King's Indian AttackA07 / A08
This is the King's Indian Defence with an extra tempo and the colours reversed: the fianchettoed bishop on g2, the pawn on d3, and the e-pawn held back until the pieces are ready to support it. The whole point is that White does not have to know what Black is playing. You put the seven moves down, and only then look up and decide what to do — and the answer is almost always the same: e4, then e5 to gain space, then the knight manoeuvre Nf1-h2-g4 or Nf1-g3 and an attack on the kingside where your pieces already are. The cost is real. White gives up any claim to an opening advantage and often stands slightly worse against precise play, and if you drift — playing e4 before Nbd2 supports it, or castling into an open g-file — the extra tempo evaporates. What you get in return is one setup instead of six, and a middlegame you have seen a hundred times.
Played by
- Bobby Fischer — won some of his most famous attacking games with it, including the 1967 win over Myagmarsuren
- Leonid Stein — a Soviet champion whose King's Indian Attack games are the model for the e4-e5 kingside plan
Model game
Fischer – Myagmarsuren, Sousse Interzonal 1967
Next: Nf3 — yours
