Preparations of an amateur II: King's Indian (3. Nf3)
After going wrong in an OTB, I need to look at this opening for Black. This is my documentation, to make it easier to refresh my memory for later.
In a game this week I made it very hard for myself by committing a huge error as early as move 4. A few moves later I did not pay attention (I played Hope Chess in the terms of the great Dan Heisman), and found myself in a basically lost position.
In this position, I chose the wrong move:
What should Black play here? Clearly, 4...0-0 is a possibility. This is also the most used reply, with ok stats for Black, according to database.chessbase.com (52-48 in favour of White).
Alternatives could be 4...d5, which is about as good (53-47) and almost as much used. I fell into my old negative ways, though - as I did not want to exchange a centre pawn in case of 5. cxd5 Nxd5.
A third option is 4...d6, which I briefly considered; this is a preparation for e5 I believe, though I felt it was a bit passive (stats 56-44).
I also thought briefly about 4...c5!?, which gives White the chance to gain a pawn - albeit probably temporarily, and which is fairly aggressive (and hence the move I should have played). The fourth most used, but far less than the three previous options, and pretty normal stats (55-45).
In the database, the only other move with ok stats for Black is 4...b6, but if White replies 5. e4 stats are overwhelming for White.
I had a typical mental glitch here, playing 4...e6?. Of course, I should never play BOTH g6 and e6 in the opening. Also, I now know that the stats are great for White (72-28); the only exception being the passive reply 5. e3 from White.
So - my two options in the future should be 4...0-0 or 4...c5!?.
4...0-0 may go like this:
4...c5!? may go like this:
So, as I need to be more active in my play, I will definitely go for 4...c5 hereafter. Hopefully, it will bring better play!
