King's Indian Defense: Fianchetto Variation, Classical Fianchetto
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Statistics from Lichess
630,244 games: White 48.3% / Draw 6.9% / Black 44.8%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| King's Indian Defense: Fianchetto Variation, Classical Variation | 242,482242K | |
| 158,851159K | ||
| 57,57658K | ||
| 42,19542K | ||
| 40,09140K | ||
| 28,13528K | ||
| King's Indian Defense: Fianchetto Variation, Double Fianchetto Attack | 24,89325K | |
| 17,66718K |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 30, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.59 White is slightly better
Best play: 8. e4 Re8 9. Be3 exd4 10. Nxd4 Nc5 11. f3 c6 12. Qc2 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 47% under 1400, 49% at 2200 and up and 43% in master games (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 7,518 | |
| 1400–1799 | 67K | |
| 1800–2199 | 334K | |
| 2200 and up | 247K | |
| Masters, over the board | 11K |
Master games
- Carlsen, M. – Mamedyarov, S.
- Carlsen, M. – Giri, A.
- Firouzja, A. – Carlsen, M.
- Kramnik, V. – Nakamura, H.
- Carlsen, M. – Grischuk, A.
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, Classical Fianchetto (ECO E67, Indian Defenses) is a variation of the King's Indian Defense: Fianchetto Variation, reached after 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nf3 Bg7 4. g3 O-O 5. Bg2 d6 6. O-O Nbd7 7. Nc3 e5 (7 moves).
In 630,244 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 48.3%, Black 44.8% and 6.9% were drawn. White's most played move here is 8. e4, in 38% of those games.
It continues into one named variation, King's Indian Defense: Fianchetto Variation, Classical Variation. In all, 2 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 play against the King's Indian Defense: Fianchetto Variation, Classical Fianchetto
8. h3 scores best for White: 55.8%, with White winning 52.3% and Black 40.8% of 42K games. The most played, 8. e4, scores 52.9% in 242K games, and 8. d5 scores lowest: 46.2%. Stockfish's first choice is 8. e4.
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, Classical Fianchetto peaked in 2018 at 0.032% of Lichess games and has slipped since: 0.023% in 2025.
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.022% | 7,821 |
| 2017 | 0.026% | 14,279 |
| 2018 | 0.032% | 24,992 |
| 2019 | 0.029% | 36,559 |
| 2020 | 0.031% | 89,696 |
| 2021 | 0.023% | 89,475 |
| 2022 | 0.022% | 82,919 |
| 2023 | 0.023% | 85,423 |
| 2024 | 0.022% | 79,463 |
| 2025 | 0.023% | 81,067 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.025% | 27,650 |
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)
Transpositions
All 2 named lines that continue from here
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “King's Indian Defense: Fianchetto Variation, Classical Fianchetto (E67)”. Lichess data as of 30 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/kings-indian-defense-fianchetto-variation-classical-fianchetto