80/20 Tactics – King’s Indian Defense

GM Bryan Smith

If you want to know an opening, you should be familiar with its typical positional ideas and remember the
most important theoretical lines. But this is not enough.

Every opening has its own stock of tactical motives. Therefore, you also have to know the typical tactical
patterns which frequently recur in your opening.

GM Bryan Smith’s course on the essential tactics in the King’s Indian Defense gives you a complete
understanding of typical tactical patterns for both sides. Even if you only play the King’s Indian as Black,
it’s important to know the opportunities available to White so you can prevent them!

The KID is a complex and rewarding opening where White enjoys more space but Black has a number of
surprising methods to lay siege to the enemy position, often resulting in brilliant wins.

GM Bryan Smith explains the mechanics behind some of the most powerful tactics in Grandmaster play
before giving detailed commentary on 2 of his own games.

The result is an elevated understanding of the typical tactical and strategic themes of the King’s Indian
Defense, which you can test and strengthen with the included quizzes!

Summary:

Introduction

Part 1: Tactics for Black

1. Introduction
2. Barrett-Smith
3. Batordene-Smith
4. Checa-Smith
5. Hamer-Smith
6. Hassen-Smith
7. Khismatullin-Smirin
8. Li-Wang
9. Morefield-Smith
10. MVL-Mamedyarov
11. Najer-Mamedyarov
12. Piorun-HillarpPersson
13. Radovanovic-Smith
14. Raghunandan-Amonatov
15. Ringoir-Cheparinov
16. Shmelov-Smith
17. Sinha-Smith
18. So-Nakamura

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 19. Spacek-Smirin
20. Ulrich-Smith
21. Wu-Smith

Part 2: Tactics for White

1. Introduction
2. Antic-Kolev
3. Bogdanovich-Belous
4. Eljanov-Eijk
5. Shankland-Patel
6. Georgiev-Georgiev
7. Lei-Bakalchuk
8. Mareco-Nedev.mp4
9. Vallejo-Mustaps
10. Melkumyan-DiBerardino
11. Miron-Ambru
12. Navara-Muhammad
13. Vocaturo-Steel

Part 3: Decision-making in the KID

1. Introduction
2. Intuition and counterplay
3. Calculation and evaluation
4. Schematic thinking
5. Blackburne’s brilliance
6. Conclusion

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 Part 1: Tactics Explained
General Concepts

1. The King’s Indian Defense is a chess opening for Black against 1.d4 and occurs after the moves
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7. You can see this position in the diagram below.

2. First of all, it is key to understand that the King’s Indian Defense is a hypermodern opening.
Black does not try to control the center early on with his pawns but spends time fianchettoing
his dark-squared bishop and only later attacks the center with his pieces. To put it into a simple
formula: Black first leaves the center to White and then tries to conquer it with his superior
development.

3. Many positions in the King’s Indian Defense promise Black more active play than in
other openings. Black is able to enter unbalanced positions which allow him to aim for
more than equality with the Black pieces. The King’s Indian Defense is a classic counter-
attacking weapon against 1.d4 and was the choice of World Champions including Bobby
Fischer and Garry Kasparov.

4. As usual in the King’s Indian Defense, Black should develop his kingside pieces first and then
challenge the center with …e5 or …c5.

5. The pressure over the d4 pawn will force White to make a defining decision over his central
pawn structure.

6. Many lines which arise from the King’s Indian Defense lead to very sharp play. That is why it
is of great importance to be familiar with the recurring tactical themes for both sides which
occur in the unique structure of the King’s Indian Defense. This helps you to spot tactics more
quickly than if you have never seen them before.

7. The nature of the opening is that Black often depends on dynamic resources, sharp play and
attacks against the opponent’s king. The long-term strategic features in positions which arise
from the King’s Indian Defense are often not in Black’s favor – White has more space, a mobility
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 advantage and Black has several weaknesses. On top of that, Black is sometimes even down
material.

