Caissa Codex
A07

King's Indian Attack

The King's Indian Attack is a system for White built with Nf3, g3, Bg2, O-O, d3, Nbd2 and e4. Read the guide

Chess diagram: King's Indian Attack after 2. g3

Type a move and press Enter: e4, Nf3, O-O, or from and to squares like g1f3 (e7e8q to promote). The board is also played with the mouse.

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Statistics from Lichess

7,824,796 games: White 52.1% / Draw 5.9% / Black 42.0%

The moves played next. Pick one to see it on the board.
Next moveGamesWhite / Draw / BlackW / D / B
King's Indian Attack 1,940,7871.9M
Sicilian Variation 1,526,9111.5M
1,318,2021.3M
873,233873K
680,342680K
Keres Variation 426,160426K
408,356408K
Double Fianchetto 212,046212K

Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Nov 9, 2026

Engine evaluation

+0.16 The position is about equal

Best play: 2... Nf6 3. Bg2 c5 4. O-O e6 5. c4 d4 6. e3 Nc6 7. d3

Stockfish 19, depth 30, after the line's last move. Scores are in pawns, from White's side.

By rating

The stronger the players, the better this line does for White: White scores 52% under 1400, 55% at 2200 and up and 56% in master games (wins plus half the draws).

PlayersGamesWhite / Draw / BlackW / D / B
Under 1400 2.3M
1400–1799 3.5M
1800–2199 4.3M
2200 and up 1.6M
Masters, over the board 38K

Master games

Rated blitz, rapid and classical Lichess games by rating band, and over-the-board games of players rated 2200+ from the Lichess masters database, updated Sep 26, 2026

Description

The King's Indian Attack is a system for White built with Nf3, g3, Bg2, O-O, d3, Nbd2 and e4. It is the same setup Black uses in the King's Indian Defense, but with an extra move. On this site the name covers 1.Nf3 d5 2.g3, but the system can be reached from many move orders, including against the French and the Sicilian.

Origins

The King's Indian Attack is named after the King's Indian Defence, whose setup White adopts. It emerged in the 1950s, when grandmasters who appreciated Black's King's Indian system began to use it with the extra move. Players who used it include Bobby Fischer (mostly early in his career), Mikhail Botvinnik, Vasily Smyslov, Tigran Petrosian and Leonid Stein. Today it is relatively uncommon at grandmaster level, and its most frequent high-level practitioner is the Egyptian grandmaster Bassem Amin. It is popular at club level.

The idea

White aims for the same set-up against various defences: Nf3, g3, Bg2, O-O, d3, Nbd2 and e4. The most common plan, especially against setups with ...e6, is the push e4–e5, gaining a central bind and kingside space and giving practical attacking chances against Black's castled king. Unlike in the French Defence, White's e5-pawn is supported by pieces rather than by a d4-pawn.

Typical Black setups

  • With ...e6 and ...c5 (as in the French or Sicilian): the set-ups the KIA is most often used against. After e4–e5 White continues with moves such as Re1, Nf1, Bf4, h4 and N1h2 or Ne3, with a kingside attack.
  • With the c8-bishop outside the pawn chain: on g4 it is the Keres System, for example 1.Nf3 d5 2.g3 Nf6 3.Bg2 c6 4.O-O Bg4; on f5 it gives a reversed London System.
  • With ...c5, ...Nc6 and ...e5: the Reversed King's Indian, for example 1.Nf3 d5 2.g3 c5 3.Bg2 Nc6 4.O-O e5 5.d3 Nf6.

Strengths and weaknesses

Strengths

  • One setup against almost everything, with very little theory to learn.
  • Clear attacking plans with e5 and a kingside pawn storm.
  • A safe king position and a flexible middlegame.

Weaknesses

  • Objectively modest: Black equalises easily with sensible play.
  • Black's queenside counterplay can arrive before White's attack.
  • Its predictability allows well-prepared opponents to choose the most unpleasant setup.

Who should play it

The KIA suits players who want a universal system with White, prefer understanding to memorising, and like kingside attacks in closed positions. It is effective against French- and Sicilian-type setups with ...e6. It is less effective against opponents who build a solid ...d5 and ...c6 centre and aim for quiet equality.

The numbers

On Lichess White wins 49.7–50.8% and Black 44.9–45.8% below 1800. Between 1800 and 2200 White does better, 53.1% against 41.3%, and above 2200 it is 50.6% against 40.9%. In master games over the board White wins 34.2%, Black 22.0%, and 43.8% are drawn.

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How to play against the King's Indian Attack

2…c6 scores best for Black: 45.9%, with Black winning 42.4% and White 50.6% of 873K games. The most played, 2…Nf6, scores 45.6% in 1.9M games, and 2…e6 scores lowest: 42.8%. Stockfish's first choice is 2…Nf6.

Main answers: those played in at least 5% of these games. Score: Black's wins plus half the draws, in rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500. How to play against other popular openings

Popularity by year

The King's Indian Attack has stayed between 0.28% and 0.33% of Lichess games a year since 2016 (0.32% in 2025).

Numbers by year
YearShare of gamesGames
20160.29%103,581
20170.32%175,538
20180.33%260,107
20190.31%383,857
20200.31%894,521
20210.28%1,099,133
20220.29%1,073,409
20230.3%1,110,705
20240.31%1,105,194
20250.32%1,115,897
2026 (Jan–Apr)0.33%367,074

Share of rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500 (blitz, rapid and classical) that reach this position, by year; 2026: January to April. Which openings are rising and falling

Variations (6)

Other lines from the same position

Instead of 2. g3, the position after Zukertort Opening also goes on to:

Transpositions

From here, a move transposes into another named line:

All 18 named lines that continue from here

Sources

Cite this page

Caissa Codex. “King's Indian Attack (A07)”. Lichess data as of 9 Nov 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/kings-indian-attack

https://chesscodex.org/openings/kings-indian-attack