Tree path 8 levels Indian Defense: West Indian Defense › King's Indian Defense › Normal Variation › King's Indian Defense: Normal Variation › Rare Defenses › King's Indian Defense: Orthodox Variation › King's Indian Defense: Orthodox Variation › King's Indian Defense: Orthodox Variation
- Caissa Codex
- Indian Defense: West Indian Defense E60
- King's Indian Defense E61
- Normal Variation E70
- King's Indian Defense: Normal Variation E70
- Rare Defenses E90
- King's Indian Defense: Orthodox Variation E91
- King's Indian Defense: Orthodox Variation E92
- King's Indian Defense: Orthodox Variation E94 you are here
King's Indian Defense: Orthodox Variation
Overview
King's Indian Defense: Orthodox Variation is a variation within the Indian Defenses family, indexed as ECO E94.
The Indian Defenses group covers Indian defences — hypermodern lines where Black challenges the centre with pieces rather than pawns.
It is reached after 13 plies of play, with the move sequence 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. Nf3 O-O 6. Be2 e5 7. O-O.
It is a variation of King's Indian Defense: Orthodox Variation, which itself descends from the root opening Indian Defense: West Indian Defense.
It branches into 5 notable variations — King's Indian Defense: Orthodox Variation, Aronin-Taimanov Defense, Donner Defense, and others.
In total, the branch covers 16 sub-variations across all depths.
Step through the moves on the interactive board below, review the live Lichess statistics, or play this position against Stockfish at one of six difficulty levels.
- ECO code
- E94
- Group
- Indian Defenses (E)
- Plies
- 13
- Direct variations
- 5
- Total in subtree
- 16
This overview is generated automatically from the opening's metadata. Know this line well? Write a description — submissions are reviewed before publishing.
Statistics from Lichess
943,621 games · White 50.4% / Draw 6.1% / Black 43.5%
| Moves | Games | W / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Nc6 | 672,932 | |
| exd4 | 142,165 | |
| Nbd7 | 44,753 | |
| Na6 | 27,886 | |
| Bg4 | 20,564 | |
| a5 | 7,994 | |
| c6 | 5,681 | |
| Re8 | 5,366 |
Source: Lichess Opening Explorer · cached 2026-09-26 02:54:29
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Variations (5)
Show all 16 sub-variations (full subtree)
- E95 King's Indian Defense: Orthodox Variation 15-ply
- E97 Aronin-Taimanov Defense 14-ply
- E94 Donner Defense 14-ply
- E94 Glek Defense 14-ply
- E94 Ukrainian Defense 14-ply
- E97 King's Indian Defense: Orthodox Variation, Bayonet Attack 17-ply
- E98 King's Indian Defense: Orthodox Variation, Classical System 17-ply
- E97 King's Indian Defense: Orthodox Variation, Korchnoi Attack 17-ply
- E97 King's Indian Defense: Orthodox Variation, Modern System 17-ply
- E96 Positional Defense, Main Line 18-ply
- E97 Sokolov's Line 19-ply
- E97 Yepishin's Line 19-ply
- E98 Neo-Classical Line 19-ply
- E99 Traditional Line 20-ply
- E99 King's Indian Defense: Orthodox Variation, Classical System, Benko Attack 21-ply
- E98 King's Indian Defense: Orthodox Variation, Classical System, Kozul Gambit 27-ply