Gawain Jones - Chessable Lifetime Repertoires: Kings Indian Defense Part 1

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[White Course Introduction]

[Black Introduction]

[Result *]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6

{ Growing up, learning opening theory didnt appeal to me. I just wanted to reach a position where I could attack my opponents. Against 1.d4 I played the Benko Gambit, which served me reasonably well - if I was allowed to play it. However, I was on my own if my opponent spoiled the fun with 2. Nf3, or even worse: played the English. I decided I needed a change. I still wanted something aggressive, and an opening that my opponent couldnt trick me out of. The Kings Indian ticked the boxes, and I purchased Joe Gallaghers Play the Kings Indian. I wont pretend I became an immediate convert to theory memorisation, as I was playing sidelines where possible. The one thats stuck with me is Nbd7 in the Classical, which well examine in this course, of course alongside the mainline Mar del Plata. I really enjoyed the dynamics of the Kings Indian and the ability to always fight for the full point. The Kings Indian has stuck with me as my main opening for over fifteen years, and I cant see that changing anytime soon. Theres obviously a lot of theory accumulated on the Kings Indian, but I still believe its reasonably easy to pick up. We can play Nf6, g6, Bg7 against any white setup, and then look up to see where White has chosen to put his pieces. As we allow White free rein for the first few moves, there are a lot of possible options for him too. He usually takes the opportunity to occupy the centre, but that gives us something to attack. Well use our fianchettoed bishop to add more pressure on the d4-pawn. Against Whites classical setups well break with e7-e5. White then has a decision to make. If he keeps the centre fluid then he has to watch out for us capturing on d4, activating the bishop on g7 and putting pressure on the e4-pawn. White therefore normally closes the position with d4-d5, but thats what were waiting for! With a closed centre the battle lines are drawn. Our central pawns on d6 and e5 are pointing towards Whites kingside, and its there that we should attack. Well move the knight away from f6 and play for a pawn storm directed at Whites king, starting with f7-f5. White will seek counterplay on the queenside. We reach incredibly double-edged positions. Whites attack is often the faster one, but the stakes are higher on the kingside. White breaking through on the queenside might win a pawn or two - but if we crash through its mate! Most players really dont like their king coming under attack, and so dislike facing the Kings Indian. Its very hard to simply keep control. White needs to juggle attacking on the queenside and knowing when to retreat in order to attempt to ward off our attack. Some variations are designed specifically against this kingside assault, the primary one in this course being the Samisch with f2-f3. There White gives further support to his e4-pawn and remains flexible with his king. If we play the same way as we do in the Classical Kings Indian, White may well castle queenside. Against these setups I recommend playing the c7-c5 break instead. We reach Benoni-style structures, but ones where White has avoided the most critical lines. Well aim to generate counterplay by opening the centre with e7-e6 and the queenside with b7-b5. @@HeaderStart@@Is the KID sound?@@HeaderEnd@@ I often come across people who grudgingly accept that they dont like facing the Kings Indian, and have a terrible score against it, but maintain its just a tricksters opening, and not really sound. With the Kings Indian, were not trying to suffer a bit to hold. If your idea of a correct opening choice is playing lots of theory to liquidate all the material and make a draw, youre looking in the wrong place. We play the Kings Indian to win! Whilst its true that it would be an odd opening choice if youre playing a World Championship match where a draw is all you need to take the title, nonetheless I believe its fully playable. Certainly, Black is still playing the Kings Indian at the highest level of Correspondence Chess and scoring fine. Engines still havent refuted our counterattacking opening. @@HeaderStart@@Move orders@@HeaderEnd@@ Your opponent playing slightly different move orders and tricking you out of your intended line is a huge problem in many openings. When I tried learning the Grunfeld a few years ago, this was a big challenge, especially if White starts with 1.Nf3 or 1.c4. With the Kings Indian in your arsenal, you dont need to worry about facing the Reti or English move orders at all, as we can simply play our setup. The Anti-Grunfeld setups tend to just transpose to normal Kings Indians. }

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[White Course Introduction]

[Black Part One]

