White is ready to bring her center in motion, thus opening room for her bishop pair. That is not a scenario her opponent can allow, and Kosteniuk is looking for a blockade with the next move, a novelty:
1. g1f3  1... d7d5  2. d2d4  2... g8f6  3. c2c4  3... e7e6  4. b1c3  4... f8b4 Kosteniuk has played the Ragozin Defense four times in the last two years, and its occurrence might have been a mild surprise for Batsiashvili. 5. d1a4 A relative side-move. Kosteniuk had never faced it before. And Batsiashvili had never opted for it either! 5... b8c6  6. a2a3  6... b4c3  7. b2c3  7... h7h6  8. e2e3  8... c8d7 