THE SAMISCH KING'S INDIAN UNCOVERED
Authors: Cherniaev and Prokuronov
Everyman Chess (2007)
175 pages
$22.95

Reviewed by Jeremy Silman

The Samisch (1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.f3) is the line I always wanted to play against the KID. It's solid and allows White to seek active play on either side of the board. However, the problem with this delicious looking system is that after 5…0-0 6.Be3 Black discovered 6…c5!, a pawn sacrifice that has single-handedly taken the bite out 5.f3. Thus, when looking into a book on the Samisch the first thing one has to do is to see if any new discoveries have been made pertaining to the positions after:

1) 7.dxc5, accepting the pawn.
2) 7.d5, heading into a sharp Benoni.
3) 6.Bg5 or 6.Nge2, trying to improve on the aforementioned Benoni formation by placing the minor pieces on more aggressive squares.

Back in 2004, Chris Ward wrote a book on the Samisch that showed his love for white's cause. He used many of his own games and shared his own ups and downs, and it made for an elucidating and fun read. In Ward's book, he mentions 7.dxc5 dxc5 8.Bxc5 (instead of the usual 8.Qxd8, which doesn't offer White anything) 8…Nc6 9.Qa4 which gave the Samisch enthusiast at least some hope of achieving something from the opening. Naturally, I was very curious to see how this line fared a couple years later, and was extremely disappointed to see that THE SAMISCH KING'S INDIAN UNCOVERED more or less chucked it in the garbage with the following: "8.Bxc5 doesn't make too much sense because the presence of queens only helps Black to exploit his superior development: for example, 8…Qc7 9.Be3 Rd8 10.Qc2 Na6 11.a3 Be6 12.Nb5! Qa5+! 13.Qc3 Qxc3+ 14.Nxc3 Nd7 15.Rc1 Ndc5 16.Rd1 Bxc3+ 17.bxc3 Na4 gives Black thematic and easy play against the wrecked white queenside."

Okay, I'm not up on the latest in this line, and that's the WHOLE POINT! I expect this book to tell me where 8…Qc7 (which was only played twice in my database by two sets of low rated players) came from and why 8…Nc6 (played 60 times in my database!) is ignored. But no, I felt that I was given a rather gruff smack down instead.

THE SAMISCH KING'S INDIAN UNCOVERED tackles 7.d5 in some depth and ultimately doesn't think White gets much from it. I won't challenge this since it's always been my view that the position is okay for Black.

Of more interest is the fascinating line 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.f3 0-0 6.Nge2 c5 7.d5 e6 8.Ng3 exd5 9.cxd5 Nh5!? 10.Nxh5 gxh5 11.Bf4 (both books give 11.Bd3, but Ward's coverage is far better) 11…f5 12.Qd2 Qf6 13.Bg5. Here Cherniaev and Prokuronov surprised me with the very interesting 13.e5!? (13.Bg5 seems to be a bit better for White) 13…dxe5 14.Bg5 Qf7 15.Be2 Nd7 16.0-0 Ngf6 17.b3 Rd8 18.Bc4 a6 19.a4 "with decent play for the pawn." 13.e5 isn't mentioned by Ward, and the analysis given by Cherniaev and Prokuronov isn't given an attribution, which leads me to believe it's their own -- one always has to like authors that offer original analysis, but is it original? I do have some issues with this analysis and think that White might be able to improve, but this is always the case with any new line.

Next up, the hyper-aggressive Panno Variation: 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.f3 0-0 6.Nge2 Nc6 7.Be3 a6 8.Qd2 Rb8 9.Nc1 e5 10.d5 Nd4 and here White has 11.N1e2 (Ward's coverage is instructive and fun, but both books have very different views of the position after 11…Nxe2 12.Bxe2) and 11.Nb3. Of course, both moves transpose after 11.Nb3/11.N1e2 c5 12.dxc6 bxc6 13.Nxd4 exd4 14.Bxd4 Re8 15.Be2 d5 16.cxd5 Rb4 17.Bc5 Nxe4 18.fxe4 Bxc3 19.Qxc3 Rbxe4 20.0-0 Rxe2 21.dxc6 Qg5 and here the author's say, "We believe that White can improve with 22.Rf2!, intending to force a desirable exchange after 22…h5 23.Raf1 h4 24.Bf8!."

