King's Indian Defense: Orthodox Variation, Classical System, Neo-Classical Line
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Statistics from Lichess
100,728 games: White 54.2% / Draw 4.5% / Black 41.3%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 96,11096K | ||
| 2,1912,191 | ||
| 981981 | ||
| 619619 | ||
| 195195 | ||
| 186186 | ||
| 131131 | ||
| 7878 |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 25, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.38 White is slightly better
Best play: 10... f5 11. f3 f4 12. Bf2 g5 13. b4 Nf6 14. c5 Ng6 15. c6
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, Neo-Classical Line (ECO E98, Indian Defenses) is a variation of the King's Indian Defense: Orthodox Variation, Classical System, 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. Be3 (10 moves).
In 100,728 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 54.2%, Black 41.3% and 4.5% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 10…f5, in 95% of those games.
It continues into one named variation, King's Indian Defense: Orthodox Variation, Classical System, Kozul Gambit.
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Variations (1)
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “King's Indian Defense: Orthodox Variation, Classical System, Neo-Classical Line (E98)”. Lichess data as of 25 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/kings-indian-defense-orthodox-variation-classical-system-neo-classical-line