📖 King's Indian AttackIntroduction
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King's Indian Attack: Complete Guide

What is the King's Indian Attack?

The King's Indian Attack is a system for White, not a single line. You open 1. Nf3, put the king's bishop on g2 behind a g3 pawn, castle, then add d3, Nbd2 and e4. If that shape looks familiar, it is the King's Indian Defense turned around: the formation Black uses against 1. d4, played by White with one extra move. The appeal is that your moves hardly change. Black can answer with ...d5, ...Nf6, ...e6 or ...c6 and you still build the same position, so the middlegame plan comes from reading Black's setup rather than from a memorized tree.

Databases file 1. Nf3 under the Réti Opening, which causes confusion. In the strict sense the Réti is 1. Nf3 d5 2. c4, a different plan that attacks Black's center with the c-pawn. This course does not play 2. c4. After 1. Nf3 it teaches the King's Indian Attack: g3, Bg2, castling, d3 and the e4 push. Only against Black's own King's Indian setup, 1...Nf6 2. g3 g6, does it skip d3 and play 5. c4 and 6. d4 instead. The same White formation can also be reached from 1. e4, mostly against the French and the Sicilian. Starting with the knight has a practical bonus: 1...e5, which is fine against 1. e4, just drops a pawn here to 2. Nxe5.

At club level 1. Nf3 is uncommon. On lichess below 1600, only about one game in forty starts with it. Two opponents in five reply 1...d5, and the next most common answers are 1...Nc6 (about one in eight), 1...e6, 1...Nf6, 1...c5 and 1...e5. This trainer has an answer to each of those, plus 1...d6 and 1...c6, which together make up about nine replies in ten. It does so with one setup and a few move-order rules, in 31 lines across six chapters.

How to reach it

The core order is 1. Nf3, 2. g3, 3. Bg2, 4. O-O and 5. d3, then Nbd2 and e4 when the center is ready. Black's setup changes when some of those moves arrive, not what they are, and three rules cover nearly every game in the course. Rule one: if Black already has a pawn on e5, play d3 before you castle, as in 1. Nf3 d5 2. g3 Nc6 3. Bg2 e5 4. d3, so that ...e4 can never kick the knight off f3. Rule two: if Black's light-squared bishop sits on f5, put a rook on e1 before you push e4. Otherwise Black trades on e4 and the f6-knight takes the pawn. Rule three: if Black opens with 1...e5, take the pawn with 2. Nxe5, bring the knight back to f3, and play the normal setup a pawn up. The single exception is the King's Indian mirror, 1...Nf6 2. g3 g6, where the course leaves d3 behind and plays c4 and d4.

Pros & cons

Strengths

  • One formation, Nf3, g3, Bg2, O-O, d3, Nbd2 and e4, meets about nine first replies in ten, which leaves your study hours for middlegame plans rather than long move sequences.
  • The e4-e5 push is a weapon as well as a space grab: once Black closes the center with ...d4, e5 forks Black's bishop on d6 and knight on f6, and the course's opening line wins a piece for a pawn by move 9.
  • Frequent club mistakes are built in as free wins: 1...e5 drops a pawn to 2. Nxe5, and the ...e4 push against d3 drops another after the queens come off.
  • The fianchettoed king is hard to reach early, so quick losses are rare while you learn the middlegame plans.
  • Only about one club game in forty starts 1. Nf3, so most opponents have met this setup far less often than 1. e4 or 1. d4.

Drawbacks

  • Black gets the center for free at first. Pawns on d5, e5 and c5 are common, and challenging them takes the right lever: c3 then d4, or Nc4 against a bishop on d6.
  • It is a system, not autopilot: d3 comes before castling against ...e5, Re1 comes before e4 against ...Bf5, and the King's Indian mirror needs c4 and d4.
  • The kingside attack takes time. It needs e5, a knight trip from d2 through f1 to h2, and h4, while Black races on the queenside with ...b5 and ...b4.
  • 1. Nf3 is no shortcut to a better score: below 1600 it scores 52% for White, the same as 1. e4. The edge comes from knowing the plans.
  • The setup only works if you actually play it. In most of Chessigma players' own 1. Nf3 games, White leaves the King's Indian Attack before the opponent does, most often at move two with 2. e4, 2. Nc3 or 2. e3 rather than 2. g3.

