King's Indian Defense: Fianchetto Variation, Carlsbad Variation
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Statistics from Lichess
476,763 games: White 47.5% / Draw 6.7% / Black 45.8%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 379,287379K | ||
| 43,28743K | ||
| 20,64321K | ||
| 7,6797,679 | ||
| 7,4867,486 | ||
| 5,7605,760 | ||
| 3,4513,451 | ||
| 2,6872,687 |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 13, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.48 White is slightly better
Best play: 7. d5 Na5 8. b3 c5 9. Bb2 Rb8 10. O-O a6 11. a4 e5
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 41% in master games (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 10K | |
| 1400–1799 | 64K | |
| 1800–2199 | 268K | |
| 2200 and up | 163K | |
| Masters, over the board | 6,364 |
Master games
- Ding, L. – Carlsen, M.
- Caruana, F. – Ding, L.
- Carlsen, M. – Nakamura, H.
- Mamedyarov, S. – Carlsen, M.
- Caruana, F. – 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 27, 2026
Overview
King's Indian Defense: Fianchetto Variation, Carlsbad Variation (ECO E62, Indian Defenses) is a variation of the King's Indian Defense: Fianchetto Variation, Immediate Fianchetto, reached after 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. g3 Bg7 4. Bg2 O-O 5. Nc3 d6 6. Nf3 Nc6 (6 moves).
In 476,763 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 47.5%, Black 45.8% and 6.7% were drawn. White's most played move here is 7. O-O, in 80% of those games.
It continues into one named variation, King's Indian Defense: Fianchetto Variation, Lesser Simagin (Spassky).
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 Defense: Fianchetto Variation, Carlsbad Variation
7. d5 scores best for White: 53.9%, with White winning 50.9% and Black 43.0% of 43K games. The most played answer, 7. O-O, scores lowest: 51.1% in 379K games. Stockfish's first choice is also 7. d5.
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 Defense: Fianchetto Variation, Carlsbad Variation has gained ground since 2016: 0.018% of Lichess games in 2025, up from 0.014% (its peak: 0.023% in 2018).
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.014% | 4,844 |
| 2017 | 0.019% | 10,446 |
| 2018 | 0.023% | 17,726 |
| 2019 | 0.022% | 27,365 |
| 2020 | 0.021% | 62,842 |
| 2021 | 0.018% | 71,491 |
| 2022 | 0.018% | 66,968 |
| 2023 | 0.017% | 64,840 |
| 2024 | 0.017% | 61,504 |
| 2025 | 0.018% | 60,984 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.019% | 20,477 |
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 Defense: Fianchetto Variation, Carlsbad Variation (E62)”. Lichess data as of 13 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/kings-indian-defense-fianchetto-variation-carlsbad-variation