Chess Opening Theory/1. d4/1...Nf6/2. c4/2...g6/3. h4

Basman-Williams attack Indian defence → King's Indian E60 3. h4 · Basman-Williams attack White expands on the king's side with a surprising flank-pawn push. By postponing playing Nc3, this is in one sense an anti-Grünfeld line. After 3...d5?! 6. cxd5 Nxd5 7. e4, Black doesn't have the tempo-saving trade of ...Nxc3. In addition, the threat of advancing the h-pawn can keep Black's knight tied down to the king's side where it can control h5. After 3...Bg7 4. Nc3 d5?! 5. h5 Nxh5 6. cxd5 c6 7. e4 cxd5 8. e5!, White threatens g4 to trap the knight and Black must play the awkward 8...Bf8 to make an escape square for it. History This position was first reached by Michael Basman, a grandmaster known for his inventive, offbeat lines, in 1980 via the move order 1. c4 g6 2. h4 Nf6 3. d4.Basman v Grinber, 1980. Chessgames.com In the 2000s, Grandmaster Simon Williams adopted this line.Simon Williams - An Anti-Grünfeld idea with 3.h4. ChessBaseProducts. (Youtube) The idea became more mainstream following the 2017 match between engines AlphaZero and Stockfish, where AlphaZero surprised commentators by playing with early h-pawn pushes.The H-Pawn Revolution: How AlphaZero Changed Chess Forever https://novachess.ai/articles/h_pawn_revolution_article.html 2026-08-01 2026-08-14 NovaChess Theory table References See also The Basman-Williams Attack Hansen Carsten CarstenChess 2022 Bayonne, NJ