Caissa Codex
E68

King's Indian Defense: Fianchetto Variation, Long Variation

Chess diagram: King's Indian Defense: Fianchetto Variation, Long Variation after 11…a5

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Statistics from Lichess

24,562 games: White 50.7% / Draw 7.0% / Black 42.3%

The moves played next. Pick one to see it on the board.
Next moveGamesWhite / Draw / BlackW / D / B
5,4245,424
4,5124,512
3,6123,612
2,7112,711
2,2552,255
1,4311,431
1,1211,121
960960

Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 28, 2026

Engine evaluation

+0.40 White is slightly better

Best play: 12. Qc2 Be6 13. Nxe6 Rxe6 14. Be3 Nfd7 15. Rad1 a4 16. Ne2 Re8

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, Long Variation (ECO E68, Indian Defenses) is a variation of the King's Indian Defense: Fianchetto Variation, Delayed Fianchetto, reached after 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. Nf3 d6 5. g3 O-O 6. Bg2 Nbd7 7. O-O e5 8. e4 Re8 9. h3 exd4 10. Nxd4 Nc5 11. Re1 a5 (11 moves).

In 24,562 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 50.7%, Black 42.3% and 7.0% were drawn. White's most played move here is 12. b3, in 22% of those games.

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How to play against the King's Indian Defense: Fianchetto Variation, Long Variation

12. Qc2 scores best for White: 59.0%, with White winning 55.6% and Black 37.6% of 4,512 games. The most played, 12. b3, scores 52.9% in 5,424 games, and 12. Bg5 scores lowest: 47.5%. Stockfish's first choice is also 12. Qc2.

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

Other lines from the same position

Instead of 5…O-O 6. Bg2 Nbd7 7. O-O e5 8. e4 Re8 9. h3 exd4 10. Nxd4 Nc5 11. Re1 a5, the position after King's Indian Defense: Fianchetto Variation, Delayed Fianchetto also goes on to:

Cite this page

Caissa Codex. “King's Indian Defense: Fianchetto Variation, Long Variation (E68)”. Lichess data as of 28 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/kings-indian-defense-fianchetto-variation-long-variation

https://chesscodex.org/openings/kings-indian-defense-fianchetto-variation-long-variation