THIS OPENING BEATS MAGNUS EVERY TIME (CONFIRMED)
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Jun 23, 2020
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#22
KIA is not outright bad after 1.e4, e5 but g2 is not the most promising place for the bishop. I would suggest the Bishops Opening / slow Italian. You get the same central structure, with pawns on e4, d3 and, usually, c3, but the bishop is better placed on c4, taking advantage of the weaknesses created by black’s first move.
Optimissed - Nobody ever said Nd2 has to be played for a good position. You just are not in a Kings Indian Attack (also known as the Barcza System).
By definition, the KIA is a system with the moves e4 d3 Nd2 Ngf3 g3 Bg2 O-O in some order
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/King%27s_Indian_Attack#:~:text=The%20King's%20Indian%20Attack%20(or,from%20many%20different%20move%20orders.
Nobody said you have to place the Knight there. You just are in a different system. For example, an odd way to get to it, but 1.e4 c5 2.d3 Nc6 3.g3 g6 4.Bg2 Bg7 5.Nc3 (instead of Nd2) and you are in a Closed Sicilian. 5.Nd2 Nf6 6.Ngf3 followed by castle and you are in a Kings Indian Attack.
Someone was asking before about avoiding certain moves, like don't play e4. That is fine, but then you are not in a Kings Indian Attack. For example, if you play c4 instead of e4, you are in a Reti or English, not a KIA.
So yes, there is no specific need to play Nd2, just know that you are in a different opening. Just because you intended a KIA does not mean you are in one unless those moves are played.
It would be like a Caro-Kann player saying they have a Caro-Kann going here when they don't!
1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.f3 e6 4.Nc3 Nf6 (4...Bb4 is the main line) 5.e5 Nfd7 6.f4 c5.
I will let you figure out what that is, but it is NOT a Caro-Kann.
Same concept. It has nothing to do with having to play Nd2 to get a good position. It merely has to do with the definition of the Kings Indian Attack as opposed to closely related openings like the Reti, English, Closed Sicilian, and g3-Vienna.