King's Indian Defense: Averbakh Variation, Nc6 Defense
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. Be2 O-O 6. Bg5 Nc6
The King's Indian Defense: Averbakh Variation, Nc6 Defense is a chess opening classified as ECO E73, reached after 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. Be2 O-O 6. Bg5 Nc6. 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 36 times by this move order. White won 44%, 0% were drawn and Black won 56%. The most popular continuation is 7. d5 (47% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.47 (Stockfish, depth 42; best line 7. d5 Ne5 8. Qd2 c6 9. Nf3 Nxf3+)
- ECO
- E73
- Moves
- 12 plies
- FEN
r1bq1rk1/ppp1ppbp/2np1np1/6B1/2PPP3/2N5/PP2BPPP/R2QK1NR w KQ - 4 7- PGN
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. Be2 O-O 6. Bg5 Nc6
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 2 | |
| 1500-1999 | 16 | |
| 2000+ | 18 | |
| All | 36 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 7. d5 | 17 (47%) | |
| 7. Qd2 | 12 (33%) | |
| 7. Nf3 | 6 (17%) | |
| 7. h4 | 1 (3%) |
Master games
74 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 43%, draw 22%, Black 35%). The strongest:
- GM Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (2720) – GM Daniil Dubov (2654) 1/2-1/2 · TechM GCL 3rd-4th 2026 · 2026-09-13
- GM Erigaisi Arjun (2773) – GM Sina Movahed (2586) 0-1 · Comet Open Titled Winners · 2025-10-18
- GM Gareev, T. (2653) – GM Naroditsky, D. (2543) 1-0 · ch-USA 2014 · 2014-05-10
- GM Alexey Sarana (2664) – IM Dau Khuong Duy (2521) 1/2-1/2 · 1st 3-0 Thu 21st May 2026 · 2026-05-21
- FM Hamidreza Ebrahimi Herab (2334) – GM Alireza Firouzja (2738) 0-1 · Titled Tue 14th May Early · 2024-05-14
Highest-rated Lichess games
- GM Elmarmalade (2565) – xayotjon_2025 (2411) 1-0 · 2026-09-04 · 300 + 0s
- Andrey_Efimenko (2243) – domer1708 (2275) 0-1 · 2026-09-03 · 180 + 0s
- Kostov_64 (2256) – DydiaVania (2251) 1-0 · 2026-09-02 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
King's Indian Defense: Averbakh Variation 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. Be2 O-O 6. Bg5
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.