King’s Indian Defense

 

One of the most famous openings, a huge weapon of Kasparov and Bobby Fischer. The king’s Indian is most defined by the dark square monster. The Fianchettoed Dark square bishop.

 

It took me a long time to learn how to wield this weapon. In the beginning I actually lost a LOT with the King’s Indian and I absolutely loved playing against the King’s Indian. Playing the King’s Indian: I would get way too excited, sacrifice all the pieces. Only to run out of pieces and end up the one being checkmated(Sounds like most nights gambling). A huge shout out to extremely strong Grandmaster Danil Dubov for showing a bunch of great ways for black to play without being super theoretical. You’re going to give up space. There are numerous move orders white can throw at black. All engine verified. Computers generally LOVE playing against the King’s Indian, but modern engines and modern theory have vastly equalized the field. To corroborate this argument I encourage everyone to put these positions in the engine. You’ll find that most actually favor black, and in some positions white will be 0.4-0.7 but not like traditional King’s Indian.

 

This is why…We rarely attack the king. We will focus on the center, then if the pathway produces itself we go towards the king. Traditional King’s Indian is a Cold War arms race, and if you have the work ethic and brilliance of Fischer or Kasparov you’re gonna make a lot of fans. If you don’t play like these two powerhouses your opponents will be your biggest fans. You’ll turn e4 players into d4 players just to play against the King’s Indian.

 

Funny story: I was in norm contention a few years ago and I was paired against Daniel Naroditsky. Playing d4 was SNAP CALL. Do I want to play e4 and go into the Sicilian against one of the sharpest fastest chess players in the world? Or should I play d4 and play against the King’s Indian and control my opponent. D4 was played. Control was had. Win was missed. Draw was luckily made. As you learn this King’s Indian I encourage you to do as follows.

 

Think about the setups, and making reads. White can dance on the sides. We’re hitting them clean down the middle faster, and more efficient.Straight punches will get there before hooksWhite starts out ahead, so we gotta be fast, efficient, and confident in our position. Buckle up, King’s Indian is gonna be a fun ride.