The King's Indian (1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6) is the most uncompromising response to 1.d4. Black lets White build a huge centre, fianchettoes the dark-squared bishop, castles kingside, and then strikes back with ...e5 or ...c5. The plan is asymmetric warfare: Black attacks the king on the kingside, White attacks the queen on the other side, and whoever gets there first wins. Fischer, Kasparov and Nakamura all built careers on it.
Main line: Classical King's Indian
After 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.Nf3 O-O 6.Be2 e5, Black reaches the Classical KID. The famous 7.O-O Nc6 8.d5 Ne7 leads to the Mar del Plata Variation - Black plays ...Nh5, ...f5, ...f4, ...g5 with a violent kingside attack; White plays c5 and Nb5 with an equally violent queenside assault. Sharper than the Sicilian, and far less drawn.
- 1.d4Nf6
- 2.c4g6
- 3.Nc3Bg7
- 4.e4d6
- 5.Nf3O-O
- 6.Be2e5
Variations
Sämisch (5.f3)
White prepares e4 with f3 and plans Be3, Qd2, O-O-O, h4-h5 - the same kind of pawn-storm attack you'd see in a Sicilian Yugoslav Attack, but the colours and pawn structures are different. Sharp, dangerous for both sides. Black often plays ...c5 or ...e5 to challenge the centre, or ...a6 and ...b5 for queenside counterplay.
Four Pawns Attack (5.f4)
White goes all-in on the centre with c4, d4, e4 and f4 pawns. Looks scary but if Black plays ...c5 with the right timing the whole pawn front collapses. The most direct refutation: 5...O-O 6.Nf3 c5 7.d5 e6 with active piece play. Not seen at top level but practical at club level - if you don't know what you're doing, the pawns roll over you.
Fianchetto Variation (5.Nf3 + 6.g3)
White fianchettoes too, mirroring Black. The position becomes more positional - the typical KID attacking races are dampened. Black usually plays ...c6 and ...Nbd7 with a sound but quieter setup. This is the safest White option against the KID and a frequent choice at the top level.
Averbakh (5.Be2 + 6.Bg5)
White pins the f6 knight before Black can develop. Annoying for Black because the usual ...e5 break is harder to play. Black usually responds with ...h6 or ...c5 to disrupt the bind. Less popular at top level than the Classical or Sämisch but worth knowing.
Common traps
Don't lose to a one-move queenside collapse: in the Mar del Plata, after White plays c5 and Black plays ...a6, the pawn on b7 can become vulnerable. If Black doesn't time ...f5/...f4 correctly and ends up needing to defend the queenside, the whole attacking plan falls apart and White's c-file rook wins.
Watch the e4 break: in any KID where Black has played ...e5 and White has played d5, the e-pawn can become a target. If White ever plays Nb5 hitting e5, you must have ...c6 ready or the pawn falls.
Typical plans for Black
The strategic theme is the kingside pawn storm: ...f5, ...g5, ...f4, ...g4, then bring the queen to f8 or h4 and the rooks to f7 and g8. Pieces sit at the back, pawns do the attacking. Meanwhile on the queenside, Black is happy to lose - the rule of thumb is: if you can mate White before White breaks through on the queenside, you win. The KID is the opening of optimists.
The drills below let you practise both sides of the Classical main line and the typical sidelines. Start with the Mar del Plata - if you can survive that, every other KID feels easier.