Opening Overview

King's Indian Defense

119 lines
black repertoire

About This Opening

King's Indian Defense is a flexible, hypermodern opening that delays direct central occupation and instead pressures the center from the wings.

The opening usually invites White to occupy space, then challenges that center with piece pressure, pawn breaks, and flexible development.

In practice, the key is to know when to strike at the center and when to keep pieces flexible, because the wrong timing can leave the position passive.

Key ideas
  • Typical theme: pressure on the center rather than immediate occupation.
  • Common plans include fianchetto setups and timely pawn breaks.
  • Best for players who like asymmetry and counterplay.
  • Study the transition from setup to active central challenge.

Choose a variation

King's Indian Defense: Fianchetto Variation, Hungarian Variation
E64 14 plies
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nf3 Bg7 4. g3 d6 5. Bg2 O-O 6. O-O Nbd7 7. Nc3 a6
King's Indian Defense: Fianchetto Variation, Pterodactyl Variation
E64 10 plies
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nf3 Bg7 4. g3 c5 5. Bg2 Qa5+
King's Indian Defense: Fianchetto Variation, Yugoslav System
E64 12 plies
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nf3 Bg7 4. g3 d6 5. Bg2 O-O 6. O-O c5
King's Indian Defense: Fianchetto Variation, Yugoslav Variation, Rare Line
E64 12 plies
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. g3 Bg7 4. Bg2 O-O 5. Nc3 d6 6. Nf3 c5
King's Indian Defense: Fianchetto Variation, Yugoslav Variation
E65 13 plies
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nf3 Bg7 4. g3 O-O 5. Bg2 d6 6. O-O c5 7. Nc3
King's Indian Defense: Fianchetto Variation, Yugoslav Variation, Exchange Line
E65 16 plies
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nf3 Bg7 4. g3 O-O 5. Bg2 d6 6. O-O c5 7. Nc3 Nc6 8. dxc5 dxc5
King's Indian Defense: Fianchetto Variation, Yugoslav Variation, Advance Line
E66 15 plies
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nf3 Bg7 4. g3 O-O 5. Bg2 d6 6. O-O c5 7. Nc3 Nc6 8. d5
King's Indian Defense: Fianchetto Variation, Classical Fianchetto
E67 14 plies
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nf3 Bg7 4. g3 O-O 5. Bg2 d6 6. O-O Nbd7 7. Nc3 e5
King's Indian Defense: Fianchetto Variation, Debrecen Defense
E67 12 plies
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. g3 Bg7 4. Bg2 O-O 5. Nc3 d6 6. Nf3 Nbd7
King's Indian Defense: Fianchetto Variation, Classical Variation
E68 15 plies
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nf3 Bg7 4. g3 O-O 5. Bg2 d6 6. O-O Nbd7 7. Nc3 e5 8. e4
King's Indian Defense: Fianchetto Variation, Long Variation
E68 22 plies
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. Nf3 d6 5. g3 O-O 6. Bg2 Nbd7 7. O-O e5 8. e4 Re8 9. h3 exd4 10. Nxd4 Nc5 11. Re1 a5
King's Indian Defense: Fianchetto Variation, Classical Main Line
E69 17 plies
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nf3 Bg7 4. g3 O-O 5. Bg2 d6 6. O-O Nbd7 7. Nc3 e5 8. e4 c6 9. h3
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