Key Tactical Ideas

1. Analyzing the King‘s Indian Defense can be a good starting point to learn tactics, because it is an
inherently tactical opening. Black often has to rely on tactical ideas in order to achieve his aims.

2. Remember that tactics occur when pieces are in the right places, on active squares. When you have
the right structure, with pieces working well together, you will find the tactical shots that decide
games.

3. Generally speaking, you need to be aware that every tactic begins with the idea of having as many
of your pieces involved in the game as possible. Development is key.

4. The concept of active piece play is of paramount importance in the King’s Indian Defense: Bring
your pieces together so they all support each other and work as a unit. This means that you need
to prepare your tactics. Get your pieces working together. Put the pieces on their most active
squares - tactics don't appear from thin air, so play actively in order to create the opportunities.
This is the secret to successful tactical play in the King’s Indian Defense - keep the pressure up.

5. If you have the better piece mobility with active pieces, then being down on material doesn't
matter so much - if your opponent's pieces are not working to their full potential then they may
as well not be on the board anyway!

Tactics for White

Introduction: There are several recurring tactical ideas for White against the King’s Indian Defense. Most
of the time, White’s tactical ideas are connected with the following aspects: White’s queenside initiative,
an attack by White on the Black king, White refuting some attacks by Black and endgame tactics where
White is able to use the weak points in Black’s position to win the game.

1. Queenside Initiative: In many variations in the King’s Indian Defense, White is aiming for
initiative on the queenside. Black has to be aware of the fact that White can sometimes sacrifice a
whole piece in order to gain extremely strong connected passed pawns.

2. Black’s light-squared bishop: In the Mar del Plata variation – the most famous line of the King’s
Indian Defense - the light-squared bishop is extremely important for Black. White has initiative on
the queenside, Black goes all in for an attack against White’s king. Black’s pawn chain is on the
dark squares, but he needs to break through on the light squares. Therefore if White can get this
bishop, Black’s attack usually ends. It’s a common tactical idea to eliminate this bishop – even at
the cost of material.

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 3. Vulnerable e6-square: In the closed structures of the King’s Indian Defense, where the center is
closed by d4-d5, Black almost always has to seek counterplay on the kingside with f7-f5. This,
however, has the downside that the e6 square can become vulnerable. White’s knight can come to
g5 and e6 in some cases.

In this position, White played 16.Ne6, attacking Black’s queen and rook. After 16…Bxe6 17.dxe5 Qc8
18.Nd5, White has a promising position. If Black takes the pawn on e6, White can play c5 and make use of
the a2-g8 diagonal.

4. Kings castled on opposite sides: Against the King’s Indian Defense White usually has to play
patiently and aim to make his long-term positional advantages count. However, there are also
cases in which White wins with a crushing attack – especially in positions with kings castled on
opposite sides.

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Tactics for Black

Introduction: Tactics come in many forms for Black in the King’s Indian Defense. Usually, Black can
launch one of many attacks on White’s king. Sometimes Black manages to prove that White’s center is
overextended and make it collapse. What’s more, many tactics are connected with Black’s most important
piece – the dark-squared bishop on g7. Often Black sacrifices material to allow this bishop to come to life.

1. Development: In the King’s Indian Defense, White has the better prospects in the long-run
because he has more space in the center. But in the short run, he has to worry about being behind
in development and activity. If White plays carelessly, the center he is so proud of can evaporate
quickly.

Don’t be afraid to sacrifice material for activity as Black in the King’s Indian Defense. In fact, many
tactics only work because White is behind in development. Black often has a huge lead in development
and White is not able to deal with it.

The Four Pawns Attack, for example, is the most aggressive setup for White against the King’s Indian
Defense. With 5.f4, White builds up a massive pawn center. In return, however, White falls behind in
development.

Here Black can destroy White’s center with 10…Nfxe4! 11.Nxe4 Bf5! Bd3 Bxe4 13.Bxe4 f5! and Black
wins back his piece with a good position.

