A07

King's Indian Attack: Yugoslav Variation

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Statistics from Lichess

361,246 games: White 49.4% / Draw 7.3% / Black 43.3%

The moves played next. Pick one to see it on the board.
Next move	Games	White / Draw / BlackW / D / B
	139,906140K
	70,10070K
	41,66842K
	37,18737K
	33,58334K
	19,30619K
	8,3668,366
	4,4884,488

Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 27, 2026

Engine evaluation

+0.20 The position is about equal

Best play: 5. h3 Bh5 6. c4 e6 7. d4 Nbd7 8. cxd5 exd5 9. Nh4 Be7

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, 47% at 2200 and up and 45% in master games (wins plus half the draws).

Players	Games	White / Draw / BlackW / D / B
Under 1400	30K
1400–1799	89K
1800–2199	184K
2200 and up	121K
Masters, over the board	5,508

Master games

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: Yugoslav Variation (ECO A07, Flank Openings) is a variation of the King's Indian Attack, reached after 1. Nf3 Nf6 2. g3 d5 3. Bg2 c6 4. O-O Bg4 (4 moves).

In 361,246 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 49.4%, Black 43.3% and 7.3% were drawn. White's most played move here is 5. d3, in 39% of those games.

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Description

How to play against the King's Indian Attack: Yugoslav Variation

5. c4 scores best for White: 55.1%, with White winning 51.1% and Black 40.9% of 37K games. The most played answer, 5. d3, scores lowest: 52.6% in 140K games. Stockfish's first choice is 5. h3.

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: Yugoslav Variation has gained ground since 2016: 0.015% of Lichess games in 2025, up from 0.012% (its peak: 0.017% in 2018).

0.012%0.015%0.017%

Numbers by year

Year	Share of games	Games
2016	0.012%	4,405
2017	0.015%	8,149
2018	0.017%	13,327
2019	0.015%	18,453
2020	0.015%	43,888
2021	0.012%	48,522
2022	0.013%	47,656
2023	0.014%	50,812
2024	0.014%	51,323
2025	0.015%	51,924
2026 (Jan–Apr)	0.015%	16,515

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: Yugoslav Variation (A07)”. Lichess data as of 27 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/kings-indian-attack-yugoslav-variation