Perhaps the best-known is the King's Indian Attack, which frequently sees the moves Nf3, g3, Bg2, 0-0, d3, Nbd2 and e4, although not necessarily in that order.
Naturally the opening is named because of its strong resemblance to the King's Indian Defence, in which Black often plays ...Nf6, ...g6, ...Bg7, ...0-0, ...d6 and, eventually, ...e5.
That is all fairly straightforward, but it can be argued that after the popular sequence 1.c4 e5 White is playing not just an English, but also a Reversed Sicilian with an extra tempo.
Similarly, grandmaster Nigel Davies, on his ChessBase DVD The Closed Sicilian, points out that after 1.c4 e5 2.Nc3 Nc6 Black is effectively playing the white side of a Closed Sicilian, but with a tempo less.
He argues that while a tempo in such positions affects the specifics of what each side can play, it is not hugely important, and so the same general principles apply as in the Closed Sicilian proper.
However there are other reversed openings in which a tempo makes a significant difference.
In my round-two game at the Riviera afternoon opening, the full score of which can be seen here, I played a Reversed Grünfeld.
After 1.Nf3 d5 2.g3 Nf6 3.Bg2 c5 4.0-0 Nc6 5.d4 cxd4 6.Nxd4 e5!? 7.Nxc6 bxc6 8.c4 Be6 9.Nc3, the following position was reached.
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| Black has what, at first glance, might seem a strong centre, but it is under intense pressure |
Black's most-popular continuation in Mega23 is 9...Qd7, after which White's success rate rises to 75%.
The latest theory, as I understand it, is that Black is doing OK, if not completely equal, after both 9...Qd7 and 9...Rc8, the idea in both cases being to sacrifice the d pawn for activity.
Indeed after 9...Rc8 White's score falls to 51%, which is a little hard to explain as the two lines can easily transpose.
I played 9...h6, and after 10.Qa4 found myself on the back foot for more-or-less the whole game.
LESSON: taking on a known opening-setup a tempo down can be fraught with danger, especially when the setup involves the second player grabbing the lion's share of the centre.
In Fischer's day, the exchange lines with Nf3 were considered dubious because of the pressure Black could exert on d4. Later they found ways for White to play the position.
ReplyDeleteAs the game demonstrates I think it's one of the more dubious lines for Black pretending to be White.
However I think a mainstream Kinds Indian Reversed by say 1. Nf3 d5 2. g3 c5 3. Bg2 Nc6 4. 0-0 e5 requires accuracy to avoid drifting into a poor Kings Indian.
RdC
"One of the more dubious"
ReplyDeleteI suspect it may be the MOST dubious - at least I can't think of a dodgier reversed opening!