[Result *]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6

{ This course will cover Whites most principled setup. White takes the opportunity to occupy the centre with his three pawns on c4, d4 and e4. Well play our typical moves and see where White decides to put his pieces. If someone had never faced the Kings Indian before, then, unsurprisingly, the Classical Variation @@StartBracket@@ 5.Nf3 O-O 6.Be2 @@EndBracket@@ would appear correct. White takes the space on offer, develops and castles kingside. Here Im offering a choice. I go into all the intricacies of the Mar del Plata Variation @@StartBracket@@ 6e5 7.O-O Nc6 8.d5 Ne7 @@EndBracket@@, with the fantastic races and stunning games - Piket-Kasparov being a well-known brilliancy. I also offer an explanation on 6Nbd7 , my own pet line, developing the knight to d7 instead. This circumvents the big theoretical debate as well as the Bayonet Attack. We accept that well have less space, but trust that we understand the positions better than our opponents. Our kingside attack is a bit slower than in the main lines, but its still coming. First of all, well try to block up the queenside to stimy Whites own play. The positions are very complex and its tough for White to know where to put his pieces. This has been my primary choice since 2009 and no one has refuted it yet! As well as these two approaches to the Classical, we also investigate Whites setups where he delays castling. With @@StartFEN@@rnbq1rk1/ppp2pbp/3p1np1/4p3/2PPP3/2N1BN2/PP2BPPP/R2QK2R b KQ - 1 7@@EndFEN@@ the Gligoric Variation White first develops his bishop to e3, staying flexible with his king. This is something of a trap. Continuing on auto-pilot with 7Nc6?! allows 8.d5 Ne7 9.Nd2! By keeping the king in the centre, White wants to play g2-g4 and squeeze the life out of us. The major downside is that the bishop can immediately be hit by @@StartFEN@@rnbq1rk1/ppp2pbp/3p1np1/4p3/2PPP3/2N1BN2/PP2BPPP/R2QK2R b KQ - 1 7@@EndFEN@@ 7Ng4 . White cant allow that bishop to be exchanged and so it needs to move again. The bishop being shunted around is a typical theme in this variation. Another way for White to defer the decision about his king is to push the pawn immediately with @@StartFEN@@rnbq1rk1/ppp2pbp/3p1np1/4p3/2PPP3/2N2N2/PP2BPPP/R1BQK2R w KQ - 0 7@@EndFEN@@ 7.d5 . This is named after the ninth World Champion, Tigran Petrosian. The Petrosian Variation is a much more strategic approach. White grabs space and attempts a python strategy, squeezing us to death. Dont worry, we can still make Whites path treacherous. In the mainline, well be able to follow Alexander Grischuk and Alireza Firouzja who sacrificed their queens for great long-term compensation. The Petrosian has drifted out of fashion in the last few years, as White has attempted the same effect with a slightly different setup. In @@StartFEN@@rnbq1rk1/ppp1ppbp/3p1np1/8/2PPP3/2N2N2/PP3PPP/R1BQKB1R w KQ - 2 6@@EndFEN@@ 6.h3 and other h3-setups, sometimes named after IM Vladimir Makogonov, White delays developing either bishop. The move h3 looks odd, not contributing to Whites development at all. However, Whites plan is to remain very flexible and counter whichever setup Black chooses.This line has become very topical, but I believe its much harder for White to play. I recommend playing in a similar fashion as against the Petrosian Variation. Indeed these two lines can often transpose. Our plan is to play 6e5 followed by 7.d5 a5 to carve out a good square for our knight on c5. White normally plays g2-g4 to try and prevent f7-f5. But in that case Whites king is left with no safe home, and if f7-f5 comes, Whites position often collapses immediately. The final setup examined in Part 1 is quite different. With the Samisch Variation White prefers keeping his knight at home and instead plays @@StartFEN@@rnbqk2r/ppp1ppbp/3p1np1/8/2PPP3/2N5/PP3PPP/R1BQKBNR w KQkq - 0 5@@EndFEN@@ 5.f3 . White supports the e4-pawn and wants to keep his big centre intact. I recommend switching to Benoni waters with 5O-O 6.Be3 c5 . With the pawn on f3 White struggles to find a good way to develop his kingside pieces, and so his king is often stuck in the centre. This allows the potential for lots of piece sacrifices, opening lines towards the white king. I hope you enjoy the course, and wish you all the best with your journey in the Kings Indian. I look forward to seeing lots of attacking brilliancies. Remember, if in doubt its all about the initiative! }