Are You Brave Enough To Play This Attack?
In August, I wrote an article about the King’s Indian and a game played by The Chess.com member IvnKaramazov.
Well, he’s done it again with another exciting KID game. I won’t annotate it since my main focus is going to be the King’s Indian Four Pawns Attack. But I think everyone will enjoy it.
Very Impressive!
But isn’t it strange that White (of every rating, including grandmasters) often gets ripped to shreds like this in the KID? Why is Black the attacker and not White? Well, if you play 1.d4 and find your king going down for the 136th time, perhaps you should give the Four Pawns Attack a try.
The Chess.com member Addu-Chess asked: “Why is the Four Pawns Attack against the King’s Indian no longer dangerous.”
SILMAN: Actually, the Four Pawns Attack is very dangerous, and very interesting, and it takes a lot of study for the Black side to deal with it. And, if both sides know this opening deeply, you’ll often end up with dynamic equality.
Keep in mind that the amateur player (and grandmasters!) will often fall victim to the King’s Indian’s massive attacks against White’s king (as we saw in the IvnKaramazov game!). So why not play a very aggressive line that gives White some fun too?
Long ago the Four Pawns Attack was feared, and one of the main heroes of that opening was the late Arthur Bisguier.
Bisguier at the 1964 U.S. Open in Boston. Photo: Beth Cassidy.
Here’s his victory over a young Bobby Fischer:
Bologan, in his excellent book, Bologan's King's Indian, had this to say about the Four Pawns Attack: “In modern practice, the Four Pawns Attack is met comparatively rarely, but the Black KID player is obliged to know its main ideas and constantly refresh his memory of concrete variations, otherwise against a well-prepared White player he risks not getting out of the opening alive.”
Now imagine a C, B, A, or even a 2000 player making his or her way against this line unscathed. If White knows this opening well, all that’s left of most of those opponents would be a river of blood.
Let’s take a look at this opening:
After 9.cxd5 Black has played 9...Bg4, 9...Nbd7, and 9...Re8.
Here are some games in the the Four Pawns Attack.
6…Na6
6…c5
As you can see, the Four Pawns Attack is extremely sharp and either player can walk away the winner. If you don’t like such chaos, then you should also avoid many other King’s Indian lines (as you saw in IvnKaramazov’s game).
When all is said and done, you have to play openings that you feel good about, openings you can count on and understand.
The Four Pawns Attack isn’t for everyone, but if you have a good memory, tactical skills, and excellent nerves, then this might be the opening for you.
