King's Indian Defense: Fianchetto Variation, Classical Main Line
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Statistics from Lichess
139,237 games: White 53.9% / Draw 6.2% / Black 39.9%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 32,33632K | ||
| 24,05724K | ||
| 21,04821K | ||
| 16,25616K | ||
| 13,93614K | ||
| 8,0778,077 | ||
| 6,1256,125 | ||
| 5,4115,411 |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 27, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.67 White is slightly better
Best play: 9... a5 10. Qc2 a4 11. Be3 Qa5 12. Rab1 b5 13. cxb5 cxb5 14. Rfd1
Stockfish 19, depth 30, after the line's last move. Scores are in pawns, from White's side.
Overview
King's Indian Defense: Fianchetto Variation, Classical Main Line (ECO E69, Indian Defenses) is a variation of the King's Indian Defense: Fianchetto Variation, Classical 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 8. e4 c6 9. h3 (9 moves).
In 139,237 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 53.9%, Black 39.9% and 6.2% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 9…Re8, in 23% of those games.
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How to play against the King's Indian Defense: Fianchetto Variation, Classical Main Line
9…Qb6 scores best for Black: 48.6%, with Black winning 45.3% and White 48.0% of 16K games. The most played, 9…Re8, scores 42.1% in 32K games, and 9…exd4 scores lowest: 40.9%. Stockfish's first choice is 9…a5.
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
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “King's Indian Defense: Fianchetto Variation, Classical Main Line (E69)”. Lichess data as of 27 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/kings-indian-defense-fianchetto-variation-classical-main-line