The King's Indian Defense is a hypermodern aggressive opening for Black as a response for 1.d4. Following hypermodern principles, Black allows White to build a strong pawn center to later counter-attack it. A sharp opening, the King's Indian is not be the best choice for beginners. However, a number of strong grandmasters like Bobby Fischer and Garry Kasparov consistently employed this opening when fighting for a win with the black pieces.

• Starting Position
  • Pros
  • Cons
• Variations
  • Main Line
  • Samisch
  • Averbakh
  • Petrosian
  • Four Pawns Attack
• How To Play Against The King's Indian Defense
  • Main Line
  • Makogonov Setup
• History Of The King's Indian Defense
• Famous Games
• Conclusion

Starting Position

The King's Indian Defense arises after the moves 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6. Like in other hypermodern openings, Black doesn't try to control the center with pawns. Instead, the idea is to let White build a strong pawn center and then counter-attack it using pieces and pawns.