Theory
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 lets White occupy the centre with pawns on c4/d4/e4 while Black fianchettoes and prepares a direct assault — usually e5 or c5 followed by a kingside pawn storm with f5. It’s a fight of contrasting plans rather than a battle for the same squares, which is what makes it so double-edged.
The King’s Indian sits in the E60–E99 range and is famous for producing race-to-the-finish middlegames: White attacks on the queenside where their space advantage lives, Black attacks on the kingside where the pieces are already pointed. Whoever breaks through first usually wins.
Model Games
Kasparov’s King’s Indian games as Black are the standard model — particularly his handling of the Mar del Plata structure, where the kingside pawn storm (f5-f4, g5-g4) has to outrun White’s queenside expansion (c4-c5, b2-b4). Timing is everything.
Practice Positions
Set up the Mar del Plata tabiya after 9.Ne1 Nd7 and calculate both sides’ fastest path to a breakthrough — White’s c5 versus Black’s f4. Whoever calculates the race correctly usually wins the resulting middlegame.