Caissa Codex
E62

King's Indian Defense: Fianchetto Variation, Simagin Variation

Chess diagram: King's Indian Defense: Fianchetto Variation, Simagin Variation after 7…Bg4

Type a move and press Enter: e4, Nf3, O-O, or from and to squares like g1f3 (e7e8q to promote). The board is also played with the mouse.

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Statistics from Lichess

152,584 games: White 48.5% / Draw 6.1% / Black 45.3%

The moves played next. Pick one to see it on the board.
Next moveGamesWhite / Draw / BlackW / D / B
61,78462K
27,48827K
10,54811K
8,9798,979
8,8528,852
7,3667,366
7,1337,133
5,4695,469

Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 29, 2026

Engine evaluation

+0.87 White is better

Best play: 8. d5 Nb8 9. h3 Bd7 10. Bg5 h6 11. Be3 Na6 12. Rb1 Qc8

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, Simagin Variation (ECO E62, 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 Nc6 7. O-O Bg4 (7 moves).

In 152,584 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 48.5%, Black 45.3% and 6.1% were drawn. White's most played move here is 8. h3, in 40% of those games.

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

8. d5 scores best for White: 55.9%, with White winning 53.0% and Black 41.2% of 27K games. The most played, 8. h3, scores 52.6% in 62K games, and 8. e4 scores lowest: 45.7%. Stockfish's first choice is also 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

Other lines from the same position

Instead of 5…O-O 6. Bg2 Nc6 7. O-O Bg4, 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, Simagin Variation (E62)”. Lichess data as of 29 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/kings-indian-defense-fianchetto-variation-simagin-variation

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