Kotronias on the King's Indian Mar del Plata I by Vassilios Kotronias

PDF excerpt

The King’s Indian Defence is one of Black’s most dynamic and aggressive responses to 1.d4. A favourite weapon of both Fischer and Kasparov, it remains a popular choice at all levels of play.

In this, the second volume of the Kotronias on the King’s Indian series, grandmaster Vassilios Kotronias turns his attention to the main line of the famous Mar del Plata variation, which arises after the opening moves 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.Nf3 0–0 6.Be2 e5 7.0–0 Nc6 8.d5 Ne7 9.Ne1. This leads to some of the most complicated and theoretically challenging positions in the King’s Indian, but Kotronias provides a world-class repertoire for Black, including a wealth of original ideas and analysis.

As well as providing detailed analysis, the author also shares his considerable knowledge of typical middlegame themes, both positional and tactical. A special selection of test positions is provided, enabling the reader to sharpen his tactical skills and increase his middlegame understanding.

Vassilios Kotronias became Greek Champion for the tenth time in December 2014. He is feared for his profound opening preparation, and is one of the world’s foremost experts on the King’s Indian Defence.

ISBN: 978-1-907982-87-3 - 320 pages - Published 4 February 2015

Reviews

"...well organized and researched two volumes Kotronias on the King's Indian, Mar-del-Plata I and II. The Greek grandmaster provides original analysis and nicely simplifies the complex and risky defense."

GM Lubomir Kavalek, Huffington Post

"I came slowly to the conclusion that Kotronias has actually done a superb job of organizing the material, and that Quality Chess has also done an excellent job of presenting the material. In particular, I felt that the main variations in each chapter very strongly reflected typical logical play for both sides in this variation, and that the large number of diagrams made it easy to follow without needing a board. This made it so much easier to give each variation a place in my head and to extract the typical themes from each line."

GM Matthew Sadler, New in Chess, **** Excellent

"Kotronias is not just seeking half-a-point for his readers, he extols practical options for Black that are both theoretically sound whilst creating problems for the opponent. He pursues insight, often deep into the position, and tries to share it with the reader."

GM Glenn Flear, New in Chess Yearbook

"An excellent reference book on this single variation in the King's Indian."

Dennis Calder (full review in German)