Main variations

The Dream Game: e5 forks bishop and knight

1. Nf3 d5 2. g3 Nf6 3. Bg2 e6 4. O-O Bd6 5. d3 O-O 6. Nbd2 c5 7. e4 d4 8. e5

The course opens with this line because it shows the whole setup and its point in nine moves. ...Bd6 is Black's most popular fourth move here, about one time in five. White completes d3 and Nbd2, then plays e4. When Black locks the center with 7...d4, about one opponent in seven, the pawn steps to e5 and attacks the bishop on d6 and the knight on f6 at once. Every reply costs a piece for a pawn, and White scores about 75% after 8. e5 at club level. Against the more common 7...dxe4 there is no trick, and White simply recaptures and keeps building.

The Re1 attack position against ...e6 and ...c5

1. Nf3 d5 2. g3 e6 3. Bg2 c5 4. O-O Nc6 5. d3 Nf6 6. Nbd2 Be7 7. e4 O-O 8. Re1

When Black sets up with ...e6, ...d5 and ...c5, White plays e4 and Re1 and reaches the classic King's Indian Attack middlegame. The course teaches three of Black's plans from here. Against 8...dxe4, about four replies in ten, White recaptures and the queen's knight walks c4, e3 and d5 until the e5-pawn falls. Against the queenside race with ...b5, White opens the center with exd5 and d4, and the g2-bishop ends up taking the rook on a8. Against 8...b6, White pushes e5 and reroutes the knight through f1 to h2 while h4 and Bf4 come in, then plays Ng5. The final chapter carries that plan through to checkmate on g7.

The reversed King's Indian: ...Nc6 and ...e5

1. Nf3 d5 2. g3 Nc6 3. Bg2 e5 4. d3 Nf6 5. O-O Be6 6. Nbd2 Bd6 7. e4 d4 8. c3

About one in three players who answer 1...d5 2. g3 choose 2...Nc6, and most of them follow with 3...e5, the biggest center Black can build. White plays d3 before castling so ...e4 never chases the knight, then meets each fifth move with its own idea. Against ...Be6 or ...Bd6, White plays Nbd2 and e4, and when Black pushes ...d4, c3 attacks that pawn and opens lines: for White's own d4 break in one line, for Qb3 and f4 in the other. Against 5...Bc5, the fork trick 6. Nxe5 Nxe5 7. d4 wins the piece back and puts the d5-pawn under fire. Only about one White player in thirty finds 6. Nxe5 at club level, and it scores better than every other move there. Against 5...e4, about one time in eight, White takes on e4, trades queens, and the knights win the e4-pawn.

The early ...Bg4

1. Nf3 d5 2. g3 Bg4 3. Bg2 Bxf3 4. Bxf3 e5 5. d3 Nf6 6. O-O Nc6 7. Nc3 Bb4 8. Bg5

Putting the bishop on g4, against the f3-knight, is about one reply in ten after 1...d5 2. g3, and nearly a third of those players take on f3 at once, which hands White the two bishops. The course then trades on f6 with Bg5 and Bxf6, so the d5-pawn loses its defender, and the light-squared bishop picks it up. The same pawn falls through another move order, 1...Nf6 2. g3 d5 3. Bg2 Nc6 4. O-O Bg4. If Black keeps the bishop, White asks the question with h3. When it retreats to h5, g4 and Nh4 hunt it down, and a quieter line moves the queen to e1, off the bishop's diagonal, before pushing e4.

The early ...Bf5: rook first, pawn second

1. Nf3 d5 2. g3 Bf5 3. Bg2 e6 4. O-O Nf6 5. d3 Bd6 6. Nbd2 O-O 7. Re1

The bishop on f5 before ...e6 comes up in about one game in sixteen after 1...d5 2. g3. Here the natural 7. e4 is a mistake: after 7...dxe4 8. dxe4 the knight takes on e4, and White scores 43% at club level from there. Putting the rook on e1 first is the most played move and the best scoring of the common ones, at 66%, and e4 follows with full support. The same order works against the Caro-Kann version with ...c6, where the e4 push brings the threat of e5 against Black's bishop on d6 and knight on f6.

