Daniel King’s Power Play Show: The great Yuri Averbakh

by Daniel King
6/10/2022 – In his “Power Play Show” Daniel King focuses on one of Yuri Averbakh’s biggest contributions to chess theory: the King’s Indian Defence system he developed and pioneered in the 1950s. Still one of the most reliable setups up to this day! | Power Play is on air most Fridays. Watch it on-demand with a ChessBase Premium account. All the usual puzzles, games and instruction will be on offer.
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The Averbakh variation in the KID

Yuri Averbakh died on May 7, aged 100 years. His contribution to the world of chess cannot be underestimated. He was a distinguished player (twice Soviet Champion), trainer, opening theoretician, endgame expert, study composer, arbiter, chess politician, journalist — and I have probably missed something.

I am focusing on the Averbakh variation of the King’s Indian, the system that he developed and pioneered in the 1950s. His work was ground-breaking, and it remains one of the most reliable set-ups against the King’s Indian.

Warm-up questions: How did Averbakh begin his grand strategy?

 
Averbakh vs. Panno - Buenos Aires (1954)

And in the next position, what long-term strategy did Averbakh employ?

 
Averbakh vs. Zaitsev - Moscow (1970)

Can you devise a strategy for White?

 
Averbakh vs. Boleslavsky - Gagra (1953)

Averbakh was also a great study composer. White to play and win

 
Yuri Averbakh (1984)
White to play and win

Glorious sacrifices, unexpected tactics and checkmating attacks. The King's Gambit is one of the oldest and most romantic openings in the game of chess. These DVDs contain all you need to know to play the King's Gambit.

This week’s show

Previous shows

You’ll find older broadcasts in the Power Play category. To watch these you’ll need a ChessBase Premium Account.

Daniel King is the prolific author of the Power Play series which numbers 28 volumes to date.  The Tactic Turbo for the King’s Gambit is the subject of his most recent DVD.

Here’s a teaser:

Daniel King presents 50 puzzle positions in video format, all arising from the King's Gambit. They feature typical tactics from the opening, so this is a great way of becoming familiar with the tricks and traps that you can set your opponent.

Links

Daniel King is a regular on playchess.com. Commentating on live events such as the World Championship or analysing themes for his monthly Power Play Show. He also produces a DVD series called Power Play for ChessBase in the Fritztrainer format.
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