King’s Indian Defense Repertoire for Black – Part 1 + PGN March 30, 2026

King’s Indian Defense (Part 1): Repertoire for Black by GM Baadur Jobava and GM Andrea Stella

Dark Squares First, Everything Else Second

The King’s Indian has always been a fighting choice — Black accepts a space deficit and bets on the counterattack. Most repertoires in this opening follow that logic from move one. This one reorders the priorities.

The main weapon of this course is 5…Bg4!? after 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.Nf3 — the tenth most popular reply at this point, guaranteeing practical surprise value even at the highest levels.

The idea is precise: Black pins the knight, delays castling, and after 6.Be2 Bxf3 7.Bxf3 e5 8.d5 plays 8…h5!? — keeping the rook on h8 to support …Bh6. The target is the dark-squared bishop exchange, leaving White with a passive piece on f3 and Black with a structural concept that is easy to understand and difficult to neutralize.

Beyond the Main Line

The coverage extends well beyond 5.Nf3. The Four Pawns Attack receives thorough treatment across six chapters, with responses calibrated for both clarity and ambition: the pawn sacrifice 7…Na6!? in the 7.dxc5 line, the immediate queenside counter 10…c4!? against 10.Nd2, and concrete solutions in the critical 12.e6 structure.

The Hungarian Attack (5.Nge2) is met with the rare 6…a5!?, a specialist’s move that claims queenside space early. The Seirawan Variation (5.Bd3) is answered with 5…Nc6 and a strong knight landing on d4. Fianchetto systems are handled with a favorable Benoni-type structure after 6…c5.

The Authors

GM Baadur Jobava has previously built a complete answer to 1.e4 on Modern Chess, covering the Sveshnikov across Play the Sveshnikov Sicilian – Part 1, Play the Sveshnikov Sicilian – Part 2, and Anti-Sveshnikov Sicilian – Top-Level Repertoire for Black. Those three courses form an independent system against 1.e4; this King’s Indian course is a separate project built against 1.d4.

GM Andrea Stella serves as co-author and annotator, contributing the analytical precision and structural clarity that runs through every chapter.

Variation Map

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

• 5.Nf3 Bg4!? (main weapon)
  • 6.Be2 Bxf3 7.Bxf3 e5 8.d5 h5!? → Chapter 1
  • 6.Be3 and sidelines (6.h3, 6.Qb3) → Chapter 2
• 5.g3, 5.Be3, 5.Bg5

• 5.g3 O-O 6.Bg2 c5 (favorable Benoni structure) → Chapter 3

• 5.Nge2 (Hungarian Attack)

• 5…O-O 6.Ng3 a5!? → Chapter 4

• 5.Bd3 (Seirawan Variation)

• 5…Nc6 6.Nge2 e5 7.d5 Nd4 → Chapter 5

• 5.f4 (Four Pawns Attack)

• 6.Nf3 c5 7.dxc5 Na6!? (pawn sacrifice) → Chapter 6
• 7.d5 e6 8.dxe6 fxe6 (open f-file) → Chapter 7
• 8.Be2 exd5 9.exd5 Bf5! → Chapter 8
• 9.cxd5 Re8 10.Nd2 c4!? (queenside counter) → Chapter 9
• 10.e5 dxe5 11.fxe5 Ng4 12.Bg5 and sidelines → Chapter 10
• 12.e6 (critical passed pawn) → Chapter 11