Against 1...e5: take the pawn

1. Nf3 e5 2. Nxe5 d6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. g3

About one opponent in seventeen answers 1. Nf3 with 1...e5, and the pawn is simply free. 2. Nxe5 scores 59% at club level, yet close to half of White players there do something else. After 2...d6 or 2...Nc6, the most common replies, the knight goes straight back to f3 and White plays g3, Bg2, O-O and d3 with an extra pawn. Keeping the pawn and bringing the knight home is also the answer to the other tries, such as 2...Bc5, 2...Qe7 and 2...f6.

Against the King's Indian mirror: c4 and d4

1. Nf3 Nf6 2. g3 g6 3. Bg2 Bg7 4. O-O O-O 5. c4 d6 6. d4

When Black copies the setup with 1...Nf6 2. g3 g6, which happens about one time in three after 2. g3, a symmetrical position leaves White little to work with. This is the one place the course switches plans: 5. c4 and 6. d4 turn the game into the Fianchetto Variation of the King's Indian Defense, seen from White's side, with more space. Only about one club player in twenty chooses 5. c4, and it scores 54%, the best of the popular moves.

Playing against the King's Indian Attack

As Black, use the time the King's Indian Attack gives you. White spends its first six moves on a fianchetto, castling and d3, so claim the center with ...d5 plus ...c5 or ...e5, and decide in advance how you will meet e4: exchange on e4, or push ...d4 and accept a closed center. Two club habits cost material against it. With the e-pawn on e6, a bishop on d6 next to a knight on f6 is exposed to the e4-e5 fork once ...d4 locks the center, so keep the bishop on e7 in those structures. An early ...e4 push against White's d3 usually just loses that pawn after the exchanges and the queen trade. In the ...e6 and ...c5 structures, start the queenside race with ...b5 and ...b4 early rather than waiting, because White's attack with e5, h4 and Ng5 is slow to begin but hard to stop once it arrives. Finally, 1...e5 against 1. Nf3 is not a developing move but a pawn sacrifice.

Plans

For White

Build first, then break. Finish Nf3, g3, Bg2, O-O and d3, add Nbd2, and push e4 only when it is supported; against a bishop on f5 the rook goes to e1 first. Then read the center. If Black locks it with ...d4, there are three levers: e5, which forks Black's d6-bishop and f6-knight when both stand there; c3, which prepares White's own d4; and Nc4, which hits a bishop on d6. If Black exchanges on e4, usually recapture with the d-pawn and use the knights or push e5. Once the pawn stands on e5, the kingside attack follows: the knight goes d2, f1, h2, the h-pawn advances, and the bishop comes to f4 before Ng5 and Qh5. Against the King's Indian mirror, switch to c4 and d4.

For Black

Take the center while White builds, and pick a structure early. The ...d5, ...e5 and ...c5 space grab makes White find c3 and d4, or Nc4. The ...e6 and ...c5 setup leads to a race in which the queenside pawns must move fast. Developing the bishop to f5 or g4 before ...e6 keeps it outside the pawn chain, but it invites h3, g4 and Nh4, or a well-prepared e4 after Re1. Avoid the three errors this setup waits for: 1...e5, which loses a pawn; ...e4 against d3, which loses another; and ...Bd6 with the e-pawn on e6, followed by ...d4, which walks into the e5 fork.

History

Opening databases split 1. Nf3 between two names. The Zukertort Opening is named after Johannes Zukertort, who played the first official world championship match, against Wilhelm Steinitz in 1886. The Réti Opening is named after Richard Réti, who in the 1920s paired 1. Nf3 with c4 to strike at the center from the side, one of the key ideas of the hypermodern school. His win with it over José Raúl Capablanca at New York 1924 ended Capablanca's unbeaten run of eight years and made the new approach impossible to ignore. The King's Indian Attack uses the same first move for a different plan, with White adopting the King's Indian Defense formation a move ahead. Bobby Fischer made it famous in the 1960s, often reaching it through 1. e4 against the French. His win over Lhamsuren Myagmarsuren at the 1967 Sousse Interzonal, built on e5, a knight maneuver toward the king, a kingside pawn advance and a queen sacrifice on h7, is still the model of the attack this course's final chapter teaches. In the ECO classification, the 1. Nf3 d5 2. g3 lines sit under A07 and A08.

