E73

King's Indian Defense: Averbakh Variation

Key moves: 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.Nf3

The Classical System is the main line of the King's Indian. White develops naturally and the battle centres on whether Black can successfully execute the ...e5 break. The resulting middlegames feature some of the most dramatic attacking play in chess.

History & Notable Players

The Classical KID has produced some of the most famous games in history, including many Kasparov brilliancies.

Best Games

Nakamura,Hi vs Grischuk,A1-0
FIDE Grand Prix 1 Pool A • 2022★ Notable
Aronian,L vs Firouzja,Alireza1-0
Saint Louis Blitz 2020 • 2020★ Notable
Kramnik, Vladimir vs Ljubojevic, Ljubomir1-0
Amber Blindfold • 1999★ Notable
Jussupow, Artur vs Gelfand, Boris1/2-1/2
Dortmund • 1997★ Notable
Gelfand, Boris vs Kamsky, Gata1/2-1/2
Linares • 1994★ Notable
Topalov, Veselin vs Paduch, A.1-0
Wch U16 • 1990★ Notable
Gelfand, Boris vs Schlosser, Michael0-1
Wch U20 • 1988★ Notable
Gelfand, Boris vs Hellers, Ferdinand1-0
Wch U20 • 1988★ Notable
Erigaisi,Arjun vs Radjabov,T1-0
World Blitz 2025 • 2025
Praggnanandhaa,R vs Caruana,F1-0
chess.com SpeedChess 2025 • 2025
Praggnanandhaa,R vs Caruana,F0-1
chess.com SpeedChess 2025 • 2025
Aronian,L vs Caruana,F1/2-1/2
GCT Finals 2025 • 2025
Erigaisi,Arjun vs Carlsen,M1-0
13th Norway Armageddon • 2025
So,W vs Kourkoulos Arditis,Stamatis1/2-1/2
45th Olympiad 2024 • 2024
Erigaisi,Arjun vs Carlsen,M1-0
FIDE World Bl Team Final • 2024
Martirosyan,Haik M. vs Praggnanandhaa,R1/2-1/2
57th Biel GM1 Final 2024 • 2024
Caruana,F vs Rapport,R0-1
SuperUnited Blitz 2023 • 2023
Xiong,Jeffery vs Nakamura,Hi0-1
Saint Louis Rapid 2022 • 2022
Aronian,L vs Theodorou,Nikolas0-1
44th Olympiad 2022 • 2022
Al Hosani,Omran vs Gukesh,D0-1
44th Olympiad 2022 • 2022

Explore More

All OpeningsAll Players