King's Indian Defense: Kazakh Variation
Play any move on the board to explore from there, or step through the line with ‹ › and the arrow keys.
Statistics from Lichess
207,510 games: White 46.4% / Draw 6.4% / Black 47.2%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 155,698156K | ||
| 18,99219K | ||
| 11,54312K | ||
| 8,1408,140 | ||
| 7,7437,743 | ||
| 1,3621,362 | ||
| 1,0871,087 | ||
| 605605 |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 25, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.46 White is slightly better
Best play: 7. Bf4 c6 8. Qc2 Qa5 9. h3 b5 10. e5 b4 11. Qa4 Qxa4
Stockfish 19, depth 30, after the line's last move. Scores are in pawns, from White's side.
By rating
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 1,384 | |
| 1400–1799 | 14K | |
| 1800–2199 | 96K | |
| 2200 and up | 101K | |
| Masters, over the board | 3,222 |
Master games
- Carlsen, M. – Ding, L.
- Nepomniachtchi, I. – Radjabov, T.
- Giri, A. – Erigaisi, A.
- Kramnik, V. – Radjabov, T.
- So, W. – Wei Yi
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: Kazakh Variation (ECO E91, Indian Defenses) is a variation of the King's Indian Defense: Orthodox Variation, reached after 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. Nf3 O-O 6. Be2 Na6 (6 moves).
In 207,510 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 46.4%, Black 47.2% and 6.4% were drawn. White's most played move here is 7. O-O, in 75% 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
How to play against the King's Indian Defense: Kazakh Variation
7. Be3 scores best for White: 52.2%, with White winning 49.3% and Black 44.8% of 19K games. The most played, 7. O-O, scores 49.8% in 156K games, and 7. a3 scores lowest: 43.4%. Stockfish's first choice is 7. 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
Popularity by year
The King's Indian Defense: Kazakh Variation has lost ground since 2016: 0.0074% of Lichess games in 2025, down from 0.0096% (its peak: 0.012% in 2018).
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.0096% | 3,438 |
| 2017 | 0.011% | 6,069 |
| 2018 | 0.012% | 9,205 |
| 2019 | 0.01% | 13,049 |
| 2020 | 0.0097% | 28,390 |
| 2021 | 0.0079% | 30,726 |
| 2022 | 0.0074% | 27,848 |
| 2023 | 0.0071% | 26,601 |
| 2024 | 0.0065% | 23,447 |
| 2025 | 0.0074% | 25,608 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.0083% | 9,135 |
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: Kazakh Variation (E91)”. Lichess data as of 25 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/kings-indian-defense-kazakh-variation