King's Indian Defense: Orthodox Variation
ECO E91, E92, E94, E95 · 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. Nf3 O-O 6. Be2
The Orthodox (Classical) King's Indian, 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.Nf3 O-O 6.Be2 e5, is White's most natural setup and the main battleground of the opening. After 7.O-O Nc6 8.d5 Ne7 the famous Mar del Plata structure appears: both sides attack on the wing where their pawns point. White can also play 7.d5, 7.Be3 or the queenless 7.dxe5 dxe5 8.Qxd8 Rxd8.
Plans for White
With the center closed, White plays on the queenside: c5 with b4, a knight to d2 or e1 heading for c4 or d3, and lines opened on the c-file. The 9.b4 Bayonet Attack and 9.Ne1 are the two big main lines. White also plays f3 to blunt Black's coming pawn storm.
Plans for Black
Black reroutes the f6 knight with ...Ne8 or ...Nd7, plays ...f5 and ...f4, then ...g5-g4 and sometimes ...Rf6-h6 or ...Ng6-h4 to mate the king. Instead of ...Nc6, Black can choose 7...exd4, 7...Na6 or 7...Nbd7 for a more central game.
Typical pawn structures
White's d5 and e4 against Black's d6 and e5 split the board in two. White's pawn chain points to the queenside and Black's to the kingside, so speed matters more than material.
Who it suits
Black players who want an uncompromising attacking game; White players who like space and queenside pressure.
Common traps
If White's queenside play is slow, Black's ...g4 and sacrifices on h3 or g2 crash through. For Black, once White plays c5 and cxd6, a knight jump to b5 aimed at c7 can fork pieces or win the exchange.
Variations
- King's Indian Defense: Orthodox Variation, Classical System — 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. Nf3 O-O 6. Be2 e5 7. O-O Nc6 8. d5 Ne7 9. Ne1
- King's Indian Defense: Orthodox Variation, Positional Defense — 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 d6 3. Nc3 Nbd7 4. e4 e5 5. Nf3 g6 6. Be2 Bg7 7. O-O O-O
- King's Indian Defense: Orthodox Variation, Bayonet Attack — 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. Nf3 O-O 6. Be2 e5 7. O-O Nc6 8. d5 Ne7 9. b4
- King's Indian Defense: Orthodox Variation, Gligoric-Taimanov System — 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. Nf3 O-O 6. Be2 e5 7. Be3
- King's Indian Defense: Orthodox Variation, Aronin-Taimanov Defense — 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. Nf3 O-O 6. Be2 e5 7. O-O Nc6
- King's Indian Defense: Orthodox Variation, Donner Defense — 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. Nf3 O-O 6. Be2 e5 7. O-O c6
- King's Indian Defense: Orthodox Variation, Glek Defense — 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. Nf3 O-O 6. Be2 e5 7. O-O Na6
- King's Indian Defense: Orthodox Variation, Ukrainian Defense — 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. Nf3 O-O 6. Be2 e5 7. O-O a5
- King's Indian Defense: Orthodox Variation, Korchnoi Attack — 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. Nf3 O-O 6. Be2 e5 7. O-O Nc6 8. d5 Ne7 9. Bd2
- King's Indian Defense: Orthodox Variation, Modern System — 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. Nf3 O-O 6. Be2 e5 7. O-O Nc6 8. d5 Ne7 9. Nd2
Related variations
- King's Indian Defense: Fianchetto Variation
- King's Indian Defense: Normal Variation
- King's Indian Defense: Four Pawns Attack
- King's Indian Defense: Sämisch Variation
- King's Indian Defense: Averbakh Variation
- King's Indian Defense: Semi-Classical Variation
- King's Indian Defense: Petrosian Variation
- King's Indian Defense: Santasiere Variation
- King's Indian Defense: Accelerated Averbakh Variation
- King's Indian Defense: Kramer Variation
- King's Indian Defense: Makogonov Variation
- King's Indian Defense: Smyslov Variation
- King's Indian Defense: Karpov System
- King's Indian Defense: Larsen Variation
- King's Indian Defense: Semi-Averbakh System
- King's Indian Defense: Steiner Attack
- King's Indian Defense: Zinnowitz Variation
- King's Indian Defense: Kazakh Variation
- King's Indian Defense: Exchange Variation
- King's Indian Defense: Pomar System
- King's Indian Defense: Six Pawns Attack