King's Indian Attack: Sicilian Variation 2…c5 3. Bg2
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Statistics from Lichess
1,965,365 games: White 52.7% / Draw 5.5% / Black 41.8%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| King's Indian Attack: French Variation | 1,505,6531.5M | |
| 241,250241K | ||
| 110,166110K | ||
| 20,27220K | ||
| 17,49517K | ||
| 15,43815K | ||
| 11,64912K | ||
| 10,81011K |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 21, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.15 The position is about equal
Best play: 3... Nf6 4. O-O g6 5. c3 Bg7 6. d4 cxd4 7. cxd4 O-O 8. Nc3
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, 57% at 2200 and up and 57% in master games (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 223K | |
| 1400–1799 | 696K | |
| 1800–2199 | 1.2M | |
| 2200 and up | 296K | |
| Masters, over the board | 2,972 |
Master games
- Carlsen, M. – Aronian, L.
- Ding Liren – Caruana, F.
- Carlsen, M. – Firouzja, A.
- Giri, A. – So, W.
- Giri, A. – Caruana, F.
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
Overview
King's Indian Attack: Sicilian 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 (3 moves).
In 1,965,365 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 52.7%, Black 41.8% and 5.5% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 3…Nc6, in 77% of those games.
It branches into 2 named variations; the most played is King's Indian Attack: French Variation. In all, 6 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 answer 3. Bg2
3…Nf6 scores best for Black: 45.3%, with Black winning 42.4% and White 51.9% of 241K games. The most played, 3…Nc6, scores 44.7% in 1.5M games, and 3…e6 scores lowest: 43.1%. Stockfish's first choice is also 3…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
This line has stayed between 0.07% and 0.088% of Lichess games a year since 2016 (0.08% in 2025).
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.072% | 25,806 |
| 2017 | 0.082% | 45,323 |
| 2018 | 0.088% | 69,159 |
| 2019 | 0.083% | 103,388 |
| 2020 | 0.076% | 223,545 |
| 2021 | 0.07% | 275,124 |
| 2022 | 0.072% | 269,916 |
| 2023 | 0.074% | 277,880 |
| 2024 | 0.076% | 273,667 |
| 2025 | 0.08% | 276,547 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.082% | 90,402 |
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 (2)
Transpositions
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “King's Indian Attack: Sicilian Variation (A08)”. Lichess data as of 21 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/kings-indian-attack-sicilian-variation-2