Play the King’s Indian Attack! – A Learn-Less, Win-More Repertoire for White

by Cyrus Lakdawala

Bobby Fischer reached for the King’s Indian Attack again and again, and it is easy to see why. White fianchettoes the king’s bishop early and plays d3, typically follows up with e4, and quite often throws the kingside pawns forward. The plans are clear, there is no mountain of theory to memorise, and Cyrus Lakdawala teaches the whole system through 77 illustrative games — eleven of them featuring Fischer with the white pieces.Don’t mistake “easy to learn” for “dull”. Once the middlegame arrives, the KIA produces plenty of excitement and complications, positional as well as tactical. The difference is that very little has to be learned by rote: absorb the core ideas from the introduction and the model games, and you are ready to play it.For each of Black’s main responses, the book proposes White’s most effective set-up, chosen so that it is simple to remember. The coverage runs as follows:The Reversed King’s IndianThe Reversed PircKIA vs ...d5 ...c6 and ...Bxf3KIA vs ...d5 ...c6 and ...Bh5KIA vs Reversed London SystemKIA vs French DefenceKIA vs ...e5/...d6 StructuresKIA vs Reversed English FormationsLakdawala knows the opening from the inside. He plays it regularly, has passed it on to many students over the years, and includes a dozen of his own games — nine with White and three with Black. The remaining examples come from a long list of top players, among them Kasparov, Carlsen, Anand, Kramnik, Botvinnik, Petrosian, Ding, Gukesh, Nakamura, Nepo, Pragg, Erigaisi, Giri, Svidler, Kamsky, Timman, Polugaevsky, Stahlberg and Lilienthal.