Against the King's Indian and Grünfeld: free opening course

Key ideas

• Against the King's Indian, build the big centre with pawns on c4, d4 and e4, then develop calmly and castle.
• When Black plays ...e5 and ...Nc6, close the centre with d5. Then attack on the queenside with b4 and c5.
• When Black takes on d4, guard the e4 pawn with f3 and keep your pieces safe from tricks on the long diagonal.
• Against the Grünfeld, take the centre with e4 and support d4. Your pawns on c3, d4 and e4 are your trump.
• In the Grünfeld, Black attacks d4 with the g7 bishop, ...c5 and ...Nc6. Keep d4 guarded and push to d5 when it gains time.

The 6 variations in the course

• King's Indian Classical: Bayonet Attack 9.b4: 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. Nf3 O-O 6. Be2 e5 … — White closes the centre with d5 and attacks on the queenside at once with 9.b4. Black plays ...Nh5 and ...f5 for kingside play. White's rook guards e4, the knight jumps to g5, and White gets ready for c5.
• King's Indian Classical: 7...exd4: 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. Nf3 O-O 6. Be2 e5 … — Black gives up the centre to open the long diagonal for the g7 bishop. White takes back with the knight, holds e4 with f3 and steps the king to h1. Then the bishop goes to g5 and the knight drops to b3.
• King's Indian Classical: Glek 7...Na6: 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. Nf3 O-O 6. Be2 e5 … — Black develops the knight to a6. White plays Be3, the bishop dodges the knight with Bg5, and h3 sends the knight back. Then White trades on e5. Black's knight on a6 stays far from the centre.
• Sämisch Variation: 5.f3: 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. f3 O-O 6. Be3 e5 … — A second weapon against the King's Indian. White guards e4 with f3 and develops the bishop to e3 and the queen to d2. After ...e5 and d5, White opens the c-file and keeps a solid space edge.
• Grünfeld Exchange: 7.Nf3 c5 8.Rb1: 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. e4 Nxc3 6. bxc3 Bg7 … — White builds the big centre with e4 and supports it with the knight. The rook goes to b1 before castling. If Black grabs the a2 pawn, White gets fast development and a strong centre for it.
• Grünfeld Exchange: Classical 7.Bc4: 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. e4 Nxc3 6. bxc3 Bg7 … — The bishop goes to c4 and the knight to e2, so a pin on the f3 knight is not possible. After ...Bg4 and f3, Black plays ...Na5. White keeps the bishop with Bd3, takes back on d4 and pushes d5 with tempo.

Traps you will learn (2)

• 7...exd4 line: 12.Qd2? Nxe4 — A trap White must avoid. With the queen on b6 and the g7 bishop both aiming at d4, the move 12.Qd2 looks natural. But Black takes on e4, and after the trades on d4 Black is a pawn up.
• Grünfeld 7.Bc4: 12...c4? 13.Bc2 — After 12.Bd3 the g4 bishop is still attacked. The push 12...c4 hits the bishop, but it steps to c2, and Black's g4 bishop still has to move. White wins time, and Black has no more pressure on d4.

How the opening courses work

Each course teaches an opening in a few main variations. For every move you read why it is played, which other moves are good, and which tempting moves are mistakes and why. Each course also shows the traps of the opening: the ones you can set and the ones to avoid.

After a lesson you play the moves yourself in a drill. The lines you learn go into your review, which brings them back when you are about to forget them (spaced repetition). 30 line courses add many short lines per opening, a few new ones a day, and every named opening, more than 3,800 lines, has a lesson of its own.