King's Indian Defense: Petrosian Variation
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Statistics from Lichess
504,394 games: White 46.1% / Draw 5.5% / Black 48.4%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Stein Defense | 245,620246K | |
| Normal Defense | 111,871112K | |
| 42,38642K | ||
| 29,86230K | ||
| 21,13921K | ||
| 16,87617K | ||
| 10,14010K | ||
| 8,7498,749 |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 30, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.47 White is slightly better
Best play: 7... a5 8. h3 Na6 9. Bg5 Bd7 10. Nd2 Nc5 11. Qc2 b6 12. Be3
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 better this line does for White: White scores 49% under 1400, 53% at 2200 and up and 56% in master games (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 14K | |
| 1400–1799 | 95K | |
| 1800–2199 | 281K | |
| 2200 and up | 157K | |
| Masters, over the board | 4,815 |
Master games
- Kramnik, V. – Nakamura, H.
- Topalov, V. – Mamedyarov, S.
- Aronian, L. – Caruana, F.
- Kramnik, V. – Kasparov, G.
- Kramnik, V. – Kasparov, G.
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: Petrosian Variation (ECO E92, 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 e5 7. d5 (7 moves).
In 504,394 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 46.1%, Black 48.4% and 5.5% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 7…a5, in 49% of those games.
It branches into 2 named variations; the most played are King's Indian Defense: Petrosian Variation, Stein Defense and King's Indian Defense: Petrosian Variation, Normal Defense. In all, 3 named lines continue from it.
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: Petrosian Variation
The most played answer, 7…a5 (Stein Defense), also scores best for Black: 52.1%, with Black winning 49.3% and White 45.0% of 246K games. Of the main answers, 7…c6 scores lowest: 45.8%. Stockfish's first choice is also 7…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
Popularity by year
The King's Indian Defense: Petrosian Variation has lost ground since 2016: 0.015% of Lichess games in 2025, down from 0.022% (its peak: 0.034% in 2018).
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.022% | 7,816 |
| 2017 | 0.03% | 16,408 |
| 2018 | 0.034% | 27,011 |
| 2019 | 0.028% | 35,184 |
| 2020 | 0.026% | 75,122 |
| 2021 | 0.02% | 77,936 |
| 2022 | 0.017% | 64,816 |
| 2023 | 0.017% | 62,650 |
| 2024 | 0.016% | 57,950 |
| 2025 | 0.015% | 53,609 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.016% | 17,921 |
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
Variations (2)
All 3 named lines that continue from here
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “King's Indian Defense: Petrosian Variation (E92)”. Lichess data as of 30 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/kings-indian-defense-petrosian-variation