Openings · 7 min read
The King's Indian Defence: let them have the centre, then attack
The King's Indian is the purest hypermodern opening: Black allows White a large pawn centre, fianchettoes the dark-squared bishop, castles, and then attacks that centre with ...e5 or ...c5.
It leads to the most one-sided races in chess. In the main lines, White attacks on the queenside and Black attacks the king — whoever gets there first wins, and draws are rare.
The Mar del Plata race
After 7...Nc6 8.d5 Ne7, the centre locks. White plays c5 and b4 to break through on the queenside; Black plays ...Ne8, ...f5, ...f4, ...g5, ...h5 and pushes the whole kingside at the enemy king.
The practical rule in this structure: never defend on the wing where you are slower. Count how many moves each attack needs and commit.
White's quieter systems
- Fianchetto Variation (g3): the most solid, taking the sting out of Black's kingside play.
- Sämisch (f3): builds a fortress centre and often castles queenside for a mutual attack.
- Four Pawns Attack (f4): maximum space; risky if Black hits back with ...c5 immediately.
- Averbakh (Be2 and Bg5): stops ...e5 for a moment and provokes concessions.
Is it right for you?
The King's Indian rewards players who like sharp, plan-driven attacking chess and are comfortable being objectively worse for twenty moves. If you dislike defending or prefer clear structures, the Slav or Nimzo-Indian suits you better.
It also works as a system: the same setup handles 1.d4, 1.c4 and 1.Nf3, which cuts preparation time substantially.
Key takeaways
- Give up the centre on purpose, then attack it with ...e5 or ...c5.
- In locked structures, attack on the side your pawns point to.
- The same setup covers most of White's queen-pawn openings.
Frequently asked questions
- Is the King's Indian sound?
- Yes, though some main lines are theoretically challenging for Black. At club level its practical scoring is excellent.
- What should I learn first in the King's Indian?
- The ...e5 break and the resulting Mar del Plata plans. Everything else is a variation on that theme.