Bronstein on the King's Indian- Part I (Restrained Set-Up by White)
Leafing through Bronstein's book, "Bronstein on the King's Indian", I found so many games to enjoy!
First of all, let me say this is a super-excellent book, with many examples in different systems and setups of the King's Indian Defense. I recommend this book highly! It is not cheap. Today, in Amazon, the cheapest used version is $55.00; but if you really like chess, this book is a must!
OK, to the games! Bronstein's games have, for me, the taste of a good wine! There is a certain roundness and smoothness to them....I find it hard to put into words. It is a real pleasure to go through the moves of some of his games.
The first game I had posted in a previous blog, with Bronstein's comments. He plays Black against Bondarevsky (who is famously known as Spassky's trainer on his road to the World Championship) and plays in such a way, that it feels effortless! Very, very smooth victory! It was voted the best game of that Championship!
The third game in this blog is a masterpiece....in his time, Chigorin developed, from the White side, the King's Indian Defense, which we now call the King's Indian attack.
In this game, Bronstein adopts an unusual and elastic approach to the centre. With 9.c4 and 10.Nc3 he forces Black to close the centre with 10...d4, thus giving White a launching square in e4. When Black finally castles kingside, Bronstein, sacrificing a pawn, obtains a second launching pad on g4. When Black captures a second pawn with 38.....Rxf5, White gains the tempo he needs to maximize his pieces for the final assault. This game is a Master Class on how to build up an attack, with patience!