King's Indian Defense: Petrosian Variation, Normal Defense
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Statistics from Lichess
133,204 games: White 45.9% / Draw 5.3% / Black 48.8%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| King's Indian Defense: Orthodox Variation, Positional Defense, Closed Line | 63,15563K | |
| 29,04929K | ||
| 16,44716K | ||
| 9,4499,449 | ||
| 8,9768,976 | ||
| 1,8841,884 | ||
| 1,5301,530 | ||
| 1,2171,217 |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 29, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.65 White is slightly better
Best play: 8. Be3 Ng4 9. Bg5 f6 10. Bh4 Nh6 11. Nd2 g5 12. Bg3 Nc5
Stockfish 19, depth 30, after the line's last move. Scores are in pawns, from White's side.
Overview
King's Indian Defense: Petrosian Variation, Normal Defense (ECO E93, Indian Defenses) is a variation of the King's Indian Defense: Petrosian Variation, reached after 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. Nf3 O-O 6. Be2 e5 7. d5 Nbd7 (7 moves).
In 133,204 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 45.9%, Black 48.8% and 5.3% were drawn. White's most played move here is 8. O-O, in 47% of those games.
It continues into one named variation, King's Indian Defense: Petrosian Variation, Keres Defense.
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, Normal Defense
8. Bg5 scores best for White: 54.0%, with White winning 51.0% and Black 43.0% of 29K games. The most played, 8. O-O, scores 46.5% in 63K games, and 8. b4 scores lowest: 39.8%. Stockfish's first choice is 8. Be3.
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
Variations (1)
Transpositions
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “King's Indian Defense: Petrosian Variation, Normal Defense (E93)”. Lichess data as of 29 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/kings-indian-defense-petrosian-variation-normal-defense