95 (ChessCafe Price:
$30.95).

With seven hours of running time, and an update

that includes many new games by Kasimdzhanov
and other players, this is a real bargain, especially at
the ChessCafe.com price of only $30.95. It is, as
advertised, "a perfect tool for players looking for a
complicated battle against 1.d4," as well
as,"structural insights and an array of ideas." I've
always admired the King's Indian Defense, although
I never have been able to play it as well as I would
like. In the annotations to one of the games,
Kasimdzhanov notes that Bronstein once noted that
the Evans Gambit was not just a chess opening, but
a chess school, making the King's Indian the equivalent of a chess university!
I find I must agree.

The material is divided as follows:

Introduction
Classical Variation: Atalik-Kasimdzhanov
g3 Variation: Neverov-Kasimdzhanov
Be3 Variation: Intro
Be3 Variation: Sasikirian-Kasimdzhanov
b4 Variation: Intro
b4 Variation: Bacrot-Kasimdzhanov
Pawn structure
Saemisch variation: Abolianin-Kasimdzhanov
Letelier Martner-Fischer
Update
Elijianov-Radjabov
Elianov-Radjabov
Gelfand-Radjabov
Wang Yue-Radjabov
Gelfand-Radjabov
Margvelashvilli-Kasimdzhanov
Vescovi-Radjabov
9.b4
Wrap-Up

With so many lessons packed with ideas, it is difficult to select illustrative

sections; nevertheless, here is small sampling of one of the update games that
I find the most fascinating, with the annotations based on the ideas presented
by Kasimdzhanov.

Vescovi, Giovanni (2660) Radjabov, Teimor (2733)

World Team Ch. Turkey, 2010
King's Indian Defense [E90]

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.Nf3 O-O 6.h3

Although 6.h3 is considered a sideline, it is a multifaceted move that not only

prevents Bg4 and Ng4, it also plans g4, Be3, and Nd2, preventing Black's
kingside operations.

6...e5 7.d5 Nh5

The standard reply, making 8.g4? a bad move, since the knight can then plant
itself on f4 with good counterplay.

8.g3 a5

[FEN "rnbq1rk1/1pp2pbp/3p2p1/p2Pp2n/
2P1P3/2N2NPP/PP3P2/R1BQKB1R w KQ - 0 9"]

A standard position from this line. Both sides have advantages and
disadvantages associated with their position. For example, Black would prefer
to have the knight on f6, but withdrawing it here would cost time.

9.Bg2 Na6 10.O-O Nc5 11.Be3 Bd7 12.Ne1 b6 13.Kh2 Qe8 14.Bf3 f5

Finally Black decides to strike out after patiently waiting and building up his
position. This will involve a piece sacrifice.

15.exf5 e4 16.Be2 Bxf5 17.g4 Qe5+

At the cost of a piece to come, Black has weakened White's kingside.

18.Kg1 Nf4 19.Bxf4 Qxf4 20.Ng2 Qh6 21.gxf5 gxf5

Black has only a pawn for the piece, but his advantages are easy to see. Every
single one of his pieces has the potential to infiltrate the kingside.

22.f4 Qxh3 23.Qd2

White has started well with his defense. But it probably isn't enough.

23...Kf7! (?)

Here Kasimdzhanov thinks that 23...Rf6 might be better, with 23...Kf7 too
slow. 23...Rf6 24.Qe3 Rh6 25.Qxh3 Rxh3. I'll note that my Fritz 11 initially
assigns only the smallest of pluses to White here. Kasimdzhanov thinks Black
still has good chances in the endgame. But when I let Fritz run for awhile and
play out some possible continuations, it finds the game continuation to be
best. In fact, I believe it is winning, contrary to the world champion's analysis.

24.Rfe1?

24.Qe3 was the best chance here as well, as in allowing ...Rg8 without a
challenge, White gives Black an easy winning advantage. There will simply
be too many threats. After 24.Qe3, Black has to sacrifice another piece with
24...Bd4! and is probably still winning. The queen has to capture, and is not
well-placed on d4, and Black now has time to place his powerful rooks on the
g-file.
 [FEN "r4r2/2p2k1p/1p1p4/p1nP1p2/2PbpP2/
2N1Q2q/PP2B1N1/R4RK1 w - - 0 25"]

24.Qe3 Bd4! 25.Qxd4 Rg8 26.Rf2 Rg3 27.Bf1 Rag8 28.Rd2 (or 28.Re1, etc.)
28...Qh4 29.Nd1 R8g6 30.Rc1 e3, and this looks winning to me. After 24.
Qe3, Kasimdzhanov only gives 24...Qh6?, after which it does appear that
White is out of the frying pan and the fire. He can follow up with the
defensive move 25.Kf2!, after which Rh1 is threatened. I am uncertain why he
did not mention the possibility of 24...Bd4!.

24...Rg8 25.Bf1 Nd3

Now "all Black pieces walk into the White position." The game is, for
practical purposes, over.

26.Nb5 Bh6 27.Re3 Nxf4 28.Rxh3 Nxh3+ 29.Kh2 Bxd2 30.Kxh3 Rg5 31.
Rd1 Rag8 32.Rxd2 Rh5+ 33.Nh4 Rg4 34.Kh2 Rgxh4+ 35.Kg1 Rh1+ 0-1

If you play or are considering playing the King's Indian, this DVD will be a
big boon to your understanding. And as it is idea-based, many of the ideas
here apply well to openings such as the Pirc and Modern as well. There
appear to be a few flaws in the analysis, as noted above, but these are few and
far between, and again, I think the idea-based approach trumps pure analysis
in most cases when it comes to opening preparation (you can always fire up
your engines for help with analysis, but most of us need help with ideas).
Don't pass up the opportunity to learn some complicated ideas about chess
from a world champion!

My assessment of this DVD:

Order A World Champion's Guide to the King's Indian

by Rustam Kasimdzhanov

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