Starting Out: The King's Indian

by Joe Gallagher and Joe Gallagher

Book Overview

The King's Indian is one of the most exciting defences in chess and is favoured by ambitious and aggressive players. At the highest level it has been a major weapon for World Champions Bobby Fischer and Garry Kasparov. In this easy-to-read guide, Grandmaster Joe Gallagher goes back to the basics of the King's Indian, studying the key principles of its many variations. Throughout the book there are an abundance of notes, tips, warnings and exercises...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1857442342
• ISBN13: 9781857442342
• Release Date: June 2002
• Publisher: Gloucester Publishers Plc
• Length: 176 Pages
• Weight: 0.78 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 6.9" x 9.7"

Customer Reviews

The title of the book is Starting Out and that is what it does..Starts you out....

This was the first Opening book on a specific opening that I have ever read, and I am very happy both with the information in the book and the writing style of the author. If you are just "Starting Out" with the King's Indian I do believe that 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. There are many losses and draws for the person playing the black pieces in this book. I know that some people complain about the Starting Out series and granted at this point I have only read this and the Colle installment of the series, but I think these are great books for a person wanting to explore a new opening. For what it is worth, it seems to me that people expect these books to automatically make them a master at whatever opening is being discussed. That is not the point of the books. They are meant to start a person out down the path of understanding that opening. The player then has to practice that opening, analyze games featuring that opening and eventually explore books that delve deeper into the opening in question. That is what I have done. After finishing this book I have spent the next 3 months practicing the King's Indian against Shredder and analyzing master games where black wins AND loses with the King's Indian. I have used Gallagher's book as a reference for my analysis. I highly recommend this book if you want to begin to understand and play the King's Indian!

Outstanding Opening Book

Starting Out the King's Indian (SOKID) by Joseph Gallagher is one of the best opening books I have read. The style is especially lucid and Gallagher's game analysis is both accurate and instructive on how to play chess in general. The chapters are clearly organized and Gallagher analyzes the most important games for each variation of the KID. As this is an intro versus a full repetoire book, the focus is more on the concepts behind the variations of the KID rather than detailed examination of each variation. I highly recommend the book for anyone in the range of D class to B class who would like to learn or more fully unterstand one the most important openings.

How opening books should be written

Most players, until they are rated at least 1800 (US) , should only own a general chess opening reference book (MCO, NCO) to use as a reference. Such players would be better studying the middle and endgames. This book is a most notable exception. It covers the King's Indian Defense. It is written clearly; with sections on the different subvariations; generously annotated in *words*. This is exactly the sort of thing any player, but especially a beginner, intermediate, or club player, needs to read. After these sections comes a game or two, lightly annotated. No need to bombard the reader at this point. Just show him what a typical game in the variation looks like, with pithy notes so as not to overwhelm the reader. Gallagher has written on this defense before so he's an expert on it. This is an added bonus for the reader. It is written lucidly. More advanced players could use this book as a supplement to more specialized tomes. Less experienced players could read this for their own enjoyment, or with the goal in mind of learning the opening, and/or with the idea to buy specialized books on the variations covered in this book.

Great book!!

This book was exactly what I was looking for to understand the KID and enjoy at the same time reading. The book is layed out where he explains the ideas of the variations to about move 12 and then stops to give you statistics and amount of theory and then gives about 2 or 3 games, and later in the chapter goes over some subvariations that can arise. Gallagher explains the ideas of the opening that I never understood in a simple manner. But this book isn't as simple and beginner-ish as it may sound. For instance, I have been playing chess fairly regularly for the past 4 years (but never really played the KID) and I have learned a great deal from this book! It is for players who look through MCO or NCO and don't get why Black (or White) makes this or that move and/or just don't understand the plan Black or White has in mind. The KID is complicated and easy to get lost in, and if you don't have some primer to understand each variation to a descent degree as this book gives you then moving on to more advanced KID books will be a waste of money and a headache. Anyone can get something out of this book, especially if they have a good working knowledge of chess like what you would find in Reaccess your Chess for example (great book too!!). So if don't like playing passive defence as black and like aggresive/counterattack play, then buy this book and learn the KID.

The first book on the KID for anyone

Joe Gallagher's book Starting Out: The Kings Indian Defense, is a marvelous openings book for beginners and intermediate players alike. Gallagher focuses on the important things like the ideas behind the moves, the strategies, the tactical ideas that develop in the various structures and variations of the KID.The KID is one of the most important defenses in chess, and has been played by many great champions including Kasparov and Fischer. Fischer in fact used it exclusively throughout his chess career. The KID offers black a fighting chance for more than a draw against d4, and is flexible enough to be used against many other non e4 openings.GM Gallagher presents the newest lines in a clear manner, He offers suggestions as to what variation might be best for you the reader. He provides invaluable tips and warnings throughout the book. The first 4 chapters are on the Classical Variation. He follows that with a chapter each on the Samisch, Fianchetto, Four Pawns, and Averbakh variations. The last two chapters are devoted to white's early h2-3, and "other" systems.While this book is not meant to be a thorough treatist on the KID, it is an excellent starting place, and allows the reader to begin playing the KID well, quickly. This book is supposed to be a beginners guide to the KID, not a beginners guide to opening a chess game. However, a beginner would do well to jump into this book and this defense quickly after blitzing through a good beginners book like Capablanca's Chess Fundamentals.Everyman's Starting Out series looks like a good one. I love this book and have since ordered Starting Out: The Caro Kann also by Joe Gallagher (Since I also play the Caro, and have for years), and have recently ordered Starting Out: The Sicilian by John Emms since I am searching for a more aggresive defense to e4 to complement my d4 KID repertiore.In closing, I highly recommend this book, and suggest following it up with Mastering the Kings Indian Defense By Robert Bellin and Pietro Ponzetto. After that plnge into more complicated theory based works if you desire more, but thoses two volumes alone should serve you well for a long time, and help make you a dangerous player verses d4.