The King's Indian Defense for Black – Part 4: The 7...Na6 System
"A knight on the rim is dim." Few maxims are drilled into beginners more often — and few are refuted more elegantly than by 7...Na6 in the Classical King's Indian. The knight steps to the edge not to linger there, but to spring into c5, where it pressures e4 while Black's central counterplay gathers force.
That paradox runs through the whole of Part 4. Instead of the dense, move-for-move theory demanded by 7...Nc6 or 7...Nbd7, Black gets a repertoire organized around recurring ideas: the ...Na6–c5 route, the flexible ...Qe7, reinforcing e5 while keeping all options open, and the thematic ...Ng4 and ...f5 breaks. The same plans reappear against almost everything White tries, so understanding carries the load rather than memorization.
What makes this course different
The system is built for players who want to fight for the full point with Black. Every line keeps the position rich and double-edged, with clear plans for both wings rather than a forced march toward equality. Even the variations with the dullest reputation get rehabilitated here — Black scores excellently in the Exchange lines, and GM Baadur Jobava's treatment of the 7.dxe5 Exchange Variation is likely to change how you view a structure most players reach for only to make a draw.
The authors and their reasoning
GM Andrea Stella supplies the theoretical foundation — the move-order subtleties, the critical 9.d5 main line, and the engine-approved resources behind each branch — while GM Baadur Jobava brings the creative, practical edge the King's Indian has always rewarded. Their case for 7...Na6 is straightforward: it is sound, flexible, and low-maintenance, yet it has been trusted at the very top by players such as Firouzja and Grischuk. That blend of objective health and fighting character is exactly what a winning weapon for Black should offer.
Map of variations
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.Be2 e5
6.Nf3 — main move order
- 6.dxe5 (recent Van Foreest game) → Chapter 15
- 6.d5 (very rare) → Chapter 12
6...O-O 7.O-O — main
- 7.Be3 — Gligorić and others → Chapter 10
- 7.d5 — Petrosian System → Chapter 11
- 7.dxe5 — Exchange Variation (Jobava's handling) → Chapters 13–14
7...Na6 8.Be3 — the critical battleground
- 8.Re1 Bg4 → Chapter 5
- 8.d5 Nc5 → Chapter 6
- 8.dxe5 → Chapter 7
- 8.Bg5 h6 9.Be3 Ng4 → Chapter 8
- 8.Rb1 c6 → Chapter 9
8...Qe7 9.d5 Ng4 — the main line → Chapter 2
- 9.dxe5 → Chapter 1
- 9.Bg5 exd4 10.Nd5 Qd8 → Chapter 3
- 9.Qc2 Nb4 → Chapter 4
Premium Course Features
This is a Modern Chess Premium course, built as a complete training system:
- 15 theory chapters
- Video instruction throughout
- 30 test positions — critical moments with tactical and strategic solutions
- 5 training positions for interactive practice against the engine
- To-Go Version of every chapter — condensed files for fast pre-game review
- Memory Booster — for long-term recall of the key ideas
- Multilingual PGN files — English, German, French and Spanish
- Full download access — all materials are yours to keep
Continuing the series
Part 4 is the next installment in Stella and Jobava's King's Indian Defense According to Jobava series, picking up the thread the authors began earlier — where, for instance, Part 1 answered the 5.Nf3 move order with 5...Bg4. The 7...Na6 system fits naturally alongside that work, deepening the same fighting approach to the Classical main lines.
For a fighting Black repertoire grounded in ideas rather than memorization, add the 7...Na6 system to your arsenal and explore the King's Indian Defense According to Jobava series.