King's Indian Defense: Fianchetto Variation, Lesser Simagin (Spassky)
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. g3 Bg7 4. Bg2 O-O 5. Nc3 d6 6. Nf3 Nc6 7. O-O Bf5
The King's Indian Defense: Fianchetto Variation, Lesser Simagin (Spassky) is a chess opening classified as ECO E62, reached after 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. g3 Bg7 4. Bg2 O-O 5. Nc3 d6 6. Nf3 Nc6 7. O-O Bf5. 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 5 times by this move order. White won 40%, 0% were drawn and Black won 60%. The most popular continuation is 8. Nh4 (20% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.44 (Stockfish, depth 45; best line 8. d5 Na5 9. Nd2 c5 10. a4 a6)
- ECO
- E62
- Moves
- 14 plies
- FEN
r2q1rk1/ppp1ppbp/2np1np1/5b2/2PP4/2N2NP1/PP2PPBP/R1BQ1RK1 w - - 4 8- PGN
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. g3 Bg7 4. Bg2 O-O 5. Nc3 d6 6. Nf3 Nc6 7. O-O Bf5
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 2000+ | 5 | |
| All | 5 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 8. Nh4 | 1 (20%) | |
| 8. Ng5 | 1 (20%) | |
| 8. Bg5 | 1 (20%) | |
| 8. Ne1 | 1 (20%) | |
| 8. d5 | 1 (20%) |
Master games
179 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 48%, draw 18%, Black 34%). The strongest:
- Stockfish 202003092246 (3936) – Houdini 6.03 (3854) 1-0 · TCEC 20 Premier 2020 · 2020-03-23
- Houdini 6.03 (3854) – Stockfish 202003092246 (3936) 1/2-1/2 · TCEC 20 Premier 2020 · 2020-03-21
- GM Santosh Gujrathi Vidit (2710) – GM Gadir Guseinov (2661) 1-0 · Shusha Chess Blitz 2022 · 2022-09-24
- GM Gabriel Sargissian (2671) – GM Ilia Smirin (2663) 1-0 · FIDE World Rapid 2013 · 2013-06-08
- GM Anatoly Karpov (2628) – GM Laurent Fressinet (2702) 0-1 · 4th Karpov Trophy Prelim · 2015-10-28
Highest-rated Lichess games
- iamgroot_2025 (2634) – Mitichkin_Ivan (2550) 1-0 · 2026-09-03 · 180 + 0s
- NM nihilistiq (2415) – mazenger12 (2291) 0-1 · 2026-09-02 · 180 + 0s
- Jannik92 (2359) – botvinnik36 (2278) 0-1 · 2026-09-05 · 180 + 2s
Comes from
King's Indian Defense: Fianchetto Variation, Carlsbad Variation 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. g3 Bg7 4. Bg2 O-O 5. Nc3 d6 6. Nf3 Nc6
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.