King's Indian with ...c5
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6
A repertoire for Black · ECO E60–E99
Against White's most aggressive King's Indian setups — the Saemisch, the Four Pawns — the classical ...e5 break can play into White's hands. This course teaches the other weapon: the ...c5 strike, steering the game into Benoni-style structures where Black's counterplay comes fastest.
Start the King's Indian with ...c5 course
Mainline
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.f3 O-O 6.Be3 c5
Key ideas
- Meet the Saemisch and Four Pawns with ...c5, hitting d4 where those setups are weakest.
- Play the resulting Benoni structures with confidence: queenside majority, dark-square pressure, active pieces.
- Use the g7-bishop's full power — in the ...c5 structures its diagonal opens rather than closes.
- Keep one coherent repertoire: the same strike works against White's whole aggressive family.
Typical plans and structures
After ...c5, play typically continues d5 and now Black has the classic Benoni toolkit: ...e6 and ...exd5 for the majority structure, or gambit-flavored ...b5 breaks against the Saemisch's slow development. Knights route via a6-c7 or d7 toward b5 and e5, the queen finds a5 or b6, and the half-open files do the talking. The course pairs each White setup with its correct ...c5 timing — the difference between a strong strike and a premature one.
Who should play it
King's Indian players who want the sharpest practical answer to the Saemisch and Four Pawns, and anyone who enjoys Benoni-style counterattacking structures.
Frequently asked questions
Why play ...c5 instead of ...e5 against the Saemisch?
The Saemisch's f3 setup is built to weather the kingside storm that follows ...e5 — but it develops slowly, and ...c5 punishes exactly that. Opening the queenside and the long diagonal hits White before the attacking machine assembles.
Do I need to know Benoni theory to play this repertoire?
You inherit Benoni-style structures, but through a King's Indian move order that dodges White's sharpest direct Benoni tries. The course teaches the structures from scratch — majority play, the ...b5 break, dark-square strategy — assuming no prior Benoni knowledge.
Does the ...c5 plan work against the Four Pawns Attack?
It is the main line against it: after 5.f4 O-O 6.Nf3 c5 7.d5 e6, Black's counterplay in the center and on the e-file punishes White's ambitious pawn front. These positions score well for Black at every level.
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