King’s indian defense. questions

https://www.chess.com/lessons/learn-the-kings-indian-defense

First off:

People have the wrong idea about attacking. Attacking is NOT a way of getting the advantage. That whole idea is 180 degrees wrong. Attacking is a PROCESS, not a goal. It is a method for turning one sort of advantage - better development, open lines, enemy Pawn weakness - into a different and more immediately useful form of advantage - checkmate or win of material.

You gain the advantage by out-maneuvering your opponent. You cash that advantage in by attacking. Gain the advantage FIRST. Attack AFTERWARD.

So in your particular case, if you aren't getting good attacks as Black with the King's Indian Defense, the most likely reason is that you are failing to out-maneuver your opponent, so you never gain the advantage and no good attacking opportunities ever arise.

If you want more positive help... here's a King's Indian Defense that I played as Black in which I first out-maneuvered my opponent - thus gaining the advantage - and then shifted to the attack to cash in... and won a Bishop.

Again, the pre-requisite for attacking is to FIRST gain the advantage by maneuver. THEN you attack, in order to cash in on that advantage. You cannot just decide to attack... and you certainly cannot just decide to attack on a specific part of the board, such as the enemy King's side. You do not gain a superior position by tactics... it's exactly the other way around: Tactics flow from a superior position.

As an example of a Pawn storm against the enemy King (AFTER gaining the advantage by maneuver) here's a King's Indian Attack of mine from a rated OTB (over-the-board) tournament.

This has already been touched on by some strong players in this thread, but to me, the main point of a kingside pawnstorm by Black (in the KID) is eventually pry open a file near White's castled king.

That's the simplest way to think about it. Black wants to reduce White's king safety and allow Black's pieces a greater chance to infiltrate White's kingside. So that's what the pawn storm is meant to achieve - a pawn break, somewhere, to allow Black some offensive options.

I use the word in its ordinary sense.

Start from the basics:

At the beginning of the game, there is a "balance of position" and the game is almost equal. The White and Black forces are equal in number, equal in deployment, and almost equal in tempo with the only difference being that White gets to move first. This White advantage is small, and it will gradually fade out as both sides mobilize their forces.

An attack by either side CANNOT succeed until this "balance of position" has been disturbed. If you try to attack WITHOUT first gaining the advantage by other means, then you are handing the advantage over to your opponent and you should lose the game.

How does this "balance of position" get disturbed? Typically, by one side or the other making a mistake... such as attempting to attack without first securing the advantage. How do you gain the advantage by maneuver? Typically, by developing your pieces while interfering with the opponent's development, by controlling open lines while preventing the opponent from doing the same, by weakening the opponent's position while avoiding such weaknesses in your own camp.

Play over the Bobby Fischer game above. Fischer maneuvers brilliantly (eg: 24. ... Nh8!!).

A situation with opposite side castling can be in dynamic equilibrium, with equal chances to both sides. In that sort of situation both players must make aggressive moves AND defensive moves, and the one who strikes the best balance between the two gains the advantage.

But you should try to get rid of the idea that attacking will give you the advantage. That's putting the cart in front of the horse. You first outplay your opponent and gain the advantage. THEN you attack, in order to convert your advantage into something easier to cash in.

Read my posts in this thread:

GM Larry Evans' method of static analysis - Chess Forums - Chess.com

Read my posts 4, 7 to 10 and especially post 12.

Then play over the three sample games on pages 1 and 2.