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The World voted for the most flexible move 6...Nf6 and Garry has chosen to castle (7. 0-0) which is the most accurate continuation. In the vast majority of master games, both sides castle. This is an extremely effective move: with one stroke White removes his King from the centre of the board (where, believe me, we are going to see some action) to the side of the board behind the cover of three pawns. The King is the most important piece on the board but at the same time it has very little power (a bit like the British monarch?). The King only comes into its own once a great many pieces have been exchanged - in the ending. The other great benefit of castling is that the rook, stuck in the corner of the board, now emerges into the middle of the board. All that with just one move.

Leaving the King in the middle of the board can be fatal, particularly against a player of Kasparov's calibre. I have just witnessed here in Germany how he demolished the World No. 3 player, Vladimir Kramnik, with a devastating attack. Kramnik tarried too long with his king in the centre and paid the price. Let me tell you, it was UGLY. Therefore, over the next few moves castling MUST be the aim of the World team.

To castle Black must first bring out the Bishop on f8. There are two ways of doing this: either 7...g6; or 7...e6. followed by a Bishop move and castling on the Kingside. Objectively it is impossible to say which continuation is better. The most important thing is to get the King castled.

By the way, I would not recommend Queenside castling. On that side of the board the King would be too exposed. World, it's your choice.

g6 to Kasparov's O-O

It's a pity that The World didn't want to play my suggestion on the last move 6...Ne5! Now the game is going to develop quietly - but I'm still going to try to liven things up with my next move - 7...g6. I like to bring my Bishop out to g7 onto the long diagonal because the game gets trickier. I do this in other openings, so it suits my style to try it here too.

So, World, isn't it about time you picked one of my moves?

g6 to Kasparov's O-O

Kasparov choose this line because he wants to play a positional and simple game. We need to get our Bishop onto g7 to control the long diagonal. Others may want to move e6 (pawn to e6) and have our pawns in the center, but I'm playing modern, which is a comparable strategy.

Ne5 to Kasparov's O-O

Kasparov chose the best continuation with 7. 0-0 8. d4 cxd4 9. Nxd4 Qg4! - equality. Now two moves are equivalent for The World: 7...g6 and 7...Ne5. I recommend Ne5 (Knight to e5) which should lead The World to a solid position.

g6 to Kasparov's O-O

Despite the subtle strategic differences between the move orders 6...g6 and 6...Nf6 7.0-0 g6, I still prefer to steer the game into a Dragon formation for Black. Nevertheless, it is useful to examine the differences between 6...g6, and 6...Nf6 7.0-0 g6.

After 7...g6, Black must be prepared to enter the complicated middlegame resulting from 8.d4 cxd4 9.Nxd4 Bg7 10.Nc2! (or 10.Nde2). Note that White would not have this very interesting and effective redeployment of his knight to c2 in the line 6...g6 7.d4 cxd4 8.Nxd4 Bg7 as 9.Nc2?! would allow 9...Bxc3+ crippling White's pawn structure (DOUBLED ISOLATED c-PAWNS). In this variation, White would more likely have continued with the natural 9.Be3 Nf6 (here this development serves a real point as 10.0-0 is prevented because of the response 10...Ng4). Therefore White would continue 10.f3 (another point in this line is that White must expend another pawn move with f2-f3 - a valuable TEMPO - in order to complete his development) 10...0-0, and Black has a comfortable position as he has quickly and safely developed.

Therefore, the move order 6...Nf6 7.0-0 g6, by virtue of being less aggressive and forcing than 6...g6 allows White more FLEXIBILITY and FREEDOM OF CHOICE in the ultimate disposition of his forces. Ironically, it is a pawn move (6...g6) which contributes to faster development for Black than a piece move (6...Nf6). Returning to the current critical line 7...g6 8.d4 cxd4 9.Nxd4 Bg7 10.Nc2! Black will bring his king to safety with 10...0-0, before commencing active operations.

Of course 7...g6 is not the only option available to Black. Black can also make a defensive stance with 7...e6, creating the "little center" with pawns on e6 and d6, with a development scheme of Bf8-e7, followed by 0-0. For example, after 7...e6, play may proceed with 8.d4 cxd4 9.Nxd4 Be7, when White has two primary plans - continuing development with Bc1-e3, or with b2-b3, followed by Bc1-b2. This course for Black, although playable, is inherently more passive than the FIANCHETTO system (7...g6) that I am recommending. Black will need to maneuver patiently to engineer the pawn breaks b7-b5 and/or d6-d5 in order to combat White's SPACE ADVANTAGE. This type of pawn structure for Black (pawns on d6 and e6) requires careful and studious handling if Black is to avoid being suffocated by White's space advantage.

Therefore, the choice between 7...e6 and 7...g6 at this juncture is somewhat a matter of taste.

I have received many e-mails from my World Team colleagues regarding some of the terminology used in my analysis posts and posts to the World Team Strategy Bulletin Board. I would like to refer you to the following free resource (The SmartChess Glossary - an alphabetized listing of chess terms and jargon) located at my web site:

/SmartChessOnline/Smartchessguide/gloss.htm