TheRobertsson wrote on 09/01/08 at 10:33:36:


Well, the main line of the Four Pawns somehow wound up classified as a Modern Benoni in the ECO schema, which was a little weird.  You can call it a Benoni if you like, but there is no information added by saying that it "just transposes."  Black's game is not so easy in the critical variation 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.f4 0-0 6.Nf3 c5 7.d4 e6 8.Be2 exd5 9.cxd5 Re8 10.e5.  The Modern Benoni move order would be 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 c5 3.d5 e6 4.Nc3 exd5 5.cxd5 d6 6.e4 g6 7.f4 Bg7 8.Nf3 0-0 9.Be2 Re8 10.e5.  But most Whites (including me) would sooner play Taimanov's 8.Bb5+.

Most Blacks these days prefer to avoid this line with 9...Bg4 (or, in the KID move order, 6...Na6).

I agree.  The Averbach is generally underrated.  

Margeir Petursson wrote a monograph on it some years ago.  I haven't looked at it in a while, but I bet it would still be useful.  

notyetagm wrote on 08/18/08 at 19:46:28:


The Fianchetto, the Saemisch and the Classical.  The Averbakh and some others can be considered as associated with the last one.  That's the taxonomy of (Croatian GM) Drazen Marovic, in any case.

Personally I think the 4 Pawns Attack is a good try for advantage against the KID.  Most KID repertoire books pooh-pooh it, but I don't think its a piece of cake for Black in any variation if White plays well.  I will agree that with best play, it's probably not as likely to yield a win as the classical system is.  But best play rarely emerges below 2300, at least not if my own play is any indication.

I think the 4-pawns is playable all the way up to the top. I don't think White gets an edge, but I have never seen a line where he's proven to be worse. Not to mention, practically it's very dangerous. I love this line for White!