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In the last two episodes of this show we looked ideas in the King's Indian Defense. Many people like this opening because you can play it against 1.d4, 1.c4 and 1.Nf3. The King's Indian is an important opening and it is good to study its typical patterns.
Hikaru Nakamura likes to play the King's Indian with Black and he won many fine games with it. And when I followed the game Wesley So vs Hikaru Nakamura, Sinquefield Cup 2015, live, I was surprised again and again by his bold and imaginative play.
Games between the top American players So and Nakamura are always something to look forward to, but this game was really special. So was well prepared but in a theoretical line he suddenly had to solve a number of unexpected problems, and a few moves later his kingside was shattered by one piece sacrifice after the other.
When I had a closer look at the game afterwards, it seemed to be even more beautiful. Hikaru initiated a good old king hunt which he crowned with a fine mate.
In the position below Black played 29...Be3 which kept the attack going. But when I started to analyze the alternative 1...h3+ I stumbled upon an incredible checkmate. After the forced move 2.Kxh3, Black can play the incredible 2...Rf2!! Do you see why White here cannot replay with 3.Bxf2 Qxf2! 4.Nxf2? It's a nice visualisation exercise!
This week’s show (for Premium Members only)