Frequently asked questions

What is the King's Indian Attack in chess?
It is a setup for White that starts 1. Nf3 and follows with g3, Bg2, O-O, d3, Nbd2 and e4, the same shape Black uses in the King's Indian Defense, but with an extra move. Because White builds nearly the same position against every defense, you learn a few plans instead of a large tree of variations. The main plan is to push e4 and then e5, gain space in the center, and attack the black king on the kingside. It can also be reached from 1. e4, but this course starts with 1. Nf3.
How do you play the King's Indian Attack?
Play 1. Nf3, 2. g3, 3. Bg2, 4. O-O and 5. d3, then Nbd2 and e4. Three rules adjust the order. Against an early ...e5, play d3 before castling so ...e4 cannot chase the knight. Against a bishop on f5, put the rook on e1 before e4. Against 1...e5, take the pawn with 2. Nxe5 and retreat to f3. After e4, react to Black's choice: e5 when Black closes the center with ...d4 (with Black's bishop on d6 and knight on f6, that push is a fork), a knight maneuver to c4, e3 and d5 when Black exchanges on e4, and the slow kingside attack, with the knight's trip through f1 to h2, h4 and Ng5, when Black plays ...b6 and waits.
Is the King's Indian Attack the same as the Réti Opening?
No, although both start 1. Nf3 and databases often label every 1. Nf3 game a Réti. The Réti proper is 1. Nf3 d5 2. c4, where White attacks Black's d5-pawn from the side and the game often turns into an English or a Queen's Gambit structure. The King's Indian Attack does not rush the c-pawn forward: it plays g3, Bg2, d3 and e4, and aims for a kingside attack. This course teaches the King's Indian Attack and never plays 2. c4. The only lines where it skips d3 for an early c4 are against Black's own King's Indian setup, where 5. c4 and 6. d4 give White more space.
What are the best traps in the King's Indian Attack?
The biggest is the e5 fork. In the course's first line, 1. Nf3 d5 2. g3 Nf6 3. Bg2 e6 4. O-O Bd6 5. d3 O-O 6. Nbd2 c5 7. e4 d4 8. e5, the pawn hits the bishop and the knight at once and Black loses a piece for a pawn. After 7. e4, about one opponent in seven plays 7...d4 and walks into it. The others: 1...e5 loses a pawn to 2. Nxe5; after ...Nc6, ...e5 and ...Bc5, the fork trick 6. Nxe5 and 7. d4 wins the piece back and leaves the d5-pawn exposed; ...e4 against d3 loses a pawn after the queen trade; after ...Bxf3, Bg5 and Bxf6 remove the guard of d5 and the bishop takes it; and in the ...c5 lines a knight that grabs the b2-pawn gets trapped by Qe2.
How do you play against the King's Indian Attack?
Take the center while White builds, with ...d5 and ...c5 or ...e5, and do not wait passively for e4 and e5. In the ...e6 structures, keep the dark-squared bishop on e7 rather than d6 if you plan to close the center with ...d4, because e5 then forks the bishop and the f6-knight. Do not push ...e4 early against d3, since the exchanges usually cost the pawn. In the ...e6 and ...c5 structures, race on the queenside with ...b5 and ...b4 before White's kingside attack gets going. Early ...Bf5 or ...Bg4 setups are sound, but they invite h3, g4 and Nh4, or a well-prepared e4.
Is the King's Indian Attack good for beginners?
Yes. You play nearly the same first moves in every game, the king is safe early, and the plans (e4, e5, then a kingside attack) are easy to remember. The usual beginner problem is discipline rather than theory: in our own players' 1. Nf3 games it is most often White, not the opponent, who leaves the book first, typically on move two with 2. e4 or 2. Nc3 where 2. g3 belongs. The trainer drills that order until it is automatic, then spends its time on the positions club opponents actually reach. It also helps that 1. Nf3 is rare below 1600: once you have drilled it, you will have seen these positions far more often than the players you meet.