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Ponderchess / King's Indian Defense

Orthodox Variation

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.Nf3 O-O 6.Be2 e5. Also called the Classical Variation: White develops naturally and Black hits d4 at once, often leading to the Mar del Plata.

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.Nf3 O-O 6.Be2 e5

Step through it in the King's Indian Defense explorer →

Key ideas

  • After 7.O-O Nc6 8.d5 Ne7 the centre is locked and the Mar del Plata structure appears. Black retreats the knight from f6 to d7 or e8 and plays ...f5, ...f4 and ...g5 against White's king, while White opens the queenside with c5.
  • White's main choices at move 9 are 9.Ne1, heading for d3 to support c5 (9...Nd7 10.f3 f5 is the traditional line), 9.Nd2, and the Bayonet Attack 9.b4, which starts the queenside expansion before Black's knight is ready. Against 9.b4 Black usually plays 9...Nh5.
  • White can change the timing with 7.d5 (the Petrosian Variation), 7.Be3 (the Gligoric-Taimanov System) or 7.dxe5 dxe5 8.Qxd8 Rxd8, a queenless middlegame in which White hopes to use the d5 square. After 7.O-O, Black has alternatives to 7...Nc6 in 7...Na6, 7...Nbd7 and 7...exd4.
  • In the Mar del Plata the race is the whole game. Black's pawns reach f4 and g4 to open lines in front of White's king; White's c5 and cxd6 open the c-file toward c7. Tempo counts for more than material.

Plans for White

In the closed lines, expand on the queenside with b4 and c5, bring a knight to d3 or c4, open the c-file and aim for c7. Play f3 to slow Black's pawn storm, and keep pieces ready to defend g2 and h2.

Plans for Black

Once the centre is closed, attack on the kingside with ...f5, ...f4, ...g5 and ...g4, and bring the knight to g6. A rook on f7 guards c7 along the seventh rank, which buys time against White's queenside play.

For the wider picture, see the King's Indian Defense guide.

22 named lines of the Orthodox Variation