King's Indian Defense: Orthodox Variation, Positional Defense, Closed Line
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Statistics from Lichess
310,893 games: White 45.3% / Draw 5.3% / Black 49.4%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 150,413150K | ||
| 63,40663K | ||
| 28,72829K | ||
| 13,59514K | ||
| 12,20112K | ||
| 10,84111K | ||
| 10,04710K | ||
| 5,2285,228 |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 25, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.21 The position is about equal
Best play: 8... Nc5 9. Qc2 a5 10. Bg5 b6 11. Nd2 h6 12. Be3 Nh7 13. Rae1
Stockfish 19, depth 30, after the line's last move. Scores are in pawns, from White's side.
By rating
Rating changes little here: White scores 47% under 1400, 49% at 2200 and up and 48% in master games (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 9,264 | |
| 1400–1799 | 82K | |
| 1800–2199 | 200K | |
| 2200 and up | 52K | |
| Masters, over the board | 585 |
Master games
- Kasimdzhanov, R. – Mista, A.
- Gabriel, C. – Almasi, Z.
- Zubov, A. U. – Zubarev, A.
- Zubov, A. – Manolache, M.
- Ubilava, E. – Akopian, V.
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, Closed Line (ECO E94, Indian Defenses) is a variation of the King's Indian Defense: Orthodox Variation, reached after 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. Nf3 O-O 6. Be2 Nbd7 7. O-O e5 8. d5 (8 moves).
In 310,893 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 45.3%, Black 49.4% and 5.3% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 8…Nc5, in 48% 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, Closed Line
The most played answer, 8…Nc5, also scores best for Black: 53.3%, with Black winning 50.5% and White 43.9% of 150K games. Of the main answers, 8…Ne8 scores lowest: 52.0%. Stockfish's first choice is also 8…Nc5.
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, Positional Defense, Closed Line has lost ground since 2016: 0.01% of Lichess games in 2025, down from 0.014% (its peak: 0.019% in 2018).
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.014% | 4,883 |
| 2017 | 0.019% | 10,336 |
| 2018 | 0.019% | 15,309 |
| 2019 | 0.017% | 20,635 |
| 2020 | 0.015% | 44,616 |
| 2021 | 0.012% | 45,677 |
| 2022 | 0.011% | 40,657 |
| 2023 | 0.011% | 40,274 |
| 2024 | 0.01% | 37,201 |
| 2025 | 0.01% | 34,909 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.01% | 11,175 |
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, Closed Line (E94)”. Lichess data as of 25 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/kings-indian-defense-orthodox-variation-positional-defense-closed-line