Ward mentions 22.Rf2 back in 2004, though continues with 22…Bh3 23.Bf8!! Qe5 24.Rxe2 Qxc3 25.bxc3 Rxe2 26.gxh3 Kxf8 27.c7 Re8 28.Rb1 "and the c-pawn will promote." In other words, the "improvement" by Cherniaev and Prokuronov isn't new at all; it's known theory from 2004.

And this leads us to something that isn't always given the respect it deserves: the bibliography. Ward used a lot of his own games and analysis in the book because he played the Samisch for years, but he also mentioned Chess Informants 1-89, NCO, The Samisch King's Indian by Gallagher, King's Indian: Sanisch Variation by Langeweg, ECO volumes A and E, Megabase 2004, Mega Corr 3, The Week in Chess, ChessPublishing.com. In other words, he bolstered his own considerable experience with all the important sources available at that time. When writing an opening book nowadays, you simply MUST do this.

Cherniaev and Prokuronov's bibliography is quite a different animal: King's Indian Defence: 4.e4 by Geller (1980), Play the King's Indian by Gallagher (2004), Secrets of the King's Indian by Gufeld and Schiller (2000), The Samisch King's Indian by Gallagher (1995), and Understanding the King's Indian by Golubev (2005). No informants? No NIC annuals? No databases? No ChessPublishing.com (a key source for anyone writing about an opening)?  No The Controversial Samisch King's Indian by Ward (2004)?

The art of writing an opening book has changed drastically since my time. You MUST use databases and Informants and ChessPublishing.com if you intend to do a thorough job. But the authors of THE SAMISCH KING'S INDIAN UNCOVERED brazenly tell us they didn't, and then expect us to trust their work. To be blunt, I wouldn't trust Kasparov if he didn't use all available sources, so why would I trust Mr.Cherniaev and Mr.Prokuronov?

THE SAMISCH KING'S INDIAN UNCOVERED gets a thumb's down from me because Ward's book is better written, fun to read, was done by an expert of the line, is bigger, cheaper (in fact, if you look below you'll find an obscene price reduction), and due to the Samisch's recent lack of popularity, not dated enough to justify anyone writing a new book on the subject. I'm also more than a bit horrified that they didn't use any key sources. Moreover, I should add that the lack of lots of instructive and fun prose makes the book unsuitable for non-masters, while the lack of in-depth research makes it unsuitable for stronger players.

I think I made it clear that I really enjoyed Ward's THE CONTROVERSIAL SAMISCH KING'S INDIAN, and my view will be verified in very positive reviews by Donaldson and Randy Bauer. As for THE SAMISCH KING'S INDIAN UNCOVERED, if you live for the Samisch or the black side of the KID (and many players do!) and try to get all books on this opening, then you might consider getting it. Otherwise, take a pass and scoop up Ward's excellent book (at a giveaway price that can't last) as fast as you can.

Click to buy (or get more information about) THE SAMISCH KING'S INDIAN UNCOVERED

Click to buy (or get more information about) THE CONTROVERSIAL SAMISCH KING'S INDIAN This fantastic book is selling right now for the mind-boggling price of $7.50! Don't miss out.

Other excellent KID books:

UNDERSTANDING THE KING'S INDIAN by Golubev ($26.50)

PLAY THE KING'S INDIAN by Gallagher ($19.95)

KING'S INDIAN and GRUNFELD: FIANCHETTO LINES by Janjgava ($19.99)

STARTING OUT: THE KING'S INDIAN by Gallagher ($16.95)

EASY GUIDE TO THE Nge2 KING'S INDIAN by Forintos & Haag ($10.00!)

OFFBEAT KING'S INDIAN by Panczyk and IIczuk ($19.95)