As Black
King's Indian Defence
The King's Indian Defence is a chess opening for Black that starts with 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6.
Black lets White build a pawn centre and then attacks it with ...e5 and often ...f5. Attacking play on the kingside.
Reviewed on November 6, 2026 · Prepared by Josep Serrano Ballestero
10 lines
6.Be2 e5 7.O-O c6
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.Nf3 O-O 6.Be2 e5 7.O-O c6 8.Re1 Na6 9.Bf1 exd4 10.Nxd4 Ng4
4...d6 5.f3 O-O 6.Be3
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.f3 O-O 6.Be3 e5 7.d5 c6 8.Qd2 cxd5 9.cxd5 Ne8 10.O-O-O f5
5.Nf3 O-O 6.Be2 Bg4
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.Nf3 O-O 6.Be2 Bg4 7.Be3 Nfd7 8.Ng1 Bxe2 9.Ngxe2 e5 10.O-O a5
4...d6 5.f3 O-O 6.Bg5
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.f3 O-O 6.Bg5 c5 7.d5 e6 8.Qd2 exd5 9.cxd5 Re8 10.Bd3 Nbd7
7...Nc6 8.d5 Ne7 9.Ne1
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 9.Ne1 Nd7 10.Nd3 f5
6.Be2 e5 7.O-O Na6
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.Nf3 O-O 6.Be2 e5 7.O-O Na6 8.Re1 Qe8 9.Bf1 c6 10.h3 Nh5
7...Nc6 8.d5 Ne7 9.b4
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 9.b4 Nh5 10.c5 f5
7...Nc6 8.d5 Ne7 9.Nd2
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 9.Nd2 a5 10.a3 Nd7 11.Rb1 f5 12.b4 Kh8
4...d6 5.Nf3 O-O 6.h3
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.Nf3 O-O 6.h3 e5 7.d5 a5 8.g4 Na6 9.Be3 Ne8 10.Rg1 f5
5.Nf3 O-O 6.Be2 Na6
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.Nf3 O-O 6.Be2 Na6 7.O-O e5 8.Re1 c6 9.Bf1 Re8 10.d5 c5
Frequently asked questions
Is the King's Indian Defence good for beginners?
It is better suited to experienced players. On OpeningCraft it is aimed at players with Elo 1800 – 2000. It suits players who like attacks, gambits and open positions.
How many lines of the King's Indian Defence do you need to learn?
OpeningCraft teaches 10, in blocks of 5. They come from real Lichess games at each rating band, and the traps and opponent mistakes most common at your level come first.