The King's Indian Defence, Four Pawns Attack: 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4... 7.Nf3 begins with 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.f4 0-0 6.Be2 c5 7.Nf3 (ECO E78). With 18,445 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, Four Pawns Attack: 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4... 6.Be2. Among the most prolific White practitioners are William E Martz (20 games), Wolfgang Uhlmann (17 games), Mario Bertok (13 games). Black-side regulars include Svetozar Gligoric (8 games), Heikki MJ Westerinen (5 games), Werner Golz (4 games).
Move Diversity and Theory Depth
Move choice is far from uniform in the King's Indian Defence, Four Pawns Attack: 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4... 7.Nf3. At 1200 Elo, the top reply is cxd4, played 63.3% of the time. There are 5 other moves seeing meaningful share, and 81% of games stick to established theory. Entropy: 1.98. By 2500, cxd4 dominates at 87.4% of replies; only 2 viable alternatives remain and 98.1% of moves are theory. Entropy drops to 0.70. That entropy collapse is the signature of a line where preparation pays off: at the top, players know the best move and play it.
Main Lines and Variations
The main branches off 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.f4 0-0 6.Be2 c5 7.Nf3 include:
Each branch leads to a different middlegame character — the resulting pawn structure decides what kind of game you get.
Common Mistakes
- 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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