E65

King's Indian Defense: Fianchetto Variation, Yugoslav Variation, Exchange Line

Play any move on the board to explore from there, or step through the line with ‹ › and the arrow keys.

Statistics from Lichess

81,683 games: White 50.4% / Draw 8.6% / Black 40.9%

The moves played next. Pick one to see it on the board.
Next move	Games	White / Draw / BlackW / D / B
	30,79931K
	22,30022K
	9,6499,649
	5,4895,489
	2,6492,649
	2,4372,437
	2,2032,203
	1,6611,661

Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 13, 2026

Engine evaluation

+0.25 The position is about equal

Best play: 9. Bf4 Nh5 10. Be3 b6 11. Qc1 Bb7 12. Bh6 Qe8 13. Rd1 Rd8

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, Yugoslav Variation, Exchange Line (ECO E65, Indian Defenses) is a variation of the King's Indian Defense: Fianchetto Variation, Yugoslav 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 Nc6 8. dxc5 dxc5 (8 moves).

In 81,683 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 50.4%, Black 40.9% and 8.6% were drawn. White's most played move here is 9. Be3, in 38% of those games.

Written from the Lichess opening list and explorer. Know this line well? Write about it.

Write a description or report a mistake

What would you like to send? A description of this line A mistake on this page (moves, name, statistics…)

Markdown supported (headings ###, bold, lists, links). Submissions are reviewed before publishing.

Your name (optional) Your email (optional, not published)

Description

How to play against the King's Indian Defense: Fianchetto Variation, Yugoslav Variation, Exchange Line

9. Bf4 scores best for White: 58.1%, with White winning 53.4% and Black 37.2% of 22K games. The most played, 9. Be3, scores 57.1% in 31K games, and 9. Bg5 scores lowest: 49.6%. Stockfish's first choice is also 9. Bf4.

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, Yugoslav Variation, Exchange Line (E65)”. Lichess data as of 13 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/kings-indian-defense-fianchetto-variation-yugoslav-variation-exchange-line