King's Indian Defense: Normal Variation, King's Knight Variation
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Statistics from Lichess
6,632,021 games: White 47.8% / Draw 6.1% / Black 46.1%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 5,688,1175.7M | ||
| Neo-Grünfeld Defense: with Nf3 | 444,772445K | |
| 248,798249K | ||
| 204,141204K | ||
| 22,82123K | ||
| 11,29511K | ||
| 6,6466,646 | ||
| 1,1351,135 |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Nov 6, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.21 The position is about equal
Best play: 3... Bg7 4. Nc3 d5 5. cxd5 Nxd5 6. h3 Nxc3 7. bxc3 c5 8. e4
Stockfish 19, depth 30, after the line's last move. Scores are in pawns, from White's side.
By rating
The stronger the players, the better this line does for White: White scores 49% under 1400, 52% at 2200 and up and 56% in master games (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 558K | |
| 1400–1799 | 2M | |
| 1800–2199 | 3.9M | |
| 2200 and up | 1.5M | |
| Masters, over the board | 38K |
Master games
- Ding Liren – Carlsen, M.
- Carlsen, M. – Gelfand, B.
- Mamedyarov, S. – Carlsen, M.
- Carlsen, M. – Aronian, L.
- Aronian, L. – Carlsen, M.
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 26, 2026
Overview
King's Indian Defense: Normal Variation, King's Knight Variation (ECO E60, Indian Defenses) is a chess opening that starts 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 g6 3. c4.
In 6,632,021 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 47.8%, Black 46.1% and 6.1% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 3…Bg7, in 86% of those games.
It continues into one named variation, King's Indian Defense: Semi-Classical Variation, Hollywood Variation.
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: Normal Variation, King's Knight Variation
The most played answer, 3…Bg7, also scores best for Black: 49.3%, with Black winning 46.3% and White 47.6% of 5.7M games. Of the main answers, 3…d5 scores lowest: 47.7%. Stockfish's first choice is also 3…Bg7.
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: Normal Variation, King's Knight Variation peaked in 2018 at 0.34% of Lichess games and has slipped since: 0.23% in 2025.
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.25% | 90,309 |
| 2017 | 0.29% | 162,060 |
| 2018 | 0.34% | 263,636 |
| 2019 | 0.32% | 396,129 |
| 2020 | 0.31% | 899,930 |
| 2021 | 0.25% | 994,748 |
| 2022 | 0.25% | 926,655 |
| 2023 | 0.24% | 896,397 |
| 2024 | 0.23% | 826,463 |
| 2025 | 0.23% | 805,025 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.24% | 263,051 |
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 (1)
Transpositions
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “King's Indian Defense: Normal Variation, King's Knight Variation (E60)”. Lichess data as of 6 Nov 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/kings-indian-defense-normal-variation-kings-knight-variation