Don Chess

Learn the King's Indian Defense

You let White have the centre first – then launch a wild attack on the king. Kasparov’s great love.

You play with Black. How you learn it with Don Chess: watch first, then play it with an arrow, then from memory – with spaced repetition until it sticks. Free, no sign-up.

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The main line

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.Nf3 O-O 6.Be2 e5 7.O-O Nc6 8.d5 Ne7

E97 · King's Indian Defense: Orthodox Variation, Aronin-Taimanov Defense

The position after the main line

The moves explained

Why is each move played? The explanations come from the opening trainer – there you play the moves yourself afterwards.

  1. 1.d4 Occupies the centre with a pawn on d4.
  2. 1…Nf6 Develops the knight to f6 – pieces out first, then attack.
  3. 2.c4 Fights for the centre from the side with the pawn on c4.
  4. 2…g6 Prepares the fianchetto: the bishop goes to the long diagonal.
  5. 3.Nc3 Develops the knight to c3 – pieces out first, then attack.
  6. 3…Bg7 Develops the bishop to g7 – pieces out first, then attack.
  7. 4.e4 Occupies the centre with a pawn on e4.
  8. 4…d6 Prepares the pawn move to c5.
  9. 5.Nf3 Develops the knight to f3 – pieces out first, then attack.
  10. 5…O-O Castles: the king is safe and the rook joins the game.
  11. 6.Be2 Develops the bishop to e2 – pieces out first, then attack.
  12. 6…e5 Attacks the pawn on d4 – the fight for the centre begins.
  13. 7.O-O Castles: the king is safe and the rook joins the game.
  14. 7…Nc6 Develops the knight to c6 – pieces out first, then attack.
  15. 8.d5 Occupies the centre with a pawn on d5.
  16. 8…Ne7 The knight was attacked and goes to safety on e7.

Idea and plans

The idea

Black lets White have the centre, fianchettoes on g7 and hits back later with …e5 or …c5.

Plan for White

Use the queenside space: c4–c5, b4 and pressure on the c-file.

Plan for Black

Once the centre is closed (d5), attack on the kingside with …f5, …f4 and …g5.

Tip

With a closed centre both sides play on opposite wings – tempo is everything.

The 10 lines in the course

Grey: the moves shared with the main line. Bold: the move where the line leaves it.

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More openings