Complete Repertoire against the King's Indian Defense — GM Valery Kazakouski & GM Pier Luigi Basso
Who is attacking whom?
The King's Indian rests on a bargain. Black hands over the centre and the space, pushes ...e5, and after White closes the position with d5, Black receives in exchange the one thing that makes the whole opening worth playing: the kingside attack. The pawn break with f5 and a potential pawn storm, rook lift, and a potentially devastating attack.
The Makogonov System cancels that bargain. After 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.h3, White plays the quietest move on the board — and it turns out to be the first move of the most aggressive plan available. The pawn on h3 takes ...Ng4 and ...Bg4 away, which allows Be3 without harassment, and it prepares g2-g4. The break Black has been counting on since move one now costs far more to arrange, and it is White who takes the kingside first.
That reversal is the argument of the whole repertoire. As Kazakouski puts it in the introduction, White grabs space on both wings, keeps the structure flexible, and reacts to Black's plans instead of committing early. The theory is rich but logical: once the structures make sense, every line feels familiar.
Why 5.h3 and 6.Be3
The order matters. The older treatment of the system combined h3 with an early Nf3; here the g1-knight stays home, and the bishop goes to e3 first. From there White simply waits and adapts — if Black tries to open the centre, White is ready; if Black keeps it closed, White expands on the wings.
The knight then has the far better route Ng1-e2-g3, where it defends e4, adds control of the f5-square and supports the further advance of the White pawns, rather than being tied to d2. Small detail, large practical consequence.
Black's principal reply is 6...e5, met by 7.d5 — the centre closed on White's terms, a clear space advantage, and the play shifted to the flanks. Then comes 8.g4, which Kazakouski calls the soul of the system: more space, Nge2-g3 to follow, and a plan that is easy to carry out while Black's counterplay is slow.
The authors
Kazakouski supplies the repertoire and the reasoning behind every choice; GM Pier Luigi Basso contributes the practical filter familiar from his other work — lines selected so that the resulting middlegames can be played on understanding rather than recall.
The two previously produced A Practical Repertoire against the Gruenfeld, built on 7.Bc4 and a single attacking blueprint. The pairing is a natural one: after 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3, Black's two principal branches are 3...d5 and the King's Indian setup with ...Bg7 and ...d6, and GM Valery Kazakouski now answers both.
Map of the variations
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.h3
- 5...e5 — the immediate central strike, a question of move order → Chapter 4
5...O-O 6.Be3 — the tabiya of the system
- 6...e5 7.d5 — the main line
- 7...a5, preparing ...Na6-c5 — 8.g4 → Chapter 1
- 7...Na6, the same plan, delaying…a5 → Chapter 2
- 7...c6 and the sharp 7...Nh5 → Chapter 3
- 6...c6 7.Nf3 Na6 — preparing ...e5 under improved circumstances → Chapter 5
- 6...Nbd7 — solid, keeping all options open → Chapter 6
- 6...c5 7.Nf3 — the direct queenside counterstrike
- 7...Qa5 → Chapter 7
- 7...cxd4 → Chapter 8
- 6...Na6, developing the knight immediately → Chapter 9
- 6...Nc6, provoking d4-d5 → Chapter 10
What you get
- 10 chapters
- 20 test positions
- Memory Booster
- To Go version of every chapter
- Video instruction
- Multilingual PGN (English, German, French, Spanish)
Take the kingside first
If your problem with the King's Indian has been the moment when Black's attack finally gets going, this repertoire removes the moment rather than defending against it. One flexible system, ten chapters of application, and a King's Indian player who has to find counterplay somewhere he is not used to looking.