King's Indian Defense

ECO E60-E99intermediate

The King's Indian Defense — 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 followed by ...d6 and ...e5 — is the most ambitious defense to 1.d4 ever devised. Black concedes the center deliberately, then assaults it: in the Classical main line both sides castle short and Black launches the iconic ...f5-f4 and ...g5-g4 pawn storm at White's king while White breaks through on the queenside with c5 — a true race. Kasparov, Fischer and Tal made it a legend; it remains the weapon of choice for players who must win with Black.

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Main line

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.

Diagram shows the position after 6 half-moves of the main line. On SpeakChess you can drill this line move by move — the trainer plays the other side and corrects you instantly, then spaced repetition schedules each variation so you review it right before you would forget it.

Move by move

The first 12 moves of the main line, explained one at a time. Every move of every variation is annotated like this inside the trainer — this page shows the opening moves so you can judge the explanations before signing up.

White advances the pawn to d4, staking a strong claim in the center and opening paths for the queen and bishop to develop.
The black knight jumps to f6, a great central square. It controls the e4 square and starts developing pieces right from the start.
White pushes the pawn to c4, forming a big pawn center alongside d4. This gives White a lot of space and prepares to fight for the middle of the board.
Black pushes the pawn to g6, making room for the bishop to slide out to g7. This is the start of the King's Indian setup, where the bishop becomes very powerful on the long diagonal.
Nice job bringing your knight out to c3! It hops off its starting home and lands on this dark square, ready to help guard the middle of the board. Developing your pieces early like this is a smart way to get your army active.
The black bishop moves to g7, sitting on the long diagonal and pointing all the way across the board. This is one of Black's best pieces in the King's Indian Defense.
White pushes the pawn to e4, building a powerful pawn center with two pawns side by side. White now controls a lot of space in the middle of the board.
Black pushes the pawn to d6, making space for the other pieces and keeping the center solid. This is a key move in the King's Indian Defense.
The white bishop moves to e2, a safe and solid square. It gets ready to castle and helps protect the center.
Black castles kingside, tucking the king safely behind the pawns and bringing the rook to f8 where it can become active.
The white bishop steps to e3, an active square where it guards the d4 pawn and eyes important central squares. It also helps connect the white pieces.
Black pushes the pawn to e5, challenging White's strong center. This is a typical King's Indian strike, trying to open the game and fight for space.

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Win rates by rating

Results from real online games, measured after the line shown in each row. Most opening sites show one aggregate number — how an opening scores depends heavily on who is playing it.

Rating	Games	White wins	Draws	Black wins	Position after
400-600	69	47.8%	1.4%	50.7%	1.d4 Nf6 2.c4
600-800	30	46.7%	0%	53.3%	1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.Be2 O-O
800-1000	57	61.4%	3.5%	35.1%	1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.Be2 O-O 6.Be3
1000-1200	34	38.2%	0%	61.8%	1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.Be2 O-O 6.Be3
1200-1400	247	55.9%	3.6%	40.5%	1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.Be2 O-O 6.Be3 e5
1400-1600	882	50.5%	2.9%	46.6%	1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.Be2 O-O 6.Be3 e5
1600-1800	152	50.7%	4%	45.4%	1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.Be2 O-O 6.Be3 e5
1800-2000	397	54.2%	4.8%	41.1%	1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.Be2 O-O 6.Be3 e5
2000-2200	780	50.1%	5.1%	44.7%	1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.Be2 O-O 6.Be3 e5
2200-2400	670	53.1%	3.3%	43.6%	1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.Be2 O-O 6.Be3 e5

Most played continuations (1400-1600 rating)

After 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.Be2 O-O 6.Be3 e5:

d5 — played 82.7% of the time (White wins 50.5%, draws 3.3%, Black wins 46.2%)
Nf3 — played 7.9% of the time (White wins 47.1%, draws 1.4%, Black wins 51.4%)
dxe5 — played 4.2% of the time (White wins 62.2%, draws 2.7%, Black wins 35.1%)

Related openings

Frequently asked questions

Is the King's Indian too risky for club players?

It is double-edged but enormously practical: plans matter more than precise theory, the same structures recur in every game, and White players below master level rarely handle the queenside race correctly. If you are comfortable being attacked on one wing while attacking on the other, it is one of the highest-scoring Black defenses.

What is the Mar del Plata attack?

The signature KID battle: in the Classical after 9.Ne1 Nd7 10.Be3 f5 11.f3 f4 12.Bf2 g5, Black throws every kingside pawn at White's king while White invades with c5 and Nb5 on the other wing. Whoever breaks through first wins — games routinely end in mate or a queened pawn.

What is White's most testing line against the KID?

Each main system poses a different question: the Classical (Nf3 and Be2) enters the race on theoretical terms, the Sämisch (f3) blunts ...Ng4 and prepares a Be3/Qd2 clamp, and the Fianchetto (g3) sidesteps the attack entirely — the line KID players universally find most annoying.