How To Play The Opening Like Hikaru

Would you like to play the opening like GM Hikaru Nakamura?

Here's the short answer to that question. 

For the long answer, continue reading!

In this post, I'll share with you some games by played by Hikaru with his most effective system with Black in blitz, 1...g6 (with which he's scored 83%+, mostly playing against other strong Grandmasters). 

One of the immediate advantages of playing 1...g6 vs. almost everything is that we reach the same types of positions each game, giving us the advantage of being more familiar with the positions than our opponents. 

At the same time, when we give the center to our opponents, we should know how to effectively challenge it.

The game below shows some of the dangers of playing creatively just for the sake of it:

The Catalan is often an annoying setup for players of all levels to deal with, because it's so solid and makes it hard for Black to attack White's king successfully. The 'Nakamura Variation' solves that problem, although Nakamura mixed up the move order in his first attempt:

Another big advantage of 1...g6 is that it is very hard for White to force a draw or to otherwise set up a position where Black has no winning chances. The game below is a clear demonstration against White's most solid answer, the Geller System:

Another positive of the Modern Defence (as 1...g6 is called) is that it's quite flexible, meaning that most of White's attempts to attack early are likely to backfire. The game below (also in the Nakamura Variation) is a good example, where White plays Qb3 and Ng5 early, only to find this wasted time:

The next game shows how the Modern can transpose back to the King's Indian if Black plays ...Nf6:

One of the nice practical advantages of the 1...g6 move order is that it makes d4 sidelines such as the London, Torre and Colle very ineffective. The next game is a prime example of the benefits of delaying or even avoiding ...Nf6:

The next game demonstrates that Nakamura's Anti-Catalan approach also works if White tries to do without c4:

The next game transposes back to a King's Indian, but illustrates a useful strategic theme in the Modern - when White plays c4 and dxe5, the d4-square often becomes a hole that Black can jump a knight to: