What ELO is it good to learn and play the Kings Indian Defense OTB?

Question

I am roughly 1400 USCF and when I play against 1. d4, I tend to avoid the theoretical stuff (Benoni, KID) and defenses such as the Nimzo and QID (mostly anything hypermodern). So I stick with the classical 1... d5 defenses mostly. But, as I am becoming a better chess player I am looking towards other openings; I have played the KID over some casual games and of all of the other d4 defenses, I play the KID intuitively pretty well.

However, what is making me reluctant of it is defending against the Four pawns attack, Saemisch, and Averbakh lines (or anything where white plays a early Bg5) are a bit annoying. But I enjoy playing against the classical lines.

What would be a good choice?

Answer 1

Elo points don't matter. Just play what opening you feel comfortable with most. If you play it well intuitively, then go ahead.

Answer 2

You can adopt it in OTB play at any time. The Kings Indian Defense is a very solid one, but like all openings it will take time and practice to familiarize yourself with many of the lines. I would suggest continuing to play in informal games to build up your exposure. If a position comes up that confuses you early on, take note of the board position and spend some time with it later reviewing it with an engine or against master-play databases to see common lines.

The theory of the opening is very different from what you've been playing. If you haven't yet, I'd suggest looking into that aspect as early as possible and watch how it comes alive in players who have favored the opening like Fischer.