King's Indian Defense: Orthodox Variation, Classical System
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Statistics from Lichess
377,298 games: White 53.6% / Draw 5.0% / Black 41.4%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 196,461196K | ||
| 140,337140K | ||
| 9,8899,889 | ||
| 8,7728,772 | ||
| 6,5396,539 | ||
| 6,0266,026 | ||
| 2,3752,375 | ||
| 1,7021,702 |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Nov 10, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.62 White is slightly better
Best play: 9... Nd7 10. Nd3 b6 11. f3 Nc5 12. Be3 Nxd3 13. Bxd3 Kh8 14. b4
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 | 253 | |
| 1400–1799 | 13K | |
| 1800–2199 | 199K | |
| 2200 and up | 167K | |
| Masters, over the board | 7,088 |
Master games
- Nakamura, H. – Kasparov, G.
- Aronian, L. – Carlsen, M.
- So, W. – Nakamura, H.
- So, W. – Grischuk, A.
- Topalov, V. – Radjabov, T.
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: Orthodox Variation, Classical System (ECO E98, Indian Defenses) is a variation of the King's Indian Defense: Orthodox Variation, Aronin-Taimanov Defense, reached after 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. Nf3 O-O 6. Be2 e5 7. O-O Nc6 8. d5 Ne7 9. Ne1 (9 moves).
In 377,298 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 53.6%, Black 41.4% and 5.0% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 9…Nd7, in 52% of those games.
It branches into 2 named variations; the most played are King's Indian Defense: Orthodox Variation, Classical System, Neo-Classical Line and King's Indian Defense: Orthodox Variation, Classical System, Traditional Line. In all, 4 named lines continue from it.
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: Orthodox Variation, Classical System
The most played answer, 9…Nd7, also scores best for Black: 44.1%, with Black winning 41.6% and White 53.3% of 196K games. Of the main answers, 9…Ne8 scores lowest: 43.9%. Stockfish's first choice is also 9…Nd7.
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, Classical System has lost ground since 2016: 0.01% of Lichess games in 2025, down from 0.019% (its peak: 0.028% in 2018).
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.019% | 6,740 |
| 2017 | 0.024% | 12,997 |
| 2018 | 0.028% | 21,974 |
| 2019 | 0.024% | 29,516 |
| 2020 | 0.021% | 61,913 |
| 2021 | 0.015% | 59,254 |
| 2022 | 0.013% | 49,431 |
| 2023 | 0.012% | 45,544 |
| 2024 | 0.011% | 38,737 |
| 2025 | 0.01% | 34,754 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.0097% | 10,671 |
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 (2)
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “King's Indian Defense: Orthodox Variation, Classical System (E98)”. Lichess data as of 10 Nov 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/kings-indian-defense-orthodox-variation-classical-system