I considered 9...Na6 as well but I figured that if White chooses not to take on b7, I'd rather have the Knight on d7 than a6 - I figured the Bishop is likely to take on f3 if queried so having d7 free wasn't all that important.

Which response advocated giving up a whole rook?  The point is that you seemed willing to sacrifice material in one variation that you know the theory of, but immediately went passive when you were out of book.  That's something to think about. Did you even consider sacrificing the b7-pawn? If you did, why did you reject it?

fjd wrote on 09/26/17 at 11:48:16:



White never gets in e4-e5 because in the normal line with 9.h3 instead of 9.Qb3, Black plays 9...Bxh3 10.Bxh3 and now the immediate 10...e5!  Then a lot depends on how White replies.  Advancing, Exchanging, leaving the tension, etc.  If he advances, often Black will trade on d5 and move the f-Rook to c8 and play on the Queenside.  One of Black's obvious goals is to get a Knight in on d4.

By the way, I'm curious what the justification for Black's position is after 9 h3 Bxf3 10 Bxf3. I admittedly haven't played either side of the Fianchetto KID in years, but at a cursory glance, this looks like a dream position for White to me - space advantage, Bishop pair, safe King. It also looks like attempts at counterplay via ...c5 can be met with an annoying e4-e5 (xb7), and this is confirmed by clicking through the database.

I'm genuinely curious what you see in Black's position.

FrenchRefutes1e4 wrote on 09/26/17 at 02:56:15:


Your own words were:
FrenchRefutes1e4 wrote on 09/25/17 at 15:42:23:


I didn't quite know what continuation you were talking about, but you did say "Rook sac line," not "combination where you win White's queen," so it sounded to me as though you were prepared to play a true sacrifice against another of White's continuations.   

FrenchRefutes1e4 wrote on 09/26/17 at 02:56:15:


I understand that much, but Black would like it if White at least spends a tempo on 9.h3 before capturing the knight.

Anyhow, I think that it's pretty clear that after 9.Qb3 Bxf3 10.Bxf3 Qc7 11.Be3 White is better.  You have to go back a couple of moves to find Black's mistake, and while perhaps the immediate capture on f3 isn't so bad, there's just no need for it--unless you're worried that after ...Nbd7 (closing the retreat path of the bishop) White can move the f3-knight and chase down the bishop on g4, but in that case the immediate 9...Qc7 would be better than capturing on f3 and then retreating the queen.

Ideally Black shouldn't do any retreating, can we agree on that?  The second move that comes to my mind here is 9...Nbd7 as mn pointed out; the first is actually 9...Na6!? because I'm slightly concerned that the bishop on g4 could be hunted down in the future.  These are the first two moves to analyze.  If you're concerned about saccing a pawn, I would argue that 9...Qb6 is a better way of protecting it, since Black has a minor threat of capturing on b3 with control of the b4-square.  For instance 9...Qb6 10.Be3 Qxb3 11.ab Na6.

Still, I probably wouldn't seriously consider 9...Qb6.  You just played 7...Qa5 and 8...Bg4; if you believe in your scheme of development, you need to continue playing logical, foreword, "get your pieces out quickly" moves and not worry too much about the b7-pawn.  Frankly the move 9.Qb3 is so obvious that you should have the confidence that it doesn't work for White, because if it did, no strong players would use this scheme of development for Black.  That's not to say that White can't hold onto a small edge after 9.Qb3, but you should realize that it's nothing to worry about and go from there.

I still question whether you're thinking too much about precise theory or "playing King's Indian-type moves" (such as ...Bxf3) and not looking at the position afresh and asking, "How can Black best solve his opening problems from here?  What is Black's most logical continuation given his previous moves?"

It's a bit odd to me that in one line you're willing to sacrifice a rook, but that in the game you immediately 1) gave up the bishop pair, and 2) moved your queen again to defend a measly pawn.  And the measly queen's knight's pawn, the one that capturing with a queen often leads to big trouble!

Are you so focused on the particulars of opening theory that you've forgotten some of the basic principles of opening play?

Interesting.  Thanks.  I'll have to look at this.  I've been trying to make 9...Nfd7 work.  I'll have to look at 9...Nbd7.