Starting Out: The King’s Indian | Joe Gallagher

The King's Indian is one of the most exciting defences in chess and is favoured by ambitious and aggressive players. Although it was played occasionally in the 19th century, it wasn’t until the 1920s that it established itself as a regular opening. 

Even then, it failed to make a real impression, and it was only in the late 1940s that the King’s Indian really took off.

In this accessible guide, Grandmaster Joe Gallagher returns to the fundamentals of the King's Indian, exploring the key principles behind its numerous variations. The book contains helpful notes, tips, warnings, and exercises designed to aid the improving player while clearly illustrating essential strategies, ideas, and tactics for both sides.
 
At the top level, it has been a powerful tool for World Champions like Bobby Fischer and Garry Kasparov.

• This book is well-suited for advanced beginners and intermediate players  
• You will gain a solid understanding of the main variations of the King’s Indian Defense
• Easy-to-follow explanations and a good balance of theory and practical examples
• Helps build a foundation for a more advanced study of the King’s Indian Defense
• Focuses on understanding ideas, not memorizing variations, which is essential for club-level improvement

Reader’s Reviews:

This was the first Opening book on a specific opening that I have ever read, and I am very happy both with the book's information and the author's writing style - V Taal
 
If you are just "Starting Out" with the King's Indian, this book is a great way to begin. The explanatory prose is well-written and holds your attention. There are enough variations for the reader to understand various positions, but not so many variations that the newer player would get lost in a sea of algebraic craziness! 

Much of the instruction comes from the annotated games peppered throughout each section. Gallagher does a great job of not just using games where black wins with the King's Indian. This book has many losses and draws for the person playing the black pieces - Tom

This book isn't for everyone. Even if it's just basics, you must have grasped many chess fundamentals, especially tactics and some strategy. Once you have some experience, then you can start studying this book. 

You may want to have a good focus on strategy fundamentals because most of its moves are with strategic purposes rather than tactical purposes, such as those in Sicilian Defense. I would say this is for ratings 1000 - 1800 or 1900. It's not bad at all. This is just who'll fit better in terms of learning - BordChess

About the Author:

Joseph Gerald Gallagher is a British-born Swiss chess player and writer. He was awarded the title of Grandmaster by FIDE in 1990 and has been the national champion of both Britain and Switzerland. 

He has represented his adopted country, Switzerland, regularly at the Chess Olympiad and the European Team Chess Championship since 1997, his best result occurring at the 2006 Chess Olympiad, when he scored 61⁄2/10. 

Gallagher is a noted author on various aspects of chess opening theory, an expert on the King's Indian Defence as Black and the King's Gambit as White. Gallagher was one of four writers of the popular volume Nunn's Chess Openings.

Other Details:

Paperback
Pages: 176
Dimensions: 17.6 x 1.5 x 24.6cm
ISBN-13: 9781857442342