King's Indian Defense: Karpov System
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. h3 O-O 6. Be3
The King's Indian Defense: Karpov System is a chess opening classified as ECO E71, reached after 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. h3 O-O 6. Be3. It is a line of the King's Indian Defense. Black is to move.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 659 times by this move order. White won 53%, 6% were drawn and Black won 41%. The most popular continuation is 6… e5 (38% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.57 (Stockfish, depth 50; best line 6… Na6 7. Nf3 e5 8. d5 Nh5 9. g3)
- ECO
- E71
- Moves
- 11 plies
- FEN
rnbq1rk1/ppp1ppbp/3p1np1/8/2PPP3/2N1B2P/PP3PP1/R2QKBNR b KQ - 2 6- PGN
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. h3 O-O 6. Be3
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 21 | |
| 1500-1999 | 214 | |
| 2000+ | 424 | |
| All | 659 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 6… e5 | 251 (38%) | |
| 6… Nbd7 | 95 (14%) | |
| 6… Nc6 | 82 (12%) | |
| 6… c5 | 77 (12%) | |
| 6… Na6 | 50 (8%) | |
| 6… c6 | 34 (5%) | |
| 6… a6 | 15 (2%) | |
| 6… a5 | 15 (2%) |
Master games
4,068 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 51%, draw 18%, Black 31%). The strongest:
- LCZero 0.31-dag-c93c6a8-BT4-61 (3652) – Stockfish dev-20250118-8e3e22b (3683) 1/2-1/2 · TCEC 27 Theory Bonus · 2025-01-24
- Stockfish dev-20250118-8e3e22b (3683) – LCZero 0.31-dag-c93c6a8-BT4-61 (3652) 1/2-1/2 · TCEC 27 Theory Bonus · 2025-01-24
- Stockfish 20210113 (3601) – LCZero 0.27.0d-Tilps-dje-magic_JH.94-100 (3586) 1/2-1/2 · TCEC 20 Superfinal 2020 · 2021-01-16
- LCZero 0.27.0d-Tilps-dje-magic_JH.94-100 (3586) – Stockfish 20210113 (3601) 1/2-1/2 · TCEC 20 Superfinal 2020 · 2021-01-16
- GM Fabiano Caruana (2832) – GM Hikaru Nakamura (2746) 0-1 · 10th London Classic 2018 · 2018-12-13
Search all games of the King's Indian Defense: Karpov System and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- GM abhijeet1610 (2771) – Alpha_777 (2767) 0-1 · 2026-09-03 · 180 + 0s
- GM enmQ (2791) – mitsutszkisszucs (2724) 1-0 · 2026-09-06 · 180 + 0s
- GM mircica (2678) – IM shuriks91 (2810) 1/2-1/2 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
King's Indian Defense: Makogonov Variation 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. h3
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.