King's Indian Attack: French Variation
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Statistics from Lichess
1,794,506 games: White 52.4% / Draw 5.5% / Black 42.1%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 938,731939K | ||
| Zukertort Opening: Reversed Grünfeld | 457,361457K | |
| 284,551285K | ||
| 43,84944K | ||
| 30,77731K | ||
| 18,93019K | ||
| 11,44911K | ||
| 3,1473,147 |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 31, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.18 The position is about equal
Best play: 4. d4 e6 5. O-O Nf6 6. c4 dxc4 7. dxc5 Qxd1 8. Rxd1 Bxc5
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 worse this line does for Black: Black scores 50% under 1400, 42% at 2200 and up and 42% in master games (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 126K | |
| 1400–1799 | 539K | |
| 1800–2199 | 1.2M | |
| 2200 and up | 276K | |
| Masters, over the board | 2,187 |
Master games
- Carlsen, M. – Aronian, L.
- Ding Liren – Caruana, F.
- Carlsen, M. – Firouzja, A.
- Giri, A. – So, W.
- Kramnik, V. – Anand, V.
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 27, 2026
Overview
King's Indian Attack: French Variation (ECO A08, Flank Openings) is a variation of the King's Indian Attack: Sicilian Variation, reached after 1. Nf3 d5 2. g3 c5 3. Bg2 Nc6 (3 moves).
In 1,794,506 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 52.4%, Black 42.1% and 5.5% were drawn. White's most played move here is 4. O-O, in 52% of those games.
It continues into one named variation, Zukertort Opening: Reversed Grünfeld. In all, 4 named lines continue from it.
Written from the Lichess opening list and explorer. Know this line well? Write about it.
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How to play against the King's Indian Attack: French Variation
4. d4 (Zukertort Opening: Reversed Grünfeld) scores best for White: 60.6%, with White winning 57.1% and Black 36.0% of 457K games. The most played, 4. O-O, scores 53.9% in 939K games, and 4. d3 scores lowest: 52.5%. Stockfish's first choice is also 4. d4.
Main answers: those played in at least 5% of these games. Score: White'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: French Variation has stayed between 0.064% and 0.08% of Lichess games a year since 2016 (0.073% in 2025).
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.064% | 22,686 |
| 2017 | 0.074% | 40,905 |
| 2018 | 0.08% | 62,698 |
| 2019 | 0.076% | 95,187 |
| 2020 | 0.07% | 204,105 |
| 2021 | 0.064% | 249,036 |
| 2022 | 0.066% | 245,997 |
| 2023 | 0.067% | 253,788 |
| 2024 | 0.07% | 251,426 |
| 2025 | 0.073% | 253,994 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.076% | 82,871 |
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 (1)
All 4 named lines that continue from here
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “King's Indian Attack: French Variation (A08)”. Lichess data as of 31 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/kings-indian-attack-french-variation