Symmetrical Defense

The King's Indian Attack: Symmetrical Defense arises after 1. Nf3 Nf6 2. g3 g6, when Black copies White's first two moves and prepares to fianchetto the king's bishop as well. By leaving the d-pawn at home, Black avoids committing to the ...d5 setups that the usual King's Indian Attack plans are aimed at, and keeps open a transition into King's Indian Defense structures. White has not yet committed any central pawns either, so the position remains a crossroads from which many different openings can develop.

3. Bg2 is by far the most common reply and continues the mirror image. 3. d4 leads to the Przepiorka Variation of the Indian Defense. 3. b3 sets up a double fianchetto, and 3. b4, the Smyslov Variation, grabs queenside space at once. The quiet 3. d3, keeping the King's Indian Attack plan with e4 in view, is seldom chosen. Engines favor 3. c4, 3. Bg2 or 3. d4 and assess the position as roughly balanced. In online games White scores somewhat better than Black, and draws are uncommon.