Yumi Bauer: Level 40 Chess Rival (1930 ELO)

Bishop tier · Bullet Master · plays the King's Indian Defense

• Level: 40 of 100
• Tier: Bishop
• Rating: 1930 ELO
• Opening: King's Indian Defense
• Style: Bullet Master
• From: Indonesia
• Age: 51
• Plays: Black (you have White)

How Yumi plays

Yumi is a 51-year-old graphic designer from Bandung who fell in love with fast chess and the King's Indian at the same time. She plays on instinct: pieces go to natural squares, ...e5 comes at the right moment, and the kingside attack builds itself. In bullet games those instincts carry her a long way, and they shape how she approaches slower games too.

She is happiest in positions where the right moves are obvious and the plans are familiar: classic KID structures with a locked centre and races on opposite wings. She is less comfortable when the position requires concrete calculation rather than intuition, or when White's setup takes away her natural moves. A position where the obvious move is wrong is her nightmare, and finding those positions is your job.

At 1930 ELO, Yumi rarely gives material away for nothing. She is held to that rating by the engine, so you will see the occasional inaccuracy in quiet positions, but tactics are usually spotted. Games are won by building a better position over many moves and converting it carefully.

King's Indian Defense: the line Yumi plays

Yumi plays the King's Indian Defense: ...Nf6, ...g6, ...Bg7, ...d6 and castling, letting White build a big centre and then striking at it with ...e5. In the main Mar del Plata line the centre closes after d5 and both sides attack on opposite wings, Black with ...f5 on the kingside.

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.Nf3 O-O 6.Be2 e5 7.O-O Nc6 8.d5 Ne7 9.Ne1 Nd7 10.Nd3 f5

• 2...g6: ...g6 prepares the fianchetto. Black lets you take the centre.
• 5...O-O: Castled already: the KID king tucks away before the fight starts.
• 6...e5: ...e5 is the key break, hitting your d4 pawn.
• 10...f5: ...f5 starts the kingside attack. You need to be faster on the queenside.

Learn it move by move: King's Indian Defense walkthrough

How to beat Yumi

1. Try the Sämisch setup with f3, Be3 and Qd2. It takes g4 away from her knight, supports your centre, and prepares a kingside pawn advance with h4 and h5 against her fianchetto.
2. Choose positions where her natural moves do not work. Early Bg5 or h3 setups change the usual move order, so her instinctive ...e5 or ...Nh5 might need extra calculation.
3. Take your time in the opening. You have no reason to match her pace, and a deliberate move-by-move plan works better against an opponent who relies on pattern recognition.
4. If the centre locks with d5, play on the queenside where you are stronger: b4, c5 and a rook to the c-file. Do it quickly, because their ...f5-f4 and ...g5 attack is aimed at your king. Against the KID, being a tempo slow is how White loses.
5. The book answers 1.d4 (and the Modern move order 1...g6). Open 1.e4 and she is out of book immediately.

What beating Yumi teaches you

Yumi teaches you to choose setups that make an opponent's natural moves unnatural, and to keep your own thinking deliberate.

Neighbours on the ladder

• Filip Cohen: level 39
• Anton Lee: level 41