King's Indian Defense: Sämisch Variation, Yates Defense
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Statistics from Lichess
429,247 games: White 50.1% / Draw 5.0% / Black 44.9%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 203,045203K | ||
| 116,739117K | ||
| 75,80576K | ||
| 13,49113K | ||
| 11,77712K | ||
| 2,1902,190 | ||
| 1,9741,974 | ||
| 1,3621,362 |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 31, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.55 White is slightly better
Best play: 7. Qd2 a6 8. Rd1 e6 9. Bd3 e5 10. d5 Nd4 11. Nge2 Nh5
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 46% under 1400, 48% at 2200 and up and 43% in master games (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 3,058 | |
| 1400–1799 | 51K | |
| 1800–2199 | 291K | |
| 2200 and up | 98K | |
| Masters, over the board | 2,305 |
Master games
- Aronian, L. – Vachier Lagrave, M.
- Topalov, V. – Nakamura, H.
- Beliavsky, A. G. – Kasparov, G.
- Giri, A. – Wang, H.
- Duda, J. – Guseinov, 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, Yates Defense (ECO E83, Indian Defenses) is a variation of the King's Indian Defense: Sämisch Variation, Normal Defense, reached after 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. f3 O-O 6. Be3 Nc6 (6 moves).
In 429,247 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 50.1%, Black 44.9% and 5.0% were drawn. White's most played move here is 7. Qd2, in 47% of those games.
It branches into 2 named variations; the most played are King's Indian Defense: Sämisch Variation, Panno Formation and King's Indian Defense: Sämisch Variation, Ruban Variation. 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, Yates Defense
7. Nge2 scores best for White: 54.6%, with White winning 51.9% and Black 42.8% of 117K games. The most played, 7. Qd2, scores 52.6% in 203K games, and 7. Bd3 scores lowest: 51.7%. Stockfish's first choice is 7. Qd2.
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, Yates Defense peaked in 2018 at 0.022% of Lichess games and has slipped since: 0.015% in 2025.
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.015% | 5,415 |
| 2017 | 0.021% | 11,713 |
| 2018 | 0.022% | 17,575 |
| 2019 | 0.02% | 25,236 |
| 2020 | 0.019% | 55,512 |
| 2021 | 0.016% | 61,922 |
| 2022 | 0.016% | 58,504 |
| 2023 | 0.015% | 58,034 |
| 2024 | 0.016% | 57,101 |
| 2025 | 0.015% | 53,357 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.016% | 17,606 |
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, Yates Defense (E83)”. Lichess data as of 31 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/kings-indian-defense-samisch-variation-yates-defense