The King's Indian(and Pirc defense) openings are hypermodern openings, meaning you control the center with your pieces, rather than pawns. If you know the modern defense, you now know why it has modern in the name.
The King's Indian is one of GMHikaru Nakamura's favorite openings. It can be played as white or black, but is used more commonly as black. It is in defense to d4, the queen's pawn.
Hikaru when you play the King's Indian
You will play Nf6, this is called Indian Game. The next move should be c4, but the opponent can play pretty much anything and you still can go through with the King's Indian. After they play c4, like usual, you will play g6, preparing a fianchetto.
If instead of playing c4, they play Nc3, preparing to push e4, you will still play g6. After they play e4, you will push d6, the game transposes to the Pirc defense, but I am going over the King's Indian Defense(KID) right now, not the Pirc.
You will also disregard everything else as soon as your opponent plays e4, you must immediately play d6 in the KID, for example:
We play d6 to prevent the e5 push, which would kick the knight and be annoying. After you have achieved this setup you will castle:
Ignore the letters and numbers please.
You want to have the bishop on g7 and the knight on f6. Now your other minor pieces must get active. If your opponent has not pushed e4, you should push d6 now. You should bring out the light-squared bishop out before the knight if there is a knight on c3, to pin it. if they kick it away there with h3, you must trade. Bringing the bishop there is option 1, option 2 is to fianchetto the bishop. The knight will usually go to d7, to reinforce control of the e5 and c5 squares with your pawn.
Your position is solid, and you will usually move your pieces to the kingside, because you will form some sort of attack on the white king. They usually castle kingside, but if they castle queenside, you will start to march your pawns in, and your pieces after. Some trades will happen and the game is solid. There is one thing you can do after you have developed, which is push e5 for a pawn break in the center.
If they take your pawn you can take with the knight or pawn(usually), since both lead to a near identical position. You have the open d-file which you should try to bring a rook to, your queen can get developed soon and you will be solid.
If they push d5, what I personally like to do is undermine with c6, you recapture with the bishop if they trade, and you take to create an overextended pawn. While researching GothamChess said you should play Ne8, or Nh5 to prepare an attack with your f-pawn on the e-pawn.
That's pretty much the main idea for black's King's Indian Defense. If you would like to learn it for white look below, its just about the same thing though.
White
White starts with 1. Nf3. This is called the Reti. If you would like a blog on the Reti please comment below. They should play d5, unless they are on of those people who are so persistent on playing e5 they play Nc6 to prepare e5(I will find you if you do that).
You will pretty much make the same setup, just adapted to white:
What your side of the board should look like: Pirc Defense Similar to the King's Indian, but in defense to e4. You will play d6 after the opponent plays e4. They take the full center with d4, then you bring out the knight to f6.
They can not push because they will lose a pawn as seen below:
They play a better move, Nc3, to defend the e4 pawn, and you play g6, preparing a fianchetto yet again. They develop with Nf3, and you fianchetto. You will play similarly to the King's Indian.
There is a more aggressive alternative to Nf3. They can play f4, the Austrian attack. You will still fianchetto and the game should look like this. You must remember not to lose castling rights.
Puzzles
Play the King's Indian Defense:
After e4, what should you do?
How can we develop the light-squared bishop, using option 1?
Now option 2.
How to strike at the center?
