King's Indian Defense: Fianchetto Variation, Yugoslav Variation, Exchange Line
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nf3 Bg7 4. g3 O-O 5. Bg2 d6 6. O-O c5 7. Nc3 Nc6 8. dxc5 dxc5
The King's Indian Defense: Fianchetto Variation, Yugoslav Variation, Exchange Line is a chess opening classified as ECO E65, reached after 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nf3 Bg7 4. g3 O-O 5. Bg2 d6 6. O-O c5 7. Nc3 Nc6 8. dxc5 dxc5. 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 6 times by this move order. White won 50%, 17% were drawn and Black won 33%. The most popular continuation is 9. Be3 (33% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.15 (Stockfish, depth 50; best line 9. Bf4 Nh5 10. Be3 b6 11. Qc1 Bb7)
- ECO
- E65
- Moves
- 16 plies
- FEN
r1bq1rk1/pp2ppbp/2n2np1/2p5/2P5/2N2NP1/PP2PPBP/R1BQ1RK1 w - - 0 9- PGN
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nf3 Bg7 4. g3 O-O 5. Bg2 d6 6. O-O c5 7. Nc3 Nc6 8. dxc5 dxc5
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 2000+ | 6 | |
| All | 6 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 9. Be3 | 2 (33%) | |
| 9. Qxd8 | 1 (17%) | |
| 9. Nd5 | 1 (17%) | |
| 9. Bf4 | 1 (17%) | |
| 9. Qa4 | 1 (17%) |
Master games
35 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 37%, draw 37%, Black 26%). The strongest:
- GM Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (2761) – GM Boris Gelfand (2773) 1/2-1/2 · FIDE GP Beijing · 2013-07-16
- GM Rinat Jumabayev (2628) – GM Nikita Vitiugov (2724) 0-1 · Chess.com RCC Wk12 Swiss · 2022-04-30
- GM Denis Lazavik (2553) – GM Alireza Firouzja (2777) 1/2-1/2 · Bullet Chess Winners 2023 · 2023-07-17
- GM Illya Nyzhnyk (2625) – IM Stefan Bromberger (2521) 1-0 · 17th OIBM 2013 · 2013-10-30
- GM Robert Markus (2602) – GM Slavisa Brenjo (2482) 1-0 · TCh-SRB Premier 2014 · 2014-08-30
Highest-rated Lichess games
- gammadrill (2591) – FM rychessmaster1 (2734) 0-1 · 2026-09-01 · 180 + 0s
- SchhW (2512) – aionix64 (2466) 1-0 · 2026-09-02 · 180 + 0s
- Lucifear1909 (2438) – secretcat247 (2289) 1/2-1/2 · 2026-09-02 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
King's Indian Defense: Fianchetto Variation, Yugoslav Variation 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nf3 Bg7 4. g3 O-O 5. Bg2 d6 6. O-O c5 7. Nc3
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.