Caissa Codex
E61

King's Indian Defense: Semi-Classical Variation, Exchange Variation

Chess diagram: King's Indian Defense: Semi-Classical Variation, Exchange Variation after 8…dxe5

Type a move and press Enter: e4, Nf3, O-O, or from and to squares like g1f3 (e7e8q to promote). The board is also played with the mouse.

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Statistics from Lichess

39,371 games: White 41.5% / Draw 6.1% / Black 52.4%

The moves played next. Pick one to see it on the board.
Next moveGamesWhite / Draw / BlackW / D / B
11,96612K
9,8669,866
8,5458,545
2,1232,123
1,1791,179
1,1441,144
916916
797797

Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 29, 2026

Engine evaluation

+0.18 The position is about equal

Best play: 9. b4 Qe7 10. Rb1 e4 11. Nd4 c6 12. Qc2 Re8 13. c5 h5

Stockfish 19, depth 30, after the line's last move. Scores are in pawns, from White's side.

Overview

King's Indian Defense: Semi-Classical Variation, Exchange Variation (ECO E61, Indian Defenses) is a variation of the King's Indian Defense: Semi-Classical Variation, reached after 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. Nf3 O-O 5. e3 d6 6. Be2 Nbd7 7. O-O e5 8. dxe5 dxe5 (8 moves).

In 39,371 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 41.5%, Black 52.4% and 6.1% were drawn. White's most played move here is 9. e4, in 30% of those games.

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How to play against the King's Indian Defense: Semi-Classical Variation, Exchange Variation

9. b3 scores best for White: 47.3%, with White winning 44.1% and Black 49.5% of 8,545 games. The most played, 9. e4, scores 43.5% in 12K games, and 9. Nd5 scores lowest: 42.7%. Stockfish's first choice is 9. b4.

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

Other lines from the same position

Instead of 6…Nbd7 7. O-O e5 8. dxe5 dxe5, the position after King's Indian Defense: Semi-Classical Variation also goes on to:

Cite this page

Caissa Codex. “King's Indian Defense: Semi-Classical Variation, Exchange Variation (E61)”. Lichess data as of 29 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/kings-indian-defense-semi-classical-variation-exchange-variation

https://chesscodex.org/openings/kings-indian-defense-semi-classical-variation-exchange-variation