King's Indian Defense: Sämisch Variation

What Is The Sämisch Variation?

5.f3 gives e4 a second defender, and that one move reshapes the whole King's Indian. Black gets no ...Ng4 hitting a bishop on e3, so White completes the ideal formation with Be3, Qd2 and Nge2, then castles queenside. You pay for it with development: the knight is exiled to e2 and White's kingside sits undeveloped for several moves.

Games here are decided by a race: White storms with g4 and h4-h5 against the fianchettoed king, while Black counters with ...c5, or the Panno plan of ...Nc6, ...a6 and ...b5. Treat f3 as an attacking move, not a timid one. Judge each candidate by whether it accelerates your own break, because a tempo spent on safety hands the opponent the initiative.

How Do You Play Against The King's Indian Defense: Sämisch Variation?

80% castle. White has played f3 to support e4 and prepare a kingside pawn storm with g4 and h4, which turns the usual King's Indian race on its head: White is attacking on the side you normally attack on.

When White attacks on the kingside, the answer is to open the centre rather than to race on a wing you have already conceded. ...c5 and ...e5 followed by ...exd4 hit back where White has committed pawns and cannot easily defend. The pawn on f3 also takes the natural square from White's own knight, which is the price of the plan. White scores 51% to 45% over 394 games.

What Do Players Choose At The Decision Point?

Move	Share		Games
Nf3	26%		695
f4	16%		436
f3	15%		400
Be2	11%		302

How Does Play Continue From Here?

Move	Share		Games
O-O	80%		373
Nbd7	5%		23
Nc6	4%		20
c6	4%		18