King's Indian Defense: Fianchetto Variation, Yugoslav Variation
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Statistics from Lichess
411,049 games: White 51.7% / Draw 7.1% / Black 41.2%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 180,518181K | ||
| 175,400175K | ||
| 16,26916K | ||
| 11,03311K | ||
| 8,3258,325 | ||
| 6,5186,518 | ||
| 2,9562,956 | ||
| 2,2682,268 |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 25, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.28 The position is about equal
Best play: 7... Nc6 8. d5 Na5 9. Nd2 e6 10. Qc2 exd5 11. cxd5 Re8 12. b3
Stockfish 19, depth 30, after the line's last move. Scores are in pawns, from White's side.
By rating
Rating changes little here: White scores 55% under 1400, 54% at 2200 and up and 59% in master games (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 6,167 | |
| 1400–1799 | 45K | |
| 1800–2199 | 233K | |
| 2200 and up | 146K | |
| Masters, over the board | 1,874 |
Master games
- Mamedyarov, S. – Carlsen, M.
- Mamedyarov, S. – Gelfand, B.
- Leko, P. – Carlsen, M.
- Mamedyarov, S. – Firouzja, A.
- Aronian, L. – Morozevich, A.
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, Yugoslav Variation (ECO E65, 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 c5 7. Nc3 (7 moves).
In 411,049 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 51.7%, Black 41.2% and 7.1% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 7…Nc6, in 44% of those games.
It branches into 2 named variations; the most played are King's Indian Defense: Fianchetto Variation, Yugoslav Variation, Advance Line and King's Indian Defense: Fianchetto Variation, Yugoslav Variation, Exchange Line.
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, Yugoslav Variation
The most played answer, 7…Nc6, also scores best for Black: 48.2%, with Black winning 44.5% and White 48.1% of 181K games. Of the main answers, 7…cxd4 scores lowest: 41.8%. Stockfish's first choice is also 7…Nc6.
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
Popularity by year
The King's Indian Defense: Fianchetto Variation, Yugoslav Variation has gained ground since 2016: 0.016% of Lichess games in 2025, up from 0.013% (its peak: 0.02% in 2018).
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.013% | 4,669 |
| 2017 | 0.016% | 8,743 |
| 2018 | 0.02% | 15,663 |
| 2019 | 0.019% | 24,116 |
| 2020 | 0.019% | 55,097 |
| 2021 | 0.015% | 56,726 |
| 2022 | 0.015% | 55,188 |
| 2023 | 0.015% | 56,489 |
| 2024 | 0.015% | 53,641 |
| 2025 | 0.016% | 55,277 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.017% | 18,554 |
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
Variations (2)
Transpositions
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “King's Indian Defense: Fianchetto Variation, Yugoslav Variation (E65)”. Lichess data as of 25 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/kings-indian-defense-fianchetto-variation-yugoslav-variation