GM Baadur Jobava and GM Andrea Stella continue their King's Indian Defense series for Black with a complete repertoire against the Makogonov 5.h3 — the flexible system Carlsen, Caruana, and Giri reach for when they want to squeeze without overextending. Across 11 chapters, the course offers clear structural plans for every White setup, with several rare lines that take Black off the database by move eight.
Sequence: King's Indian Defense According to Jobava »
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4h and 44min PGN Download Memory Booster Interactive Tests Video Content
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When Garry Kasparov dominated the chess world with the King's Indian Defense, the Saemisch Variation wasn't just another sideline—it was the system that repeatedly tested his intuition under concrete pressure. White's central clamp with f3 and e4 creates a position where Black cannot simply rely on standard patterns.
With over 100,000 games in the database, 5.f3 stands as the second most popular response to the King's Indian—and one of the most challenging to face. Unlike other King's Indian lines, Black rarely gets the typical kingside attack. The game takes a completely different strategic direction.
This is precisely why GM Baadur Jobava and GM Andrea Stella built their second course around a clear principle: in the Saemisch, Black needs a structured system that transforms White's space advantage from a strength into a static weakness.
Sequence: King's Indian Defense According to Jobava »
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3h and 34min PGN Download Memory Booster Interactive Tests Video Content
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The King's Indian has always been a fighting choice — Black accepts a space deficit and bets on the counterattack. Most repertoires in this opening follow that logic from move one. This one reorders the priorities.
The main weapon of this course is 5...Bg4!? after 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.Nf3 — the tenth most popular reply at this point, guaranteeing practical surprise value even at the highest levels.
The idea is precise: Black pins the knight, delays castling, and after 6.Be2 Bxf3 7.Bxf3 e5 8.d5 plays 8...h5!? — keeping the rook on h8 to support ...Bh6. The target is the dark-squared bishop exchange, leaving White with a passive piece on f3 and Black with a structural concept that is easy to understand and difficult to neutralize.
Sequence: King's Indian Defense According to Jobava »
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4h and 33min PGN Download Memory Booster Interactive Tests Video Content
Multilingual Database: