Réti Opening and King's Indian Attack: free opening course

Key ideas

• In the Réti, hit d5 from the flank with c4 and decide on the centre only after Black commits.
• Fianchetto the king's bishop on g2 (and often the queen's bishop on b2) so both bishops rake the centre from afar.
• If Black plays ...d4, treat it like a reversed Benoni: play e3, exchange, and use the queenside majority with a3 and b4.
• In the King's Indian Attack, build g3, Bg2, O-O, d3, Nbd2 and e4, then push e5 and attack the castled king with Nf1-h2-g4, h4 and Bf4.
• Against the Caro-Kann and Sicilian setups, the e4-e5 push and the knight jump to h4-f5 give White kingside chances.
• Watch for loose pieces in front of a pawn: an e4-e5 push can fork a knight on f6 and a bishop on d6.

The 6 variations in the course

• Réti: 2...d4 Advance: 1. Nf3 d5 2. c4 d4 3. e3 c5 4. exd4 cxd4 5. d3 Nc6 6. g3 e5 … — Black grabs space with ...d4. White answers with e3 and exd4, then plays a reversed Benoni with the queenside majority, Na3-c2 and the b4 break.
• Réti Accepted: 2...dxc4 3.e3: 1. Nf3 d5 2. c4 dxc4 3. e3 Nf6 4. Bxc4 e6 5. O-O c5 6. b3 Nc6 … — Black takes the c4 pawn. White regains it simply with e3 and Bxc4, then develops with b3, Bb2 and Qe2, aiming at the centre with d4 or e4.
• Réti vs ...c6 and ...Nf6: Double Fianchetto (New York System): 1. Nf3 d5 2. c4 c6 3. b3 Nf6 4. g3 Bf5 5. Bg2 e6 6. Bb2 Nbd7 … — Black builds a Slav setup with ...c6, ...d5, ...Nf6 and ...Bf5. White fianchettoes both bishops and keeps the centre flexible with d3, Nbd2 and a later e4 or b4.
• King's Indian Attack vs French setup: 1. Nf3 d5 2. g3 c5 3. Bg2 Nc6 4. O-O e6 5. d3 Nf6 6. Nbd2 Be7 … — Black sets up with ...d5, ...e6 and ...c5. White builds the KIA, pushes e5 to gain kingside space, and attacks with Nf1, h4 and Bf4 while Black storms the queenside.
• King's Indian Attack vs Caro-Kann setup: 1. Nf3 d5 2. g3 Nf6 3. Bg2 c6 4. O-O Bg4 5. d3 Nbd7 6. Nbd2 e5 … — Black plays ...d5, ...Nf6, ...c6 and ...Bg4. White breaks with e4, uses h3, Qe1 and Nh4 to chase the bishop, and plants the knight on f5.
• King's Indian Attack vs Sicilian setup: 1. Nf3 c5 2. g3 Nc6 3. Bg2 g6 4. O-O Bg7 5. d3 e6 6. e4 Nge7 … — Black plays ...c5, ...Nc6, ...g6 and ...e6. White builds the KIA with e4, Re1 and c3, then breaks with d4 and gains space with e5.

Traps you will learn (2)

• Réti Accepted: the a-file rook trap — Black tries to hold the extra c4 pawn with ...b5 and ...a6. After a4 and axb5, the reflex recapture ...axb5 drops the a8 rook.
• KIA: the e4-e5 pawn fork — When Black's bishop sits on d6 next to a knight on f6, and the d-file is open, White's e4-e5 forks both pieces.

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.