20
votes
Why do some openings have Indian in their name?
In Indian Chess, the game that was played in the 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries in India (not to be confused with its ancestor Chaturanga), the rules allowed no castle, and double-step pawn moves ...
- 15.8k
15
votes
Accepted
Modified move-order in the KID 4. ..0-0. What is the point and how to react?
In the vast majority of the cases, 4....d6 and 4....0-0 transpose into each other.
However, with 4....0-0 black keeps the option of playing c6 and d5. Recently, this idea has been played by GM Jobava,...
- 5,526
15
votes
Accepted
Why do some openings have Indian in their name?
In many cases, openings are named after a notable first master game (or games). The master or country does not necessarily must have contributed to it. Apparently in the case of Indian openings (1. d4 ...
- 20.7k
12
votes
Why is KID considered more sound than Pirc?
The c4 square is a natural development square for White's light-squared bishop, which targets the f7-square. Having a pawn on c4 takes away that opportunity.
In semi-open defences against 1. e4 the f7-...
- 1,969
11
votes
Accepted
Why 6...e5 in King's Indian?
It is good to think more concretely here. After move like e5 three things can happen. White can take on e5, white can play d5 or black will one day play exd4 himself.
Taking on e5 never wins a pawn ...
- 3,276
10
votes
Accepted
Why don't we see more Kings Indian Defenses in top level chess?
It is simply not as solid as other openings, mostly because it cedes too much space, and especially with the advent of computers: White has simply found more ways to press black.
In a 2017 interview,...
- 32.4k
10
votes
Accepted
What is the idea behind the Nd7 Nb6 by black maneuver in the King's Indian Defence?
Well for starters, Bxb6 is a bad move for white because the bishop on e3 is a key piece in white's position. Notice that all of white's pawns are fixed on light squares. If you give up the dark ...
- 5,713
9
votes
Accepted
How to avoid Pirc in favor of KID
No, you cannot force white to play c4 and end up in a KID.
However, if you want to avoid the Pirc, you have several options after 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nc3.
... d5 is the most popular and you usually end ...
- 20.7k
9
votes
Accepted
Pawn storm, should I start with h4 or g4?
Typically you use a pawn storm to exchange pawns around the castled enemy king and thereby to open lines and diagonals for an attack. Most of the time you want a closed (to some extent) center in ...
- 20.7k
8
votes
Accepted
Why is Black supposed to attack on the kingside in the King's Indian?
There is a general principle that says that, in positions with a blocked center, every side must attack in the direction where his own pawn chain points to. For example, in the KID, sometimes White ...
- 1,149
8
votes
What ELO is it good to learn and play the Kings Indian Defense OTB?
Elo points don't matter. Just play what opening you feel comfortable with most. If you play it well intuitively, then go ahead.
- 916
8
votes
Accepted
KID Gligoric-Taimanov Variation [E92] Black inaccuracy? Move 7 .... Nc6
Chess engines are currently not able to give you a good analysis of opening moves all by themselves. This is basically due to the huge number of possible variations during the opening phase. Engines ...
- 20.7k
8
votes
Why is c4 bad when playing the London against a King's Indian?
It may be to the fact that you are making his bad Bishop into a Monster.
After 6...c5, 7. d5 Nh5! and the dark square bishop is free to roam.
[FEN "rnbq1rk1/pp2ppbp/3p2p1/2pP3n/2P2B2/4PN2/PP1N1PPP/...
- 269
8
votes
Accepted
The value of less common moves
There are many reasons why percentages are misleading. They can mean that the move is more often played when white is stronger than black, or in situations where a draw isn't what white wants, or ...
- 27.8k
7
votes
Accepted
King's Indian defense: When is Nh5 the better option to prepare f5
The reason for playing ...Nh5 is to have the option of playing ...Nf4, where ...exf4 would unleash his usually bad KID bishop. Case in point is the Bayonet Attack:
[FEN ""]
[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[...
- 1,433
7
votes
Why is c4 bad when playing the London against a King's Indian?
If you want to play c4 against the King's Indian, it's better to go "all in" by having your e-pawn on e4 (so playing a main line against the KID). With the pawn on e3 you're sort of dipping your toe ...
- 19.8k
7
votes
Why is c4 bad when playing the London against a King's Indian?
I don't think the problem is with any c4 in this type of position altogether. I think that if you go for a line like 5.c4 and 6.Nc3 your position is just OK.
The particular position you post is maybe ...
- 16.3k
7
votes
Accepted
Transposition into KID
It is a matter of choice
Many grandmasters (e.g. world champion Viswanathan Anand) have consistently played 1.c4 e5 with Black. Others favour the KID or other defenses : Hedgehog (with b6), ...
- 15.8k
6
votes
Why 6...e5 in King's Indian?
After 6....e5 the centre usually gets closed with white playing d5. This closed centre helps black in his kingside attack with f5, g5, ... The dark squared bishop sometimes goes to f8 from where it ...
- 20.7k
6
votes
Accepted
Beating the King's Indian Defense: strategic ideas?
You do not say why you lose: Are you being beaten positionally, or are your opponents successfully attacking your king?
This a VERY difficult question to answer since it is such a large opening to ...
- 32.4k
6
votes
Accepted
King's Indian Defense - When to play 6...c5 or 6...e5
I'm not a KID expert, but Joe Gallagher GM is, so I'll quote him from "Starting out: The King's Indian":
"If you are going to play the King's Indian with Black you may be a
little confused as to ...
- 4,357
6
votes
Pawn storm, should I start with h4 or g4?
The main purpose of a pawn storm is to exchange pawns and open lines. Therefore, in the ideal case you should push the pawn that can easily be exchanged. With a Black pawn on g6, it makes sense to ...
- 19.8k
6
votes
Accepted
Stockfish Evaluations
Very related: Traxler Counterattack
The answer is effectively the same: White has roughly a +0.5 advantage in the starting position, and a shift of a few centipawns one way or another is acceptable, ...
- 26.1k
6
votes
Stockfish Evaluations
KID is a notorious difficult opening for a chess engine to evaluate. Forget all those opening lines, just look at the standard positions based on standard positional terms.
White has an advanced pawn ...
- 22.4k
6
votes
Why is bishop to h8 the best move in this position?
The knight on h5 has no retreat squares, which means the threat of White playing g2-g4 is on the cards. The move ... Bh8 then frees up the g7 square so the knight has a retreat square should it be ...
- 1,969
6
votes
Why is KID considered more sound than Pirc?
The two openings don't really compete with each other, as one is a defense against 1.d4/c4/Nf3 and the other against 1.e4. To understand their popularity, you have to compare them against alternative ...
- 27.8k
6
votes
Accepted
Why is the King's Indian often used to play for a win against 1. d4 when it allows an early queen trade?
The first section of this answer is more subjective but I hope still insightful.
The KID isn't necessarily the best choice for a must-win game but it is a good choice for a fighting game and for ...
- 549
5
votes
1. e4 with backup plan
When you play 1.e4, you should have a plan against:
d5 - Scandanavian
Nf6 - Alekhine's
d6 - Pirc
c6 - Caro-Kann
g6 - Modern
c5 - Sicilian
e5 - King's Pawn
e6 - French
Nc6 and other garbage.
I would ...
- 1,976
5
votes
Accepted
King's indian attack vs defense relationship
They are indeed similar in some ways; as you have noted, the kingside structure that gives the variations their names are identical to each other, and there are some similar themes, such as a kingside ...
- 14.7k
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible