King's Indian Defense: Sämisch Variation, Normal Defense
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Statistics from Lichess
2,437,203 games: White 50.7% / Draw 5.2% / Black 44.1%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 1,873,5641.9M | ||
| King's Indian Defense: Steiner Attack | 217,210217K | |
| 161,246161K | ||
| King's Indian Defense: Sämisch Variation, Bobotsov-Korchnoi-Petrosian Variation | 149,199149K | |
| 9,3199,319 | ||
| 6,5176,517 | ||
| 4,6304,630 | ||
| 3,6113,611 |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 30, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.31 White is slightly better
Best play: 6. Be3 c5 7. Nge2 Qb6 8. Qc2 Qa5 9. Nc1 cxd4 10. Nb3 Qh5
Stockfish 19, depth 30, after the line's last move. Scores are in pawns, from White's side.
By rating
Rating changes little here: Black scores 48% under 1400, 47% at 2200 and up and 44% in master games (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 38K | |
| 1400–1799 | 392K | |
| 1800–2199 | 1.6M | |
| 2200 and up | 558K | |
| Masters, over the board | 14K |
Master games
- Carlsen, M. – Grischuk, A.
- Nakamura, H. – Caruana, F.
- Carlsen, M. – Erigaisi, A.
- Ding Liren – Grischuk, A.
- Aronian, L. – Vachier Lagrave, M.
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 26, 2026
Overview
King's Indian Defense: Sämisch Variation, Normal Defense (ECO E81, Indian Defenses) is a variation of the King's Indian Defense: Sämisch Variation, reached after 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. f3 O-O (5 moves).
In 2,437,203 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 50.7%, Black 44.1% and 5.2% were drawn. White's most played move here is 6. Be3, in 77% of those games.
It branches into 7 named variations; the most played are King's Indian Defense: Sämisch Variation, Orthodox Variation and King's Indian Defense: Sämisch Variation, Yates Defense. In all, 20 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, Normal Defense
6. Bg5 (King's Indian Defense: Steiner Attack) scores best for White: 55.6%, with White winning 53.0% and Black 41.9% of 217K games. The most played, 6. Be3, scores 53.5% in 1.9M games, and 6. Bd3 scores lowest: 48.5%. Stockfish's first choice is 6. 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
Popularity by year
The King's Indian Defense: Sämisch Variation, Normal Defense has lost ground since 2016: 0.084% of Lichess games in 2025, down from 0.11% (its peak: 0.14% in 2018).
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.11% | 40,236 |
| 2017 | 0.13% | 73,008 |
| 2018 | 0.14% | 110,069 |
| 2019 | 0.12% | 151,239 |
| 2020 | 0.11% | 331,579 |
| 2021 | 0.089% | 349,892 |
| 2022 | 0.087% | 327,129 |
| 2023 | 0.085% | 320,108 |
| 2024 | 0.085% | 303,437 |
| 2025 | 0.084% | 290,196 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.087% | 95,214 |
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 (7)
- E81 Steiner Attack 6. Bg5
- E81 Sämisch Variation, Bobotsov-Korchnoi-Petrosian Variation 6. Nge2
- E81 Sämisch Variation, Byrne Defense 6. Be3 c6 7. Bd3 a6
- E82 Sämisch Variation, Double Fianchetto 6. Be3 b6
- E85 Sämisch Variation, Orthodox Variation 6. Be3 e5
- E81 Sämisch Variation, Sämisch Gambit 6. Be3 c5
- E83 Sämisch Variation, Yates Defense 6. Be3 Nc6
All 20 named lines that continue from here
No line matches.
- E81 King's Indian Defense: Steiner Attack 6 moves
- E81 King's Indian Defense: Sämisch Variation, Bobotsov-Korchnoi-Petrosian Variation 6 moves
- E81 King's Indian Defense: Sämisch Variation, Byrne Defense 7 moves
- E82 King's Indian Defense: Sämisch Variation, Double Fianchetto 6 moves
- E85 King's Indian Defense: Sämisch Variation, Orthodox Variation 6 moves
- E81 King's Indian Defense: Sämisch Variation, Sämisch Gambit 6 moves
- E83 King's Indian Defense: Sämisch Variation, Yates Defense 6 moves
- E81 Steiner Attack 8 moves
- E81 Steiner Attack 9 moves
- E81 Steiner Attack 9 moves
- E86 King's Indian Defense: Sämisch Variation 7 moves
- E87 King's Indian Defense: Sämisch Variation, Closed Variation 7 moves
- E83 King's Indian Defense: Sämisch Variation, Panno Formation 7 moves
- E83 King's Indian Defense: Sämisch Variation, Ruban Variation 7 moves
- E81 King's Indian Defense: Sämisch Variation, Sämisch Gambit Accepted 9 moves
- E87 King's Indian Defense: Sämisch Variation, Bronstein Defense 12 moves
- E88 Closed Variation 7 moves
- E89 Closed Variation, Main Line 8 moves
- E84 King's Indian Defense: Sämisch Variation, Panno Main Line 8 moves
- E87 King's Indian Defense: Sämisch Variation, Orthodox Variation, Bronstein Variation 12 moves
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “King's Indian Defense: Sämisch Variation, Normal Defense (E81)”. Lichess data as of 30 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/kings-indian-defense-samisch-variation-normal-defense