E62

King's Indian Defense: Fianchetto Variation, Uhlmann-Szabo System

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Statistics from Lichess

456,215 games: White 48.4% / Draw 7.4% / Black 44.2%

The moves played next. Pick one to see it on the board.
Next move	Games	White / Draw / BlackW / D / B
	189,747190K
	155,217155K
	38,08438K
	23,32423K
	16,51817K
	16,31116K
	9,0249,024
	4,1984,198

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

Engine evaluation

+0.46 White is slightly better

Best play: 8. d5 Nb8 9. e4 a5 10. Rb1 Nbd7 11. Re1 Nc5 12. b3 b6

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 48% under 1400, 47% at 2200 and up and 40% in master games (wins plus half the draws).

Players	Games	White / Draw / BlackW / D / B
Under 1400	5,961
1400–1799	47K
1800–2199	265K
2200 and up	155K
Masters, over the board	2,168

Master games

Ding, L. – Carlsen, M. 1–0, 2020
Mamedyarov, S. – Carlsen, M. ½–½, 2021
Caruana, F. – Vachier Lagrave, M. 1–0, 2016
Ding Liren – Grischuk, A. ½–½, 2016
Nepomniachtchi, I. – Grischuk, A. ½–½, 2018

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, Uhlmann-Szabo System (ECO E62, 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 Nc6 7. Nc3 e5 (7 moves).

In 456,215 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 48.4%, Black 44.2% and 7.4% were drawn. White's most played move here is 8. d5, in 42% of those games.

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Description

How to play against the King's Indian Defense: Fianchetto Variation, Uhlmann-Szabo System

8. dxe5 scores best for White: 54.9%, with White winning 49.9% and Black 40.2% of 155K games. The most played, 8. d5, scores 50.4% in 190K games, and 8. e4 scores lowest: 47.5%. 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

Popularity by year

The King's Indian Defense: Fianchetto Variation, Uhlmann-Szabo System has gained ground since 2016: 0.017% of Lichess games in 2025, up from 0.012% (its peak: 0.022% in 2018).

0.012%0.017%0.022%

Numbers by year

Year	Share of games	Games
2016	0.012%	4,183
2017	0.017%	9,283
2018	0.022%	17,115
2019	0.022%	26,910
2020	0.021%	62,104
2021	0.018%	69,657
2022	0.017%	63,077
2023	0.017%	62,336
2024	0.016%	58,114
2025	0.017%	57,795
2026 (Jan–Apr)	0.017%	18,923

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

Cite this page

Caissa Codex. “King's Indian Defense: Fianchetto Variation, Uhlmann-Szabo System (E62)”. Lichess data as of 28 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/kings-indian-defense-fianchetto-variation-uhlmann-szabo-system