King's Indian Defence, Sämisch Variation
The Sämisch Variation of the King's Indian Defence is a chess opening that begins with the moves: 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. f3 The Sämisch is a subtle blockading system and a critical challenge to the King's Indian. It is named after the German grandmaster Friedrich Sämisch. The Sämisch has been played by numerous grandmasters, including world champions Mikhail Botvinnik, Mikhail Tal, Tigran Petrosian, Boris Spassky, Anatoly Karpov, and Garry Kasparov. Bobby Fischer had trouble against the Sämisch. Mednis' How to Beat Bobby Fischer showed that five of Fischer's losses were against the Sämisch King's Indian, and remarked that Fischer eventually avoided the King's Indian if he believed he would face the Sämisch; however, Fischer faced the Sämisch five times against Spassky in their 1992 rematch—winning two, drawing two, and losing one. In the Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings, the Sämisch Variation is covered in chapters E80 to E89. Strategic ideas By playing 5.f3, White postpones the of the pieces in order to solidify the . The pawn on f3 also prevents Black from using the g4-square, while potentially setting up g4–g5 or h4 and kingside play for White. Compared to the classical King's Indian lines where White plays Nf3, the Sämisch allows relatively little counterplay for Black on the kingside and grants chances for a kingside initiative. The classical plan for White is to castle queenside and attack on the kingside by advancing the g- and h-pawns. The Sämisch has therefore been noted as a good line for aggressive attacking players. A drawback to White's plan is that the pawn on f3 deprives the g1-knight of its most natural square, a point summarised by Eduard Gufeld: "Ask the king's knight what it thinks of 5.f3." (Gufeld's favourite victory was a win with black over Vladimir Bagirov against the Sämisch.) The strategic nature of the battle in the centre is largely up to Black, who can challenge the centre with the pawn advances ...c5 or ...e5, then White needs to decide whether to close the centre with d4–d5, or let it remain fluid. Instead of challenging the centre with a pawn, Black can also pursue an early initiative on the queenside and aim for ...b7–b5. Main variations The resulting middlegame is largely determined by how Black decides to counteract in the centre. The traditional break is to play ...e7–e5, but the alternative pawn break, ...c7–c5, even as a sacrifice has received more attention recently. After 5.f3, the main continuation is 5...0-0 6.Be3, although the popularity of the Sämisch Gambit (6...c5) has led many White players to explore 6.Nge2 and 6.Bg5 instead. After 6.Be3, Black has a wide choice of lines. Black plays 6...e5 The classical reply to the Sämisch is to counter in the centre with 6...e5. This does lock in Black's fianchettoed bishop on g7, and Black may need to work out plans to activate this piece in the middlegame; however, if the bishop somehow is released, it may become very powerful.