Torre Attack: Fianchetto Defense
Play any move on the board to explore from there, or step through the line with ‹ › and the arrow keys.
Statistics from Lichess
1,620,957 games: White 48.3% / Draw 6.0% / Black 45.7%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 1,444,6081.4M | ||
| 98,37098K | ||
| Queen's Pawn Game: Torre Attack, Grünfeld Variation | 29,70630K | |
| 25,04425K | ||
| 13,25113K | ||
| 4,6794,679 | ||
| 2,2492,249 | ||
| 1,6521,652 |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 27, 2026
Engine evaluation
0.00 The position is about equal
Best play: 3... Bg7 4. Nbd2 O-O 5. c3 h6 6. Bh4 d6 7. e4 c5 8. Be2
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 better this line does for White: White scores 49% under 1400, 53% at 2200 and up and 52% in master games (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 167K | |
| 1400–1799 | 523K | |
| 1800–2199 | 970K | |
| 2200 and up | 324K | |
| Masters, over the board | 7,631 |
Master games
- Carlsen, M. – Gelfand, B.
- Carlsen, M. – Nakamura, H.
- Carlsen, M. – Giri, A.
- Kramnik, V. – Vachier Lagrave, M.
- Kramnik, V. – 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 27, 2026
Overview
Torre Attack: Fianchetto Defense (ECO A48, Flank Openings) is a variation of the East Indian Defense, reached after 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 g6 3. Bg5 (3 moves).
In 1,620,957 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 48.3%, Black 45.7% and 6.0% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 3…Bg7, in 89% of those games.
It branches into 2 named variations; the most played are Queen's Pawn Game: Torre Attack, Grünfeld Variation, Main Line and Torre Attack: Fianchetto Defense, Euwe Variation.
Written from the Lichess opening list and explorer. Know this line well? Write about it.
Write a description or report a mistake
How to answer 3. Bg5
3…Ne4 scores best for Black: 49.1%, with Black winning 45.9% and White 47.7% of 98K games. The most played answer, 3…Bg7, scores lowest: 48.7% in 1.4M games. Stockfish's first choice is 3…Bg7.
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 Torre Attack: Fianchetto Defense has lost ground since 2016: 0.055% of Lichess games in 2025, down from 0.068% (its peak: 0.083% in 2018).
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.068% | 24,173 |
| 2017 | 0.078% | 42,822 |
| 2018 | 0.083% | 64,867 |
| 2019 | 0.077% | 95,998 |
| 2020 | 0.076% | 221,493 |
| 2021 | 0.064% | 251,391 |
| 2022 | 0.06% | 226,379 |
| 2023 | 0.058% | 218,417 |
| 2024 | 0.056% | 199,398 |
| 2025 | 0.055% | 189,155 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.056% | 61,597 |
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)
Transpositions
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “Torre Attack: Fianchetto Defense (A48)”. Lichess data as of 27 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/torre-attack-fianchetto-defense