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King's Indian Defense

Orthodox Variation, Korchnoi Attack

E97positionaloffbeat

  1. 1.d4Nf6
  2. 2.c4g6
  3. 3.Nc3Bg7
  4. 4.e4d6
  5. 5.Nf3O-O
  6. 6.Be2e5
  7. 7.O-ONc6
  8. 8.d5Ne7
  9. 9.Bd2
39 games51%44%

A rare King's Indian Mar del Plata line where White develops with 9. Bd2, preparing queenside play while Black readies the ...f5 break.

Train it in Theoria

About the Korchnoi Attack

The Korchnoi Attack is White's 9. Bd2 in the Mar del Plata main line of the King's Indian, an alternative to 9. Ne1, 9. Nd2 and 9. b4. The bishop develops quietly and leaves the f3-knight in place while White works toward the usual c4–c5 queenside break. Black typically reroutes the f6-knight to free the f-pawn for ...f5, most often with 9...Ne8, less often with 9...Nd7 or 9...Nh5. The line is rarely seen, and engines give White a slight edge.

Popular continuations