Caissa Codex
E61

King's Indian Defense: Semi-Classical Variation, Queenside Storm Line

Chess diagram: King's Indian Defense: Semi-Classical Variation, Queenside Storm Line after 8. b4

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

11,853 games: White 48.8% / Draw 5.8% / Black 45.4%

The moves played next. Pick one to see it on the board.
Next moveGamesWhite / Draw / BlackW / D / B
3,3033,303
2,2432,243
2,1372,137
1,5551,555
1,3381,338
317317
263263
236236

Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 31, 2026

Engine evaluation

+0.19 The position is about equal

Best play: 8... exd4 9. exd4 d5 10. a4 c6 11. cxd5 Nxd5 12. Nxd5 cxd5 13. a5

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, Queenside Storm Line (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. b4 (8 moves).

In 11,853 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 48.8%, Black 45.4% and 5.8% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 8…Re8, in 28% of those games.

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

The most played answer, 8…Re8, also scores best for Black: 51.7%, with Black winning 48.9% and White 45.4% of 3,303 games. Of the main answers, 8…c6 scores lowest: 44.3%. Stockfish's first choice is 8…exd4.

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

Other lines from the same position

Instead of 6…Nbd7 7. O-O e5 8. b4, 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, Queenside Storm Line (E61)”. Lichess data as of 31 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/kings-indian-defense-semi-classical-variation-queenside-storm-line

https://chesscodex.org/openings/kings-indian-defense-semi-classical-variation-queenside-storm-line