King's Indian Defense: Orthodox Variation, Positional Defense
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Statistics from Lichess
586,870 games: White 48.9% / Draw 5.9% / Black 45.2%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| King's Indian Defense: Orthodox Variation, Positional Defense, Closed Line | 246,960247K | |
| 119,559120K | ||
| 63,37263K | ||
| King's Indian Defense: Orthodox Variation | 60,34960K | |
| 34,89635K | ||
| 29,45529K | ||
| 22,89623K | ||
| 2,6922,692 |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Nov 8, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.67 White is slightly better
Best play: 8. Qc2 exd4 9. Nxd4 Nc5 10. Be3 Ng4 11. Bxg4 Bxg4 12. f3 Be6
Stockfish 19, depth 30, after the line's last move. Scores are in pawns, from White's side.
By rating
The stronger the players, the worse this line does for Black: Black scores 51% under 1400, 47% at 2200 and up and 45% in master games (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 10K | |
| 1400–1799 | 105K | |
| 1800–2199 | 351K | |
| 2200 and up | 160K | |
| Masters, over the board | 6,754 |
Master games
- Carlsen, M. – Nakamura, H.
- Duda, J. – Carlsen, M.
- So, W. – Duda, J.
- So, W. – Duda, J.
- Nakamura, H. – 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, Positional Defense (ECO E94, Indian Defenses) is a chess opening that starts 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 d6 3. Nc3 Nbd7 4. e4 e5 5. Nf3 g6 6. Be2 Bg7 7. O-O O-O.
In 586,870 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 48.9%, Black 45.2% and 5.9% were drawn. White's most played move here is 8. d5, in 42% of those games.
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, Positional Defense
8. Be3 scores best for White: 56.5%, with White winning 53.3% and Black 40.4% of 120K games. The most played answer, 8. d5, scores lowest: 48.3% in 247K games. Stockfish's first choice is 8. Qc2.
Main answers: those played in at least 5% of these games. Score: White'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, Positional Defense peaked in 2018 at 0.033% of Lichess games and has slipped since: 0.021% in 2025.
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.024% | 8,710 |
| 2017 | 0.032% | 17,669 |
| 2018 | 0.033% | 26,217 |
| 2019 | 0.029% | 35,864 |
| 2020 | 0.027% | 79,276 |
| 2021 | 0.021% | 83,479 |
| 2022 | 0.021% | 78,521 |
| 2023 | 0.021% | 78,891 |
| 2024 | 0.021% | 73,597 |
| 2025 | 0.021% | 71,164 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.021% | 23,434 |
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
Transpositions
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “King's Indian Defense: Orthodox Variation, Positional Defense (E94)”. Lichess data as of 8 Nov 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/kings-indian-defense-orthodox-variation-positional-defense