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, Carlsbad Variation
E62 12 plies
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. g3 Bg7 4. Bg2 O-O 5. Nc3 d6 6. Nf3 Nc6
King's Indian Defense: Fianchetto Variation, Delayed Fianchetto
E62 9 plies
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. Nf3 d6 5. g3
King's Indian Defense: Fianchetto Variation, Kavalek Defense
E62 14 plies
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nf3 Bg7 4. g3 O-O 5. Bg2 d6 6. O-O c6 7. Nc3 Qa5
King's Indian Defense: Fianchetto Variation, Larsen Defense
E62 14 plies
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. Nf3 d6 5. g3 O-O 6. Bg2 c6 7. O-O Bf5
King's Indian Defense: Fianchetto Variation, Lesser Simagin (Spassky)
E62 14 plies
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. g3 Bg7 4. Bg2 O-O 5. Nc3 d6 6. Nf3 Nc6 7. O-O Bf5
King's Indian Defense: Fianchetto Variation, Simagin Variation
E62 14 plies
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. Nf3 d6 5. g3 O-O 6. Bg2 Nc6 7. O-O Bg4
King's Indian Defense: Fianchetto Variation, Uhlmann-Szabo System
E62 14 plies
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nf3 Bg7 4. g3 O-O 5. Bg2 d6 6. O-O Nc6 7. Nc3 e5
King's Indian Defense: Fianchetto Variation, Panno Variation
E63 14 plies
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nf3 Bg7 4. g3 O-O 5. Bg2 d6 6. O-O Nc6 7. Nc3 a6
King's Indian Defense: Fianchetto Variation, Panno Variation, Blockade Line
E63 20 plies
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nf3 Bg7 4. g3 O-O 5. Bg2 d6 6. O-O Nc6 7. Nc3 a6 8. d5 Na5 9. Nd2 c5 10. Qc2 e5
King's Indian Defense: Fianchetto Variation, Panno Variation, Donner Line
E63 26 plies
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nf3 Bg7 4. g3 O-O 5. Bg2 d6 6. O-O Nc6 7. Nc3 a6 8. d5 Na5 9. Nd2 c5 10. Qc2 Rb8 11. b3 b5 12. Bb2 bxc4 13. bxc4 Bh6
King's Indian Defense: Fianchetto Variation, Panno Variation, Korchnoi Line
E63 19 plies
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nf3 Bg7 4. g3 O-O 5. Bg2 d6 6. O-O Nc6 7. Nc3 a6 8. h3 Rb8 9. Be3 b5 10. Nd2
King's Indian Defense: Fianchetto Variation, Double Fianchetto Attack
E64 15 plies
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nf3 Bg7 4. g3 d6 5. Bg2 O-O 6. O-O Nbd7 7. Nc3 e5 8. b3
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