Felix Blohberger’s Comprehensive King’s Indian Repertoire for Black
The two-part FritzTrainer series published by ChessBase, authored by Grandmaster Felix Blohberger, presents a complete repertoire for Black based on the King’s Indian Defence. Widely regarded as one of the most dynamic yet complex openings in modern chess, this system has long remained a favorite of both elite grandmasters and ambitious club players. According to the review, Blohberger’s work sets itself apart from traditional opening manuals built mainly on memorizing variations, instead aiming to teach positional ideas, typical pawn structures, and recurring middlegame plans.
The most striking feature of the series is the way the repertoire is designed to be practical, clear, and flexible. The first part focuses primarily on sidelines outside the main theoretical battlegrounds. These include systems in which White tries to steer the game away early through alternative move orders, flank operations, and fianchetto setups. This approach is especially valuable for Black players who want to adopt the King’s Indian, because in practical tournament play opponents often avoid the sharpest main lines and instead choose lesser-played systems they know well. Blohberger therefore explains not only “what to play,” but more importantly “why it should be played.”
The King’s Indian Defence has for decades been considered one of the most combative answers to 1.d4. The fact that players such as Garry Kasparov, Bobby Fischer, and more recently Hikaru Nakamura have employed it at the highest level only adds to its appeal. The opening’s enduring attraction lies not merely in giving Black a resilient structure, but in offering attacking chances on the kingside, central pawn breaks, and rich counterplay. Moreover, the King’s Indian setup functions as a universal system that can also be used against 1.c4 and 1.Nf3. In that sense, it is an efficient practical choice for players who want to prepare for a broad opening range through one coherent repertoire.
Blohberger’s teaching style stands out particularly for players who do not want to be buried under theoretical overload. Instead of presenting endless difficult lines one after another, he highlights core concepts such as typical piece placement, central tension, the timing of the ...e5 and ...c5 breaks, patient defense against White’s space advantage, and the transition to counterattack at the right moment. This turns the video course into more than just an opening repertoire: it becomes a training resource that teaches players how to think in King’s Indian structures. In short, this work appears to be a strong resource for players seeking winning chances with the black pieces and who are comfortable entering sharp, double-edged positions.