King's Indian Defense: Karpov System
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Statistics from Lichess
355,530 games: White 49.9% / Draw 5.2% / Black 44.9%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 130,680131K | ||
| 64,11664K | ||
| 51,95052K | ||
| 36,13536K | ||
| 22,30322K | ||
| 13,18113K | ||
| 11,03311K | ||
| 7,7167,716 |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 27, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.59 White is slightly better
Best play: 6... c5 7. d5 e6 8. Nf3 exd5 9. cxd5 Re8 10. Bd3 Nxe4 11. Nxe4
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 61% in master games (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 5,863 | |
| 1400–1799 | 70K | |
| 1800–2199 | 187K | |
| 2200 and up | 117K | |
| Masters, over the board | 2,779 |
Master games
- Caruana, F. – Nakamura, H.
- Caruana, F. – Firouzja, A.
- Eljanov, P. – Grischuk, A.
- Esipenko, A. – Caruana, F.
- Gukesh, D. – Rapport, R.
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: Karpov System (ECO E71, Indian Defenses) is a variation of the King's Indian Defense: Makogonov Variation, reached after 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. h3 O-O 6. Be3 (6 moves).
In 355,530 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 49.9%, Black 44.9% and 5.2% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 6…e5, in 37% of those games.
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: Karpov System
6…Nc6 scores best for Black: 48.6%, with Black winning 46.1% and White 48.9% of 52K games. The most played, 6…e5, scores 47.5% in 131K games, and 6…c6 scores lowest: 46.4%. Stockfish's first choice is 6…c5.
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: Karpov System is played more than twice as often as in 2016: 0.017% of Lichess games in 2025, up from 0.0075%.
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.0075% | 2,695 |
| 2017 | 0.0072% | 3,989 |
| 2018 | 0.0099% | 7,737 |
| 2019 | 0.011% | 14,117 |
| 2020 | 0.013% | 36,861 |
| 2021 | 0.011% | 43,293 |
| 2022 | 0.013% | 49,209 |
| 2023 | 0.015% | 55,103 |
| 2024 | 0.016% | 56,899 |
| 2025 | 0.017% | 58,258 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.019% | 20,576 |
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: Karpov System (E71)”. Lichess data as of 27 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/kings-indian-defense-karpov-system