Destroy the King’s Indian With This Aggressive Setup

The King’s Indian is one of those openings that follows a fairly predictable pattern: Black plays ...e5, White closes the centre with d5, the f6-knight retreats, and then ...f5 at some point starts the familiar kingside attack.
But the setup I recommend makes that plan much harder to execute.
White begins with h3 and Be3, usually follows up with g4, and often develops the g1-knight through e2-g3. Apart from being objectively challenging, I think it also has a practical advantage: instead of getting their usual kingside attack, KID players are frequently forced to look for counterplay on the queenside while White attacks their king.
I've personally had very good results with this system, and if you're looking for something aggressive against the King's Indian, I highly recommend giving it a try.
One important move-order detail: this setup only works if you meet 1...Nf6 with 2.c4, because White deliberately delays Nf3. If you normally play 2.Nf3, you cannot reach exactly the same setup. I may cover my preferred approach against the KID with an early Nf3 in a future post.
Let's start with the basic idea.

1. The Setup

You might've already picked up on it, but g4 is not just an attacking move. It has a very concrete strategic purpose.
Black's normal King's Indian attack revolves around ...f5. By playing g4, White is usually ready to meet ...f5 with gxf5, and Black isn't able to get the usual kingside attack.
At the same time, White gains space around Black's king and can later continue with ideas such as h4-h5, Ng3-f5, Qd2, Qh2 and potentially castling queenside.
So what should Black do instead?
One logical reaction is to develop the queenside knight immediately with ...Na6-c5 and look for counterplay in the centre.

2. Black Plays ...Na6 Immediately

As you can see, the recurring theme here is space.
Once White establishes pawns on d5, e4, f3, g4 and sometimes b4, Black's pieces can struggle to find useful squares. Even when Black manages to exchange the dark-squared bishop, White often retains a pleasant position simply because Black has so little room.
Also notice how often b4 appears. Although the main idea of this system is kingside aggression, White should not blindly attack only on that side of the board: queenside play is still very much possible, especially since we have more space there. If Black places the knight on c5, driving it away with b4 can actually be extremely useful.
The most important branch, however, is probably the more traditional King's Indian development with ...a5 and ...Na6-c5.
This is where the attacking potential of White's setup really shines.

3. Black Plays ...a5 and ...Na6

Why I Like This Setup So Much

There are of course plenty of good ways to meet the King's Indian, but this one has become my favorite because the ideas are both aggressive and very logical.
The important moves reinforce each other:
h3 prepares Be3 and g4.
Be3 controls d4, supports Qd2 and queenside castling, and places the bishop on a useful diagonal.
g4 gains kingside space while making Black's normal ...f5 break far less effective.
f3 supports both e4 and g4.
Nge2-g3 brings the knight toward an excellent attacking and defensive square.
From there, White can often continue with h4-h5, Ng3-f5, Qd2-h2, or simply castle and play positionally if Black has prevented a direct attack.
And that last point is important. You do not have to sacrifice pieces or force checkmate just because you committed to playing g4. In many lines Black reacts so defensively that White can simply complete development and enjoy the extra space.
I also just like playing this way from a psychological standpoint.
The KID player normally expects to be the one pushing pawns toward your king. Here, they can very quickly find themselves defending their own king while desperately looking for counterplay with moves such as ...a5, ...c6 and ...b5.
If you've been looking for an aggressive weapon against the King's Indian, I definitely recommend experimenting with this setup. The theory is not especially difficult to understand once you recognize the recurring ideas, and in practical games I think it can give White some extremely dangerous attacking positions.