Caissa Codex
E91

King's Indian Defense: Orthodox Variation

The Orthodox Variation of the King's Indian Defense (1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.Nf3 O-O 6.Be2) is White's natural development with a big pawn centre. Read the guide

Chess diagram: King's Indian Defense: Orthodox Variation after 6. Be2

Type a move and press Enter: e4, Nf3, O-O, or from and to squares like g1f3 (e7e8q to promote). The board is also played with the mouse.

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

Statistics from Lichess

5,131,627 games: White 50.1% / Draw 6.0% / Black 43.9%

The moves played next. Pick one to see it on the board.
Next moveGamesWhite / Draw / BlackW / D / B
E92 1,916,4361.9M
866,563867K
699,611700K
499,755500K
396,427396K
King's Indian Defense: Kazakh Variation 202,266202K
199,966200K
106,910107K

Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Nov 7, 2026

Engine evaluation

+0.52 White is slightly better

Best play: 6... e5 7. d5 a5 8. h3 Nh5 9. g3 Na6 10. Nh2 f5 11. exf5

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 52% under 1400, 54% at 2200 and up and 57% in master games (wins plus half the draws).

PlayersGamesWhite / Draw / BlackW / D / B
Under 1400 137K
1400–1799 1M
1800–2199 2.9M
2200 and up 1.5M
Masters, over the board 55K

Master games

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

Description

The Orthodox Variation of the King's Indian Defense (1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.Nf3 O-O 6.Be2) is White's natural development with a big pawn centre. Black usually answers 6...e5, reaching the Classical Variation of the King's Indian.

Main lines

After 6...e5:

  • 7.O-O Nc6 (Aronin-Taimanov Defense in this database) 8.d5 Ne7, the main line or Mar del Plata Variation. White usually attacks on the queenside, preparing the break c4–c5, while Black moves the f6-knight, usually to d7, and starts a kingside pawn storm with ...f5–f4 and ...g5. 9.b4, the Bayonet Attack, introduced by Viktor Korchnoi in the 1970s, used to put top players off this line, but it has recently been revived by Teimour Radjabov. 9.Ne1 (Classical System) and 9.Nd2 are among White's other choices.
  • 7.O-O Nbd7, the old main line, still playable but less common than 7...Nc6. 7.O-O exd4 8.Nxd4 is also possible, although White's extra space is usually worth more than Black's counterplay against the centre. 7.O-O Na6 (Glek Defense in this database) prepares to bring the knight to c5 after White's d5.
  • 7.d5, the Petrosian Variation, named after Tigran Petrosian, who often played it in the 1960s; Vladimir Kramnik played it extensively in the 1990s. After 7...a5 (Stein Defense in this database) White pins the knight with 8.Bg5, making ...f5 harder to achieve.
  • 7.Be3, the Gligorić System, after Svetozar Gligorić. White avoids the theory after 7.O-O Nc6 and keeps the central tension for the moment. Black most often replies 7...Ng4 8.Bg5 f6 9.Bh4 Nc6.
  • 7.dxe5 dxe5 8.Qxd8 Rxd8, the Exchange Variation, a queenless middlegame in which White plays for a small, safe advantage. It is often chosen by White players hoping for an early draw, but chances are balanced and there is still a lot of play left.

Strengths and weaknesses

Strengths

  • White develops naturally, keeps a big centre and has a clear queenside plan.
  • Black gets rich, double-edged positions with kingside attacking chances, especially in the Mar del Plata.

Weaknesses

  • The Bayonet Attack once put top players off the main line with 7...Nc6.
  • White's quiet option, the Exchange Variation, leads to balanced chances.

Who should play it

The Orthodox Variation suits White players who want the classical approach against the King's Indian, and Black players who enjoy races on opposite wings.

The numbers

On Lichess White is ahead at every level: 50.4% against 45.9% for Black under 1400, 50.0% against 45.7% at 1400–1799, 50.3% against 44.1% at 1800–2199, and 50.0% against 42.6% from 2200 up. In about 54,500 master games White won 36.6%, Black 22.8%, and 40.5% were drawn.

Suggest an improvement or report a mistake
What would you like to send?

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

How to play against the King's Indian Defense: Orthodox Variation

The most played answer, 6…e5, also scores best for Black: 47.7%, with Black winning 44.4% and White 49.1% of 1.9M games. Of the main answers, 6…Nc6 scores lowest: 45.9%. Stockfish's first choice is also 6…e5.

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: Orthodox Variation has lost ground since 2016: 0.17% of Lichess games in 2025, down from 0.22% (its peak: 0.3% in 2018).

Numbers by year
YearShare of gamesGames
20160.22%79,045
20170.27%148,488
20180.3%238,951
20190.27%332,858
20200.25%726,102
20210.2%780,055
20220.18%691,722
20230.18%663,893
20240.17%611,116
20250.17%585,006
2026 (Jan–Apr)0.17%190,801

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 (3)

Other lines from the same position

Instead of 5…O-O 6. Be2, the position after King's Indian Defense: Normal Variation, Rare Defenses also goes on to:

All 26 named lines that continue from here

Sources

Cite this page

Caissa Codex. “King's Indian Defense: Orthodox Variation (E91)”. Lichess data as of 7 Nov 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/kings-indian-defense-orthodox-variation

https://chesscodex.org/openings/kings-indian-defense-orthodox-variation