King's Indian Attack: Sicilian Variation 4…e6 5. d3
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Statistics from Lichess
421,252 games: White 53.1% / Draw 5.6% / Black 41.3%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 239,459239K | ||
| 83,10883K | ||
| 62,31962K | ||
| 8,4098,409 | ||
| 5,1245,124 | ||
| 5,0565,056 | ||
| 4,2694,269 | ||
| 3,1773,177 |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 30, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.07 The position is about equal
Best play: 5... Nc6 6. e4 Be7 7. Bf4 O-O 8. Ne5 Nxe5 9. Bxe5 Nd7 10. Bf4
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 53% under 1400, 57% at 2200 and up and 56% in master games (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 38K | |
| 1400–1799 | 167K | |
| 1800–2199 | 252K | |
| 2200 and up | 61K | |
| Masters, over the board | 772 |
Master games
- Carlsen, M. – Ding Liren
- Rapport, R. – Caruana, F.
- Rapport, R. – Ding Liren
- Artemiev, V. – Ding Liren
- Grischuk, A. – Abdusattorov, N.
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: 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 Nf6 4. O-O e6 5. d3 (5 moves).
In 421,252 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 53.1%, Black 41.3% and 5.6% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 5…Nc6, in 57% of those games.
Written from the Lichess opening list and explorer. Know this line well? Write about it.
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How to answer 5. d3
5…Be7 scores best for Black: 45.9%, with Black winning 43.1% and White 51.2% of 83K games. The most played, 5…Nc6, scores 44.7% in 239K games, and 5…Bd6 scores lowest: 39.5%. Stockfish's first choice is 5…Nc6.
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 peaked in 2018 at 0.019% of Lichess games and has slipped since: 0.016% in 2025.
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.014% | 4,905 |
| 2017 | 0.017% | 9,547 |
| 2018 | 0.019% | 14,867 |
| 2019 | 0.018% | 21,920 |
| 2020 | 0.017% | 49,806 |
| 2021 | 0.016% | 61,678 |
| 2022 | 0.016% | 59,011 |
| 2023 | 0.016% | 58,826 |
| 2024 | 0.016% | 58,049 |
| 2025 | 0.016% | 57,031 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.017% | 18,683 |
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
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “King's Indian Attack: Sicilian Variation (A08)”. Lichess data as of 30 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/kings-indian-attack-sicilian-variation-3