King's Indian Attack: Keres Variation
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Statistics from Lichess
426,050 games: White 52.5% / Draw 5.7% / Black 41.8%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 387,255387K | ||
| 19,84520K | ||
| 5,4345,434 | ||
| 5,3415,341 | ||
| 3,9253,925 | ||
| 2,1262,126 | ||
| 681681 | ||
| 479479 |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Nov 9, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.12 The position is about equal
Best play: 3. Bg2 c6 4. c4 e6 5. d4 Nf6 6. O-O Nbd7 7. h3 Bf5
Stockfish 19, depth 30, after the line's last move. Scores are in pawns, from White's side.
By rating
Rating changes little here: Black scores 47% under 1400, 48% at 2200 and up and 45% in master games (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 222K | |
| 1400–1799 | 310K | |
| 1800–2199 | 198K | |
| 2200 and up | 75K | |
| Masters, over the board | 4,221 |
Master games
- Rapport, R. – Carlsen, M.
- Carlsen, M. – So, W.
- Kramnik, V. – Aronian, L.
- Carlsen, M. – Duda, J.
- Radjabov, T. – Aronian, L.
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: Keres Variation (ECO A07, Flank Openings) is a variation of the King's Indian Attack, reached after 1. Nf3 d5 2. g3 Bg4 (2 moves).
In 426,050 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 52.5%, Black 41.8% and 5.7% were drawn. White's most played move here is 3. Bg2, in 91% of those games.
It continues into one named variation.
Written from the Lichess opening list and explorer. Know this line well? Write about it.
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Popularity by year
The King's Indian Attack: Keres Variation has stayed between 0.016% and 0.019% of Lichess games a year since 2016 (0.017% in 2025).
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.019% | 6,626 |
| 2017 | 0.019% | 10,304 |
| 2018 | 0.018% | 14,196 |
| 2019 | 0.017% | 20,969 |
| 2020 | 0.016% | 48,082 |
| 2021 | 0.016% | 62,571 |
| 2022 | 0.016% | 60,076 |
| 2023 | 0.016% | 60,354 |
| 2024 | 0.016% | 58,810 |
| 2025 | 0.017% | 58,331 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.017% | 18,675 |
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)
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “King's Indian Attack: Keres Variation (A07)”. Lichess data as of 9 Nov 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/kings-indian-attack-keres-variation