2. Locked Pawn Center: Locked pawn structures often occur in the King’s Indian Attack. In
positions with locked pawn structures, there are usually no effective pawn breaks. Sometimes,
however, a piece sacrifice can break through.

In this position, Black can sacrifice material in order to destroy White’s pawn chain. After 21…Rxc3!
22.Qxc3 N6xd5 23.exd5 Nxd5 24.Qd2 Nxe3, White can’t recapture the knight on e3 due to the threat of
…Bb6.
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 3. Overextended Center: White has a natural space advantage in most lines and quickly takes over
the center. Afterwards it is on Black to show that White’s position is overextended and can be
attacked by tactical blows.

4. White’s weakness on d4: In the structures where White does not play d4-d5 and allows Black to
take on d4 with the e-pawn instead, the d4 square becomes vulnerable. Often White takes back on
d4 with a knight which can easily become a target for Black.

Here it seems like White’s last move – 16.Bg5 – pins the knight on f6. In fact, however, 16.Bg5 is a
mistake. Black can play 16…Nfxe4! 17.fxe4 Bxd4+ 18.Qxd4 Qxg5 with a clearly better position.

5. Black’s dark-squared bishop on g7: In the King’s Indian Defense, Black’s dark-squared bishop
is a particularly important piece. If Black is left with an unopposed dark-squared bishop in
openings like the King’s Indian Defense or the Dragon, it almost always means that something has
gone wrong for White. Activating this bishop can often be worth a pawn or even an exchange.

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 In his game against Morefield, GM Smith instructively opens the h8-a1 diagonal against White’s
king to successfully mate White. This shows us once more what a deadly monster the bishop on g7
can become in the King’s Indian Defense.

6. Counterattacking Chances: Black has plenty of counterattacking chances against various of

White’s aggressive setups. For example, by watching Bryan Smith’s instructive play we discover
that a quick mating attack with Be3, Qd2, Bh6 and h2-h4 does not work for White. White cannot
set up the same attacking pattern as he can against the Sicilian Dragon. GM Bryan Smith
counterattacks in the center with …c5 and proves that White’s king on e1 is even weaker than
Black’s king on g8.

Here Black can play 10…Bxh6 11.Qxh6 (White’s queen is far away from the center) 11…cxd4 12.Nce2
Qa5+ and it’s White who is in trouble.

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 Chapter 2: Intuition and Calculation
1. Calculation and evaluation are the nuts and bolts of chess. We outplay our opponents by
calculating lines better than them and evaluating the final position more accurately.
In each game, there is always an interaction between assessment of the position, the general
principles which are guiding our play and concrete calculation. We use a combination of
calculation and intuition for our decision-making process at the chessboard. The interplay between
intuition and calculation is key.

2. It is important to understand that calculation and intuition often go hand in hand. As humans
can’t calculate like computers it usually doesn’t make sense to calculate every playable move in a
given position.

First of all, we need to use our intuition to figure out what is important in the position in front of
us. Secondly, we need to figure out what we are trying to achieve. Only then, can we come up with
sensible candidate moves to calculate.

3. You need to trust your intuition in certain positions which can’t be evaluated by calculating endless
variations. Often, you can’t foresee all the complications that can arise from a dynamic position.
You need develop to a certain feel for the position.

4. Calculation backs up the evaluation of the position. You need to use calculation, for instance, to
make your positional advantage count. You can play a strong positional game, but to finish off the
game it often requires a tactical blow which will convert your advantage into something
more concrete. This tactical blow requires accurate calculation of variations.

5. There are also positions in which calculation is almost useless and instead schematic thinking
becomes necessary.

In this position, calculating every line and possibility

would be inefficient as well as very difficult.

You need to use schematic thinking to discover that White

can only win by bringing his knight to g2 and h4. There are
no concrete lines as Black can’t do anything to create
counterplay.