King's Indian Defense: Fianchetto Variation, Lesser Simagin (Spassky)
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Statistics from Lichess
85,356 games: White 44.1% / Draw 7.4% / Black 48.5%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 19,97720K | ||
| 19,64220K | ||
| 15,43315K | ||
| 6,0886,088 | ||
| 5,0895,089 | ||
| 4,4574,457 | ||
| 4,4384,438 | ||
| 3,4243,424 |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 30, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.57 White is slightly better
Best play: 8. d5 Na5 9. Nd2 Ne8 10. e4 Bd7 11. Rb1 c6 12. Ne2 cxd5
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, Lesser Simagin (Spassky) (ECO E62, Indian Defenses) is a variation of the King's Indian Defense: Fianchetto Variation, Carlsbad Variation, reached after 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. g3 Bg7 4. Bg2 O-O 5. Nc3 d6 6. Nf3 Nc6 7. O-O Bf5 (7 moves).
In 85,356 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 44.1%, Black 48.5% and 7.4% were drawn. White's most played move here is 8. d5, in 23% of those games.
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, Lesser Simagin (Spassky)
8. Ne1 scores best for White: 54.3%, with White winning 50.2% and Black 41.6% of 4,457 games. The most played, 8. d5, scores 51.1% in 20K games, and 8. Re1 scores lowest: 44.5%. Stockfish's first choice is 8. 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
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “King's Indian Defense: Fianchetto Variation, Lesser Simagin (Spassky) (E62)”. Lichess data as of 30 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/kings-indian-defense-fianchetto-variation-lesser-simagin-spassky