King's Indian Attack: Symmetrical Defense
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Statistics from Lichess
2,636,315 games: White 49.6% / Draw 7.1% / Black 43.3%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 2,350,9972.4M | ||
| 162,047162K | ||
| Indian Defense: Przepiorka Variation | 29,61830K | |
| 28,94629K | ||
| King's Indian Attack: Smyslov Variation | 27,22927K | |
| 26,44326K | ||
| 4,5154,515 | ||
| 1,9551,955 |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Nov 9, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.14 The position is about equal
Best play: 3. Bg2 Bg7 4. c4 c6 5. O-O O-O 6. b3 Ne4 7. d4 a5
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 48% under 1400, 46% at 2200 and up and 43% in master games (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 186K | |
| 1400–1799 | 478K | |
| 1800–2199 | 1.4M | |
| 2200 and up | 891K | |
| Masters, over the board | 15K |
Master games
- Ding, L. – Carlsen, M.
- Carlsen, M. – Nakamura, H.
- Carlsen, M. – Ding Liren
- Carlsen, M. – Grischuk, A.
- Carlsen, M. – Vachier Lagrave, M.
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: Symmetrical Defense (ECO A05, Flank Openings) is a variation of the Zukertort Opening, reached after 1. Nf3 Nf6 2. g3 g6 (2 moves).
In 2,636,315 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 49.6%, Black 43.3% and 7.1% were drawn. White's most played move here is 3. Bg2, in 89% of those games.
It branches into 3 named variations; the most played are King's Indian Attack: Wahls Defense and Zukertort Opening: Double Fianchetto Attack.
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: Symmetrical Defense
3. b3 scores best for White: 56.8%, with White winning 52.4% and Black 38.9% of 162K games. The most played answer, 3. Bg2, scores lowest: 52.9% in 2.4M games. Stockfish's first choice is 3. Bg2.
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: Symmetrical Defense peaked in 2018 at 0.13% of Lichess games and has slipped since: 0.1% in 2025.
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.095% | 34,078 |
| 2017 | 0.12% | 63,629 |
| 2018 | 0.13% | 103,639 |
| 2019 | 0.12% | 155,210 |
| 2020 | 0.12% | 362,023 |
| 2021 | 0.096% | 374,734 |
| 2022 | 0.093% | 348,176 |
| 2023 | 0.094% | 353,967 |
| 2024 | 0.094% | 338,192 |
| 2025 | 0.1% | 345,665 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.1% | 114,631 |
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 (3)
Transpositions
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “King's Indian Attack: Symmetrical Defense (A05)”. Lichess data as of 9 Nov 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/kings-indian-attack-symmetrical-defense