Benoni or KID

I have usually played the KID but I am thinking of changing to the Benoni. Is this a good idea or not?

Also how many play the Benoni or KID and why?

Any good chess books on the Benoni?

Thanks for responding

If you like to play closed, passive, but solid positions in black, then you might like the Benoni.

I played it for some time, but then opted to meeting 1.d4 with d5 to improve myself as a player.

Do you mean the Modern Benoni, which is definitely not closed/passive/solid, or the Czech Benoni?

John Watson wrote a good book on the Modern Benoni. It's outdated now but still a good overview and reference for most of the lines. There have been a few books that came out since.

I've played both the KID and MB, mostly the KID in recent years, and like them both. Sometimes KID positions can transpose to the MB when Black plays c5.

 Concerning tactics,strategy,piece placement etcetera... which one is easier

What is so bad about the Taimanov? It doesn't seem that bad in the Nfd7 lines. Am I missing something? This is the variation.

i suggest starting with this book then picking up something for the sharp taimanov line. I agree that whites attack is very easy to play for white and black has to come up with some not so easy moves to stay alive. 

http://www.amazon.com/Mastering-Modern-Benoni-Benko-Gambit/dp/0020080913

http://www.gambitbooks.com/books/cebenoni.html

Its a great structure to know and if you love just pure wild play check out tals handling of the modern benoni. (Topalov is also great!) you better love knights and bishops and have no problem with exchange sacs.

This spam is outrageous. Can't you find something better to post?

I fail to see why it is outrageous.  The group in question handles the opening discussed in the topic and offers an opportunity to use the concepts mentioned in actual game situations through group Vote Chess.

I would suggest you join the group and see for yourself before passing judgment.

I'm not judging the group, I'm juding that its admins are spamming the group everywhere to get people to join. You commented on 10+ posts with just that. 

I see. In that case, I apologize for the nuisance. However, I was quite selective in my choice of topics. Specifically, they all featured the Benoni Defense.

The comments so far have made some excellent points, especially regarding the Taimanov variation. I second TonyH's book recommendation.

I played the Modern Benoni for a few years and still use it as an occasional weapon. The KID is a richer opening though, and is open to a wider range of interpretation. For most people it's a better repertoire choice.