King's Indian Defence

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This article uses algebraic notation to describe chess moves.

The King's Indian Defence is a chess opening. It arises after the moves 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6, when Black intends to follow up with 3...Bg7 and 4...d6. The Grünfeld Defence arises when Black plays 3...d5 instead, and is considered a separate opening. White's major third move options are 3.Nc3, 3.Nf3 or 3.g3; both the King's Indian and Grünfeld are playable against these moves.

The King's Indian is a "hypermodern" opening, where Black deliberately allows White control of the centre with his pawns, with the view to subsequently challenging it with the moves ...e5 or ...c5. Until the mid-1930s, it was generally regarded as highly suspect, but the analysis and play of three strong Ukrainian players in particular -- Alexander Konstantinopolsky, Isaac Boleslavsky, and David Bronstein -- helped to make the defence much more respected and popular. It is a sharp and dynamic opening, exceptionally complex, and has been a favourite of players such as former world champions Garry Kasparov, Bobby Fischer, Mikhail Tal, and Tigran Petrosian. Prominent grandmasters, Miguel Najdorf, Efim Geller, John Nunn, Svetozar Gligoric, Wolfgang Uhlmann, Ilya Smirin and Teimour Radjabov have also played this opening frequently.

[edit] Variations

The main variations of the King's Indian are:

• Classical Variation 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.Nf3 0-0 6.Be2 e5

• • The Main Line or Mar del Plata variation continues 7.0-0 Nc6 8.d5 Ne7. Now White has a wide variety of moves, including 9.b4, 9.Ne1, and 9.Nd2, among others. Typically, White will try to attack on the queenside by preparing the pawn break c4-c5, while Black will attack on the kingside by moving his knight on f6 to d7 or e8, and starting a kingside pawn storm with ...f7-f5-f4 and ...g7-g5. 9.b4 used to put top players off playing this line, but Radjabov has recently revived the line.
  • 7.d5 is the Petrosian system. The plans for both sides are roughly the same as in the main variation. After 7...a5 White plays 8.Bg5 to pin the Nf6, making it harder for Black to achieve the f7-f5 break. Black responds often with moves like Na6 and Bd7, making White's c4-c5 break more difficult. Joe Gallagher, in Play the King's Indian, has recommended the flexible 7...Na6 which has similar ideas to 7...a5.
  • 7.0-0 Nbd7 is the Old Main Line, and is less common nowadays than 7.0-0 Nc6.
  • 7.0-0 exd4 8.Nxd4 is also possible, although White's extra space usually is of a greater value than Black's counterplay against White's centre.
  • 7.0-0 Na6 has seen some popularity recently, the purpose of this awkward looking move is to move the knight to c5 after an eventual d5. Compared to 7...Nbd7, the light squared bishop is not blocked in.
  • In the Exchange Variation (7.dxe5 dxe5 8.Qxd8 Rxd8), White exchanges queens and tries to prove that he has a small advantage in the queenless middlegame. The line is also often played by White players hoping for an early draw, but there is still a lot of play left in the position. Typically, white tries to exploit d6 with moves like b4, c5, Nf3-d2-c4-d6, etc., while Black will counter with an attempt to exploit d4. In practice, it is much easier to exploit d4.
• The Sämisch Variation is 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.f3 (named for Friedrich Sämisch). This often leads to very sharp play with the players castling on opposite wings and attacking each other's kings, as in the Bagirov-Gufeld game given below. Black has a variety of pawn breaks, such as ...e5, ...c5 and ...b5 (prepared by ...c6 and/or ...a6). Sometimes play transposes to the Modern Benoni (in the ...c5 lines).
• The Averbakh Variation is 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.Be2 0-0 6.Bg5 (named for Yuri Averbakh). Black usually repels the bishop with ...h6 giving him the option of a later g5, though in practice this is a weakening move. Also, ...c5 is a useful alternative to ...e5, as it keeps the long diagonal open. White has various ways to develop, such as Qd2, Nf3, f4 or even h4. However, Black obtains good play against all of these development schemes.

• The Four pawns attack continues with 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.f4. It is a sharp line in which White tries to overrun Black with his center pawns. Such a strategy entails considerable risk, and analysis constantly shifts back and forth as to its validity. The pawn on f4 inhibits Black's usual e5 break, though Black sometimes plays it nonetheless as a pawn sacrifice. Alternatively, Black can seek counterplay with a c5 break, after which a Modern Benoni position is reached. The main line Four Pawns position can also be reached from a Sicilian move order.

• The Fianchetto Variation, reached via 3.Nf3 Bg7 4.g3 0-0 5.Bg2 d6 6.Nc3, is a solid line in which, unlike many variations, White does not have to worry about an attack on his king. If Black does not play actively in this variation, he will gradually get pushed off the board. Black has quite a few options, the best of which is probably 6...Nbd7 7.0-0 e5 followed by either ...ed4 or ...a6.

Finally, White has other setups, such as Nf3 and h3 and Nge2 (with or without Bd3), but these do not challenge Black's setup.

Here is one of the most famous King's Indian games, a brilliancy by the late Ukrainian-American grandmaster Eduard Gufeld, who called it his "Mona Lisa":

Bagirov-Gufeld, USSR championship 1973 1.d4 g6 2.c4 Bg7 3.Nc3 d6 4.e4 Nf6 5.f3 0-0 6.Be3 Nc6 7.Nge2 Rb8 8.Qd2 a6 9.Bh6 b5 10.h4 e5 11.Bxg7 Kxg7 12.h5 Kh8 13.Nd5 bxc4 14.hxg6 fxg6 15.Qh6 Nh5 16.g4 Rxb2 17.gxh5 g5 18.Rg1 g4 19.0-0-0 Rxa2 20.Nef4 exf4 21.Nxf4 Rxf4 22.Qxf4 c3 23.Bc4 Ra3 24.fxg4 Nb4 25.Kb1 Be6 26.Bxe6 Nd3 27.Qf7 Qb8+ 28.Bb3 Rxb3+ 29.Kc2 Nb4+ 30.Kxb3 Nd5+ 31.Kc2 Qb2+ 32.Kd3 Qb5+ 0-1

The Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings classifies the King's Indian Defence under the codes E60 through E99.