The King's Indian Defence: 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4... a5 begins with 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.Nf3 0-0 6.Be2 e5 7.0-0 Nbd7 8.Re1 c6 9.Bf1 a5 (ECO E96). With 2,308 games on record, the patterns below come from the largest practical sample available.
History and Notable Players
It arises from the King's Indian Defence: 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4... 8.Re1. Among the most prolific White practitioners are Wlodzimierz Schmidt (7 games), Ivan Farago (6 games), Lajos Portisch (4 games). Black-side regulars include Rainer Knaak (10 games), Ivan Nemet (8 games), Ekaterina Kovalevskaya (7 games).
Move Diversity and Theory Depth
Looking at move selection shows how forcing — or not — the position really is. At 1200 Elo, the top reply is —, played 0% of the time. There are 0 other moves seeing meaningful share, and 0% of games stick to established theory. Entropy: 0.00. By 2500, Rb1 dominates at 22.9% of replies; only 6 viable alternatives remain and 59.5% of moves are theory. Entropy drops to 2.88. Move diversity stays high even at master level, suggesting the opening doesn't force one specific response.
Common Mistakes
- Playing outside main lines — At 400 Elo, only 0% of moves follow established theory — at 2000 that climbs to 58.1%. Most of the gap is players who pick a reasonable-looking move over the best one, and the position quietly drifts.
- Neglecting development — It can feel productive to make extra pawn moves early, but falling behind in piece development is what loses most amateur games — especially in open positions where active pieces find squares fast.
- Letting White own the centre — Hypermodern openings concede central space on purpose, but only if you strike back in time. Delay the counter-blow and you end up squeezed.
Practice on Chessiverse
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