King's Indian Defense: Sämisch Variation, Closed Variation
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Statistics from Lichess
321,441 games: White 50.8% / Draw 5.2% / Black 44.0%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| E88 | 93,29393K | |
| 58,54359K | ||
| 50,06250K | ||
| 45,51446K | ||
| 20,79721K | ||
| 20,24720K | ||
| 8,7798,779 | ||
| 7,7517,751 |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 24, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.70 White is better
Best play: 7... Nh5 8. Qd2 f5 9. O-O-O Nd7 10. exf5 gxf5 11. Nge2 Ndf6 12. Bg5
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 White: White scores 56% under 1400, 53% at 2200 and up and 60% in master games (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 3,922 | |
| 1400–1799 | 52K | |
| 1800–2199 | 221K | |
| 2200 and up | 60K | |
| Masters, over the board | 1,309 |
Master games
- Karpov, A. – Kasparov, G.
- Karpov, A. – Kasparov, G.
- Morozevich, A. – Grischuk, A.
- Karpov, A. – Kasparov, G.
- Kamsky, G. – 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: Sämisch Variation, Closed Variation (ECO E87, Indian Defenses) is a variation of the King's Indian Defense: Sämisch Variation, Orthodox Variation, reached after 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. f3 O-O 6. Be3 e5 7. d5 (7 moves).
In 321,441 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 50.8%, Black 44.0% and 5.2% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 7…c6, in 29% of those games.
It branches into 2 named variations; the most played is King's Indian Defense: Sämisch Variation, Bronstein 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: Sämisch Variation, Closed Variation
7…Nh5 scores best for Black: 50.4%, with Black winning 47.3% and White 46.6% of 50K games. The most played, 7…c6, scores 45.5% in 93K games, and 7…c5 scores lowest: 44.4%. Stockfish's first choice is also 7…Nh5.
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: Sämisch Variation, Closed Variation has lost ground since 2016: 0.011% of Lichess games in 2025, down from 0.015% (its peak: 0.019% in 2018).
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.015% | 5,419 |
| 2017 | 0.018% | 10,129 |
| 2018 | 0.019% | 15,203 |
| 2019 | 0.017% | 20,795 |
| 2020 | 0.015% | 44,214 |
| 2021 | 0.012% | 46,352 |
| 2022 | 0.011% | 42,590 |
| 2023 | 0.011% | 41,687 |
| 2024 | 0.011% | 39,854 |
| 2025 | 0.011% | 37,236 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.011% | 12,254 |
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)
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “King's Indian Defense: Sämisch Variation, Closed Variation (E87)”. Lichess data as of 24 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/kings-indian-defense-samisch-variation-closed-variation