King's Indian Defense
ECO E61 · King's Indian Defense · aggressive · intermediate
The King's Indian Defense (E61) is a aggressive chess opening in the King's Indian Defense family, played by Black. It arises after the moves 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3. Dynamic counterattack on the kingside. Combative. Recommended for intermediate players.
Moves: 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3
About this opening
Instead of fighting for the center immediately, Black lets White build a broad pawn front and prepares to strike back with ...e5 or ...c5. The fianchettoed g7 bishop and the thrust ...f5 give Black a dangerous kingside attack: in the Classical main line, White wins space on the queenside while Black throws every piece at the white king. The Sämisch, Averbakh and Fianchetto variations are White's main attempts to blunt this plan. Kasparov, Fischer and Tal used the King's Indian to win brilliant attacking games, making it the most combative answer to 1.d4.