Caissa Codex
E99

King's Indian Defense: Orthodox Variation, Classical System, Benko Attack

Chess diagram: King's Indian Defense: Orthodox Variation, Classical System, Benko Attack after 11. g4

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.

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Statistics from Lichess

16,342 games: White 55.5% / Draw 7.1% / Black 37.4%

The moves played next. Pick one to see it on the board.
Next moveGamesWhite / Draw / BlackW / D / B
4,1204,120
3,6043,604
3,2343,234
2,8102,810
981981
491491
338338
203203

Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 31, 2026

Engine evaluation

+0.26 The position is about equal

Best play: 11... f4 12. h4 Bf6 13. Ng2 Kh8 14. g5 Bg7 15. Kf2 h6 16. Rh1

Stockfish 19, depth 30, after the line's last move. Scores are in pawns, from White's side.

Overview

King's Indian Defense: Orthodox Variation, Classical System, Benko Attack (ECO E99, Indian Defenses) is a variation of the King's Indian Defense: Orthodox Variation, Classical System, Traditional Line, 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 Nd7 10. f3 f5 11. g4 (11 moves).

In 16,342 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 55.5%, Black 37.4% and 7.1% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 11…Nf6, in 25% of those games.

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How to play against the King's Indian Defense: Orthodox Variation, Classical System, Benko Attack

11…Kh8 scores best for Black: 44.2%, with Black winning 40.4% and White 52.0% of 2,810 games. The most played, 11…Nf6, scores 42.2% in 4,120 games, and 11…fxg4 scores lowest: 36.3%. Stockfish's first choice is 11…f4.

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

Cite this page

Caissa Codex. “King's Indian Defense: Orthodox Variation, Classical System, Benko Attack (E99)”. Lichess data as of 31 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/kings-indian-defense-orthodox-variation-classical-system-benko-attack

https://chesscodex.org/openings/kings-indian-defense-orthodox-variation-classical-system-benko-attack