Anyone who has ever been checkmated on the White side of the Classical Variation of the King’s Indian, where Black has sacrificed pieces and pawns to drive the enemy King into the middle of the board, will understand the motivation behind finding an aggressive way of meeting the KID. And what could be a more aggressive way than the Four Pawns Attack? The very name of this variation conjures up images of an armada of White pawns advancing against the enemy monarch and may explain the title of Bulgarian IM Semko Semkov’s attempt to reduce the number of King’s Indian devotees – Kill KID 1.
The latest production from the publishing firm Chess Stars, KILL KID 1 is a very personal effort by IM Semkov who is a longtime advocate of combating the KID with the Four Pawns Attack. When I first saw this book advertised I was very curious what lines Semkov would suggest.
Would he go for sidelines lines like 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.f4 0-0 6.Nf3 c5 7.dxc5or 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.f4 0-0 6.Nf3 c5 7.d5 e6 8.dxe6, both championed by GM Glenn Flear in the recently released DANGEROUS WEAPONS: THE KING’S INDIAN or would he have an improvement in the main line1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 c5 3.d5 g6 4.Nc3 Bg7 5.e4 d6 6.f4 O-O 7.Nf3 e6 8.Be2 exd5 9.cxd5 Re8 10.e5 dxe5 11.fxe5 Ng4 12.Bg5 Qb6. It was this variation that caused many Four Pawns aficionados to reluctantly drop the line from their repertoire. Maybe they will reassess this decision when they see what Semkov recommends, a line not examined in either THE FEARSOME FOUR PAWNS ATTACK (2005) by Konikowski and Soszynski or BEATING THE KING’S INDIAN and BENONI (1997) by Vaiser.
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 c5 3.d5 g6 4.Nc3 Bg7 5.e4 d6 6.f4 O-O 7.Nf3 e6 8.Be2 exd5 9.cxd5 Re8 10.e5 dxe5 11.fxe5 Ng4 12.e6! (Semkov) 12…fxe6 13.d6 is the idea behind this book. A quick search of Mega 2009 shows that this sequence is not unknown – it dates back to at least Udovic-Langeweg, Amsterdam 1963, but it is definitely rare with only thirty games in the database. German IM Michaelsen and Slovak master Kantorek are the only players to try the line repeatedly over the board with GM Arencibia the only 2500+ player to give it an outing.
Semkov, who retired from active play in the early 1990s with two GM norms and a peak FIDE rating of 2480, was still playing 12.Bg5 when he stopped playing over the board. Since then, analyzing and playing online, he has been a convert to 12.e6 fxe6 13.d6 and devotes 15 pages of analysis to the dynamic and unbalanced positions that arise – lines he feels computer programs like Fritz and Rybka often have a hard time assessing accurately. It is definitely full of poison. For example one line goes 13…Nc6 14.0-0 Nd4 15.Ne4 and now if 15…b6? White has the pretty winning line 16.Bg5 Qd7 17.Nxd4 Bxd4+ 18.Qxd4!! cxd4 19.Bxg4 Qa4 20.b3.
KILL KID 1 covers much more than just this topical line of the KID. The book breaks down as follows:
Part 3 5.f4 c5 6.d5 0-0 7.Nf3 Rare Lines without 7...e6
Part 4 5.f4 0-0 6.Nf3 Lines without 6...c5
Modern Defence and Other Rare Move Orders
Part 5 1.d4 g6 2.e4 Bg7 3.c4
Part 6 1.d4 g6 2.e4 Bg7 3.c4 d6 4.Nc3 Nd7 5.Nf3
Part 7 1.d4 Kf6 2.c4 d6 3.Nc3 Lines without ...g6
KILL KID 1 shares common ground with DANGEROUS WEAPONS: THE KING’S INDIAN in its examination of 1.d4 Kf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.f4 0-0 6.Nf3 e5 and 6…Na6.
Those who rely only on KILL KID 1 will find its coverage of the newly popular 6…e5 wanting. Semkov gives only the line 6…e5?! (Semkov) 7.dxe5! (Semkov) dxe5 8.Qxd8 Rxd8 9.Nxe5 and Black has not enough compensation: 9…Na6 10.Be3 Re8 11.Be2 Nxe4 12.Nxe4 f6 13.Nxf6+ with a slight advantage. IM Richard Palliser, in his 16 pages on 6…e5, gives 7.dxe5 dxe5 8.Qxd8 Rxd8 9.Nxe5 Nxe4! with plenty of supporting analysis to suggest Black is doing just fine. The two authors are of distinctly different minds on how White should meet 6…Na6, with Palliser concentrating on 7.e5 and Semkov on 7.Bd3. The latter frowns on 7.e5 Nd7 8.c5, a line he made up over the board against GM Hebden, but Palliser’s idea is quite different – to meet 7...Nd7 with either his main line of 8.Be2 or the direct 8.h4!?
KILL KID 1 has very good coverage on 1.d4 Kf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.f4 c5 6.d5 0-0 7.Nf3 e6 8.Be2 exd5 9.cxd5 Bg4, a line often favored by those wishing to avoid a debate on the main lines of the Four Pawns Attack. Semkov uses the Chess Stars format of introducing the material in three stages. First is a fast overview (“quick repertoire”), then a closer examination of the material (“step by step”) and finally well-annotated games with plenty of explanatory prose. This approach is definitely a help in orienting oneself in a line that is as theoretical as the Four Pawns Attack.
Those who play the Four Pawns Attack already or thinking of taking it up will want this book. It offers an energetic way to combat one of Black’s most aggressive answers to 1.d4 but keep in mind that the author’s attempt to revitalize the main lines has still not been tested in games between high level GMs. Only time will tell if it has lasting value.
Click to buy (or get more information about): KILL K.I.D
