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The King's Indian Attack

Important variations are animated at the bottom of the page.

This is a commonly used opening, especially when you get into advanced play. There are 2 main strategies for white. He can do either or both. The main line is 1. Nf3. This can get very dangerous for black and very safe for white. When white moves Nf3, he is trying to accomplish 2 goals. One is a fianchetto on the kingside. The other is a violent attack on black's queenside.

The King's Indian Attack
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You should have read about the Fried Liver Attack already. A goal for white is to try this on black's queenside. This is very different. You can see a diagram of the main attack on the left. White expects you to move 1...d5 which is followed by 2. d4 or c4. This is followed by Bf4, Nc3, Nb5 (all white's moves). This can get a lot more violent and a lot harder to defend than the Fried Liver Attack. Black really needs to watch out. This also gains more time and space for a more open kingside fianchetto. The bishop will add lots of pressure in the middle, more so than with the king pawn's opening. This is used less, but should be used more as it is one of the best openings for white.
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King's Indian Attack

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