Caissa Codex
E97

King's Indian Defense: Orthodox Variation, Modern System

Chess diagram: King's Indian Defense: Orthodox Variation, Modern System after 9. Nd2

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Statistics from Lichess

44,115 games: White 52.2% / Draw 5.3% / Black 42.4%

The moves played next. Pick one to see it on the board.
Next moveGamesWhite / Draw / BlackW / D / B
17,72918K
17,10817K
4,2534,253
1,5271,527
1,1371,137
798798
310310
265265

Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 29, 2026

Engine evaluation

+0.27 The position is about equal

Best play: 9... a5 10. Rb1 Nd7 11. a3 Kh8 12. b4 f5 13. f3 b6 14. Nb3

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, Modern System (ECO E97, 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. Nd2 (9 moves).

In 44,115 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 52.2%, Black 42.4% and 5.3% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 9…Nd7, in 40% of those games.

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

9…a5 scores best for Black: 47.2%, with Black winning 43.9% and White 49.5% of 4,253 games. The most played answer, 9…Nd7, scores lowest: 44.1% in 18K games. Stockfish's first choice is also 9…a5.

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

Other lines from the same position

Instead of 8. d5 Ne7 9. Nd2, the position after King's Indian Defense: Orthodox Variation, Aronin-Taimanov Defense also goes on to:

Cite this page

Caissa Codex. “King's Indian Defense: Orthodox Variation, Modern System (E97)”. Lichess data as of 29 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/kings-indian-defense-orthodox-variation-modern-system

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