The Four Pawns attack is characterized by the charging of the c, d, e and f pawns up the board, gaining space as they advance, with one or two of the pawns eventually reaching the 7th rank at the cost of the others. Early in my OTB chess career, I was astounded to read in Levy's How to play the King's Indian Defence about how Italian GM Sergei Mariotti shoved six pawns (!) (- the c to h pawns) at Gligoric and won brilliantly. As I play 1.e4 more often than 1.d4, I seldom get to play the Four Pawns style of attack but what do you know…it can happen even in the antiquated Scotch Opening. For the uniniated, the Four Pawns attack normally occur in the King's Indian (1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.f4), Modern Benoni (1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 c5 3.d5 e6 4.Nc3 exd5 5.cxd5 d6 6.e4 g6 7.f4), Alekhine's Defence (1. e4 Nf6 2.e5 Nd5 3.d4 d6 4.c4 Nb6 5.f4) or even Benko Gambit (1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 c5 3.d5 b5 4.cxb5 a6 5.b6 a5?! 6.Nc3 Ba6 7.f4! d6 8.Nf3 with e2-e4 to follow).

Tay,J (2103) - Peetoom,F (2336) [C45]
CM-1999-0-00096

Kasparov mentioned that though the Scotch is not a very promising opening, one slip by Black can be fatal. This game, in my opinion illustrates his point.

this move found its way in top flight OTB chess in Kasparov-Kamsky, Tilburg 1991.

[9.Nc2 d6 10.Bxb6 axb6 11.f4± Kasparov,G-Short,N/Linares/1992/1-0/48/ CBM-VC; 9.Kh1?! Rd8! 10.Qh5 h6 11.Nd2 d5!= Kasparov-Kamsky, Tilburg 1991]

[A more active approach would be 9...Na5 10.Bc2 Nc4 11.Bc1 d6 (11...d5 12.exd5 Bxd4 13.cxd4 Bf5 14.Nc3 Bxc2 15.Qxc2 Nb6 16.Qe4 Qd6 17.Bf4 Qd7 18.d6!+= J. Polgar-Granda Zuniga, Madrid 1992) 12.a4 a6 13.Kh1 Ne5 14.f4! Stefansson-Milos, Oviedo 1993]

ruling out Nb5 tricks. This move also puts the question to my b1 Knight. Where should it go? [10...Qg6 11.Nd2 Bd7 12.Re1²; 10...Nxd4?! 11.cxd4 Nc6 12.Nc3! Bxd4 13.Nd5 Qe5 14.Bxd4 Qxd4 15.Nxc7± Dolmatov-Yusupov, Wijk aan Zee 1991]

[11.a4!?; 11.f4!?]

[13.Nc2 Na5= and by removing my "Ruy Lopez" Bishop, Black has easy equality.]

[13...Nd4 14.Ba4 Ba7 15.Rc1±; 13...Na5! 14.Bxb6 cxb6= There goes the Lopez Bishop again.]

Black is effectively playing one pawn down and has to contend with White's advancing central pawn mass.

[17...Qxb2 18.Nc4 Qf6 19.e5 dxe5 20.fxe5 Qd8 21.Qb4±]

Thematic.

Any White exponent of the Exchange Grunfeld and King's Indian Four Pawns Attack would play this move in a flash. The d pawn will tie down all of Black's pieces.

Black has no counterplay. White can calmly extend the range of his Rs to attack the Black K while Black is preoccupied with halting the d7 pawn.