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: Four Pawns Attack
E77 11 plies
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. Be2 O-O 6. f4
King's Indian Defense: Four Pawns Attack, Florentine Gambit
E77 17 plies
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. f4 O-O 6. Nf3 c5 7. d5 e6 8. Be2 exd5 9. e5
King's Indian Defense: Four Pawns Attack, Normal Attack
E77 15 plies
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. f4 O-O 6. Nf3 c5 7. d5 e6 8. Be2
King's Indian Defense: Six Pawns Attack
E77 19 plies
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. f4 O-O 6. Be2 c5 7. d5 e6 8. dxe6 fxe6 9. g4 Nc6 10. h4
King's Indian Defense: Four Pawns Attack, Fluid Attack
E78 13 plies
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. f4 O-O 6. Nf3 c5 7. Be2
King's Indian Defense: Four Pawns Attack, Exchange Variation
E79 17 plies
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. f4 O-O 6. Nf3 c5 7. Be2 cxd4 8. Nxd4 Nc6 9. Be3
King's Indian Defense: Sämisch Variation
E80 9 plies
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. f3
King's Indian Defense: Steiner Attack
E81 11 plies
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. f3 O-O 6. Bg5
King's Indian Defense: Steiner Attack
E81 15 plies
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. f3 O-O 6. Bg5 c5 7. d5 h6 8. Bf4
King's Indian Defense: Steiner Attack
E81 17 plies
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. f3 O-O 6. Bg5 c5 7. d5 e6 8. Qd2 exd5 9. Nxd5
King's Indian Defense: Steiner Attack
E81 17 plies
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. f3 O-O 6. Bg5 c5 7. d5 e6 8. Qd2 h6 9. Bxh6
King's Indian Defense: Sämisch Variation, Bobotsov-Korchnoi-Petrosian Variation
E81 11 plies
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. f3 O-O 6. Nge2
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