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King's Indian Defense · As White · updated October 2026

Play against the King's Indian like Magnus Carlsen

A repertoire against the King's Indian built from 36 of Magnus Carlsen's public Chess.com blitz games. At every position you play the move Magnus Carlsen chose most often. Where Magnus Carlsen has fewer than 3 games, the course takes the other top-50 players' most played move, then Stockfish's. Learn a line on the board, then each position comes back in a short daily review until it sticks.

Not affiliated with or endorsed by Magnus Carlsen or Chess.com.

  • Magnus Carlsen was #2 in Chess.com blitz in October 2026 (3,413) and scored 75% against opponents averaging 3,081 in these games.
  • You play Magnus Carlsen's own move in 12 of 23 positions.
  • The whole course is free, and it is updated monthly.

Free · first 5 lines need no account

Blitz rank

#2

Chess.com

Rating

3,413

Games

36

in this opening

Score

75%

in these games

Opponents

3,081

average rating

More about Magnus Carlsen

Use arrow keys to navigate the board. Press Enter to select a piece, then use arrow keys and Enter to move. Press Escape to cancel a move.
Line 1 after 19 moves

Lines to learn

  1. Line 1 · 21% at top level

    4.e4 d6 5.f3 O-O 6.Bg5 a6 7.Qd2 c5 8.d5 b5 9.cxb5 axb5 10.Bxb5 Ba6 11.Nge2 Qa5 12.a4 Nbd7 13.O-O

  2. Line 2 · 21% at top level

    4.e4 d6 5.f3 O-O 6.Bg5 c5 7.d5 e6 8.Qd2 h6 9.Be3

  3. Line 3 · 14% at top level

    4.e4 O-O 5.f3 d6 6.Bg5

  4. Line 4 · 11% at top level

    4.e4 d6 5.f3 O-O 6.Bg5 a6 7.Qd2 c5 8.d5 b5 9.cxb5 axb5 10.Bxb5 Ba6 11.Nge2 Qa5 12.a4 Qb4 13.Na2

  5. Line 5 · 11% at top level

    4.e4 d6 5.f3 O-O 6.Bg5 c5 7.d5 e6 8.Qd2 exd5 9.cxd5 a6 10.a4 Re8 11.Ra3

  6. Line 6 · 11% at top level

    4.e4 d6 5.f3 O-O 6.Bg5 c5 7.d5 e6 8.Qd2 exd5 9.cxd5 a6 10.a4 h6 11.Be3 Nbd7 12.Nh3 Ne5 13.Nf2 h5 14.h3

  7. Line 7 · 11% at top level

    4.e4 d6 5.f3 O-O 6.Bg5 c5 7.d5 h6 8.Be3

Ordered by how often they come up in top-level games. Learned lines join your daily review.

Magnus Carlsen's main line against the King's Indian, move by move

The most common line at top level: 4.e4 d6 5.f3 O-O 6.Bg5 a6 7.Qd2 c5 8.d5 b5 9.cxb5 axb5 10.Bxb5 Ba6 11.Nge2 Qa5 12.a4 Nbd7 13.O-O.

  1. 4.e4 Your move · Magnus Carlsen's games Magnus Carlsen played 4.e4 in 35 games, scoring 74%.
  2. 4…d6 Reply · Magnus Carlsen's games A common reply here is 4…d6. At top level, this comes up about 86% of the time.
  3. 5.f3 Your move · Magnus Carlsen's games Magnus Carlsen played 5.f3 in 8 games, scoring 88%.
  4. 5…O-O Reply · Magnus Carlsen's games A common reply here is 5…O-O.
  5. 6.Bg5 Your move · Magnus Carlsen's games Magnus Carlsen played 6.Bg5 in 8 games, scoring 88%.
  6. 6…a6 Reply · Magnus Carlsen's games A common reply here is 6…a6. At top level, this comes up about 32% of the time.
  7. 7.Qd2 Your move · Magnus Carlsen's games Magnus Carlsen played 7.Qd2 in 3 games, scoring 100%.
  8. 7…c5 Reply · Magnus Carlsen's games A common reply here is 7…c5.
  9. 8.d5 Your move · Magnus Carlsen's games Magnus Carlsen played 8.d5 in 3 games, scoring 100%.
  10. 8…b5 Reply · Magnus Carlsen's games A common reply here is 8…b5.
  11. 9.cxb5 Your move · Magnus Carlsen's games Magnus Carlsen played 9.cxb5 in 3 games, scoring 100%.
  12. 9…axb5 Reply · Magnus Carlsen's games A common reply here is 9…axb5.
  13. 10.Bxb5 Your move · Magnus Carlsen's games Magnus Carlsen played 10.Bxb5 in 3 games, scoring 100%.
  14. 10…Ba6 Reply · Magnus Carlsen's games A common reply here is 10…Ba6.
  15. 11.Nge2 Your move · Magnus Carlsen's games Magnus Carlsen played 11.Nge2 in 3 games, scoring 100%.
  16. 11…Qa5 Reply · Magnus Carlsen's games A common reply here is 11…Qa5.
  17. 12.a4 Your move · Magnus Carlsen's games Magnus Carlsen played 12.a4 in 3 games, scoring 100%.
  18. 12…Nbd7 Reply · Magnus Carlsen's games A common reply here is 12…Nbd7. At top level, this comes up about 21% of the time.
  19. 13.O-O Your move · Stockfish The games give no move to follow here, so this is Stockfish's choice.

Questions about this course

How does Magnus Carlsen play against the King's Indian?
After 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7, Magnus Carlsen's most common line is 4.e4 d6 5.f3 O-O 6.Bg5 a6 7.Qd2 c5 8.d5 b5 9.cxb5 axb5 10.Bxb5 Ba6 11.Nge2 Qa5 12.a4 Nbd7 13.O-O. At top level it comes up about 21% of the time.
Is this Magnus Carlsen's course?
No. ChessDrills builds it automatically from Magnus Carlsen's public Chess.com blitz games.
What is this King's Indian course based on?
36 of Magnus Carlsen's Chess.com blitz games in the King's Indian Defense as White, against opponents with an average rating of 3,081. Magnus Carlsen scored 75% in them.
How many lines does the course have?
7 lines covering 23 positions, ordered by how often they come up in top-level games. The first 5 lines need no account; saving your progress with an email unlocks the rest, free.
Who is Magnus Carlsen?
GM Magnus Carlsen was ranked number 2 on the Chess.com blitz leaderboard with a rating of 3,413 when this course was built.