Does the kings indian defense require ALOT of theory?

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Fischer_Elmasri

I am between 1000 - 1100 and might even pass that elo "rank", but it seems the englund gambit wont start to work anymore, so I was wondering, does the kings indian defense require ALOT of theory against d4? (as in, very complicated lines) and if so, what openings are good against d4 that dont require ALOT of theory? (as in, yet again, very complicated lines)

Dzindo07

Kind of. There is a lot of theory but you always need as much as it is appropriate for your level. My advice is to always just try and see what works for you. There's a lot of choices it's up to you what you prefer so test it out but I would strongly advise dropping the Englund gambit as soon as possible for something better because that really is a garbage opening.

RussBell

For King's Indian Defense (KID), check out 12:31 of the following video by GM Eric Rosen where he addresses the opening for beginners, which you might find interesting...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bCpeBsjPkC4

Also for KID, check out the following Openings Tier List for Beginners Part-2 (@26:12) video by GM Nakamura and IM Levy Rozman (aka 'GothamChess')...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fHsb7-LbC34

For the Englund Gambit check out their Openings Tier List for Beginners, Part-1 video (@37:00)...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M9CwH47r6og&t=3s

their entire Openings Tier List video series for Beginner, Intermediate and GM...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M9CwH47r6og&list=PLWa49vQzjGghMe02OkOkGcY5kKeQ3fsZs&index=4

 

PawnTsunami

There is a lot of theory in the KID, but that doesn't mean you need to know it all at your level.  Understanding the ideas will be a start.  You are not going to run into other 1100s that know a ton of KID theory either.

I played the KID when I started playing (I loved the games of Fischer and Kasparov in those lines), but found I just didn't have a good feel for those positions.  You may want to look into the Nimzo as an alternative.

tygxc

@1
"the englund gambit wont start to work" ++ Yes, that is right Englund is unsound

"does the kings indian defense require ALOT of theory against d4?" ++ Yes, lines of 20+ moves

"very complicated lines" ++ Yes, some only moves and some seemingly unnatural moves

"what openings are good against d4 that dont require ALOT of theory?"
++ Queen's Gambit Declined, Slav Defence, Queen's Gambit Accepted

"very complicated lines" ++ Those can be played in a natural way without knowledge.