King's Indian Defense: Averbakh Variation, Main Line
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. Be2 O-O 6. Bg5 c5 7. d5 e6
The King's Indian Defense: Averbakh Variation, Main Line is a chess opening classified as ECO E75, reached after 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. Be2 O-O 6. Bg5 c5 7. d5 e6. It is a line of the King's Indian Defense. White is to move.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 47 times by this move order. White won 55%, 5% were drawn and Black won 40%. The most popular continuation is 8. Qd2 (38% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.41 (Stockfish, depth 44; best line 8. Qc1 exd5 9. exd5 b5 10. cxb5 a6)
- ECO
- E75
- Moves
- 14 plies
- FEN
rnbq1rk1/pp3pbp/3ppnp1/2pP2B1/2P1P3/2N5/PP2BPPP/R2QK1NR w KQ - 0 8- PGN
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. Be2 O-O 6. Bg5 c5 7. d5 e6
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 3 | |
| 1500-1999 | 10 | |
| 2000+ | 34 | |
| All | 47 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 8. Qd2 | 18 (38%) | |
| 8. Nf3 | 12 (26%) | |
| 8. h4 | 7 (15%) | |
| 8. dxe6 | 3 (6%) | |
| 8. f4 | 3 (6%) | |
| 8. h3 | 3 (6%) | |
| 8. f3 | 1 (2%) |
Master games
403 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 44%, draw 24%, Black 32%). The strongest:
- GM Erigaisi Arjun (2801) – GM Nodirbek Abdusattorov (2777) 1-0 · World Rapid 2024 · 2024-12-28
- GM Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (2726) – GM Veselin Topalov (2752) 1-0 · World Blitz Final · 2012-07-10
- GM Yue Wang (2716) – GM Liren Ding (2749) 1-0 · 6th Hainan Danzhou GM · 2015-07-06
- GM Parham Maghsoodloo (2676) – GM Bassem Amin (2690) 1-0 · Capechecs Online Trophy A · 2020-10-24
- GM Yangyi Yu (2738) – GM Sebastien Maze (2613) 1/2-1/2 · Gibraltar Masters 2017 · 2017-01-27
Search all games of the King's Indian Defense: Averbakh Variation, Main Line and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- Pastukhov_Nicolay (2505) – sibuna1 (2476) 1-0 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 0s
- VladimirTambov (2421) – OutslyGutsly (2554) 1-0 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 0s
- GM Elmarmalade (2570) – aNoNYmOUslOsERmAStEr (2351) 1-0 · 2026-09-06 · 300 + 0s
Comes from
King's Indian Defense: Averbakh Variation, Benoni Defense, Advance Variation 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. Be2 O-O 6. Bg5 c5 7. d5
More King's Indian Defense lines (all)
- King's Indian Defense: Fianchetto Variation E60
- King's Indian Defense: Fianchetto Variation, Immediate Fianchetto E60
- King's Indian Defense: Normal Variation, King's Knight Variation E60
- King's Indian Defense: Santasiere Variation E60
- King's Indian Defense: Semi-Classical Variation, Benoni Variation E60
- King's Indian Defense: Semi-Classical Variation, Hollywood Variation E60
- King's Indian Defense E61
- King's Indian Defense: Fianchetto Variation, Benjamin Defense E61
- King's Indian Defense: Semi-Classical Variation E61
- King's Indian Defense: Semi-Classical Variation, Exchange Variation E61
- King's Indian Defense: Semi-Classical Variation, Queenside Storm Line E61
- King's Indian Defense: Smyslov Variation E61
Opening names and moves from the Lichess openings dataset; statistics from the Lichess open database, 2026-09 (CC0), sample of 12.6 million games, bots excluded; evaluations from Lichess cloud analysis (all CC0). Master games from The Week in Chess #920–#1664 by Mark Crowther, used with permission.