King's Pawn Line

In the King's Pawn Line White answers the Modern Benoni structure by occupying the center at once with 6. e4, pairing the d5-pawn with a second central pawn. The e-pawn controls d5 and f5 and prepares e4-e5, which would cut through the diagonal of a bishop on g7 and open lines toward Black's king. Black, with a half-open e-file and a queenside majority, aims for ...b5 or a timely ...f5 or ...Re8 to pressure e4. Engines give White a slight edge, but in practice results are nearly even.

The most common reply is 6...g6, the standard fianchetto, after which White chooses between the sharp 7. f4, the quieter 7. Nf3, and Sämisch-style setups with 7. f3 Bg7 followed by 8. Be3 or 8. Nge2. A related line with Bg5 arises by transposition from the King's Indian move order 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. f3 O-O 6. Bg5 c5 7. d5. The second choice, 6...Be7, develops more modestly without a fianchetto and scores somewhat worse for Black, while 6...a6 prepares an early ...b5.