Answers.Body: <p>I think I found the &quot;refutation&quot; to this setup:</p>
  <pre><code>[FEN &quot;&quot;]
  1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. g3 Bg7 4. Bg2 O-O 5. Nc3 d6 6. Nf3 Nc6 7. O-O e5 8. d5 Ne7 9. e4 Nd7 10. Ne1 f5 11. Nd3 Nf6 12. Bg5 h6 13. Bxf6 Bxf6 14. f4
  </code></pre>
  <p>I'm no master, but it seems to me like Black's attack has been completely stopped on the kingside because White has managed to blockade e4/f4, while White still has potential for launching a queenside attack. Nearly all of the master games from this position are either White wins or draws.</p>
  <p>On the flipside, I did notice that <code>8...Nb8</code> scores much better for Black after <code>8.d5</code>, but if White plays <code>9.c5</code> after that then the winning chances again seem to favor White.</p>
  <p><strong>edit:</strong> Indeed, the <code>8...Nb8</code> line is featured on FM Kamil Plichta's Chessable course: <a href="https://www.chessable.com/course/31739/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://www.chessable.com/course/31739/</a></p>
  
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2021-08-05T13:00:08.303Z
Answers.Text: For many years the line was considered dubious for Black because of this very variation, but lately 8...Nb8 has been a game changer that revived the whole line and White is really struggling to find any advantage against it.
Answers.UserDisplayName: Evargalo
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2021-07-30T23:30:08.820Z
Answers.LastActivityDate: 2021-08-05T10:30:41.060Z
Answers.LastEditDate: 2021-08-05T10:30:41.060Z
Answers.UserDisplayName: James Ko
Body: <p>In the Lichess database, this is the most popular way to play against the Fianchetto Variation of the KID:</p>
  <pre><code>[FEN &quot;&quot;]
  1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.g3 Bg7 4.Bg2 O-O 5.Nc3 d6 6.Nf3 Nc6 7.O-O e5
  </code></pre>
  <p>But at master level, <code>7...a6</code> (the Panno Variation) is by far the most popular move, and playing in traditional KID fashion with <code>7...e5</code> scores horrendously for Black. What's the reason for this?</p>
  
Comments.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Comments.CreationDate: 2021-07-26T13:09:23.167Z
Comments.Text: You may find the answers to this question relevant https://chess.stackexchange.com/questions/35352/strategic-plans-for-black-in-fianchetto-variation-of-kid
Comments.UserDisplayName: Michael West
Comments.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Comments.CreationDate: 2021-07-26T16:56:23.630Z
Comments.Text: They don't cover 7...e5. I'm mainly interested in why 7...e5 seems to be so popular at the amateur level, yet is rarely played by masters / has a high winrate for White in master-level games.
Comments.UserDisplayName: James Ko
Tags: <opening><analysis><kings-indian>
Title: Why don't masters play 7...e5 against the Fianchetto Variation of the King's Indian?
ThreadText: # Why don't masters play 7...e5 against the Fianchetto Variation of the King's Indian?
  
  (Asked by: username_0 on 2021-07-26)
  
  In the Lichess database, this is the most popular way to play against the Fianchetto Variation of the KID:
  
  ```
  [FEN ""]
  1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.g3 Bg7 4.Bg2 O-O 5.Nc3 d6 6.Nf3 Nc6 7.O-O e5
  
  ```
  
  But at master level, `7...a6` (the Panno Variation) is by far the most popular move, and playing in traditional KID fashion with `7...e5` scores horrendously for Black. What's the reason for this?
  
  **Tags:** opening, analysis, kings-indian
  
  > **Comments:**
  > **username_1**: You may find the answers to this question relevant https://chess.stackexchange.com/questions/35352/strategic-plans-for-black-in-fianchetto-variation-of-kid  
  > **username_0**: They don't cover 7...e5. I'm mainly interested in why 7...e5 seems to be so popular at the amateur level, yet is rarely played by masters / has a high winrate for White in master-level games.  
  
  ---
  
  ## 1 answers
  
  ### Answer by username_0 on 2021-07-30. Score: 4 | Accepted answer
  
  I think I found the "refutation" to this setup:
  
  ```
  [FEN ""]
  1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. g3 Bg7 4. Bg2 O-O 5. Nc3 d6 6. Nf3 Nc6 7. O-O e5 8. d5 Ne7 9. e4 Nd7 10. Ne1 f5 11. Nd3 Nf6 12. Bg5 h6 13. Bxf6 Bxf6 14. f4
  
  ```
  
  I'm no master, but it seems to me like Black's attack has been completely stopped on the kingside because White has managed to blockade e4/f4, while White still has potential for launching a queenside attack. Nearly all of the master games from this position are either White wins or draws.
  
  On the flipside, I did notice that `8...Nb8` scores much better for Black after `8.d5`, but if White plays `9.c5` after that then the winning chances again seem to favor White.
  
  **edit:** Indeed, the `8...Nb8` line is featured on FM Kamil Plichta's Chessable course: <https://www.chessable.com/course/31739/>
  
  > **Comments:**
  > **username_2**: For many years the line was considered dubious for Black because of this very variation, but lately 8...Nb8 has been a game changer that revived the whole line and White is really struggling to find any advantage against it.  
  
  ---
  
  