King's Indian Defense: Normal Variation, Deferred Fianchetto
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. g3
The King's Indian Defense: Normal Variation, Deferred Fianchetto is a chess opening classified as ECO E72, reached after 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. g3. It is a line of the King's Indian Defense. Black is to move. 1 named line continues from this position.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 90 times by this move order. White won 37%, 6% were drawn and Black won 57%. The most popular continuation is 5… O-O (84% of games).
Engine evaluation: 0.00 (Stockfish, depth 40; best line 5… O-O 6. Bg2 c5 7. dxc5 dxc5 8. Qxd8)
- ECO
- E72
- Moves
- 9 plies
- FEN
rnbqk2r/ppp1ppbp/3p1np1/8/2PPP3/2N3P1/PP3P1P/R1BQKBNR b KQkq - 0 5- PGN
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. g3
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 7 | |
| 1500-1999 | 54 | |
| 2000+ | 29 | |
| All | 90 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 5… O-O | 76 (84%) | |
| 5… Nbd7 | 5 (6%) | |
| 5… Bg4 | 3 (3%) | |
| 5… b6 | 2 (2%) | |
| 5… e5 | 1 (1%) | |
| 5… Kf8 | 1 (1%) | |
| 5… c5 | 1 (1%) | |
| 5… Bd7 | 1 (1%) |
Master games
84 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 40%, draw 14%, Black 46%). The strongest:
- GM Gukesh D (2578) – GM B. Adhiban (2660) 1/2-1/2 · Goldmoney Asian Prelim · 2021-06-26
- IM Justin Sarkar (2359) – GM Vasyl Ivanchuk (2691) 1/2-1/2 · 10th Dolomiti Open 2019 · 2019-06-16
- IM Luca Jr Moroni (2478) – GM Roberto Mogranzini (2514) 0-1 · 76th ch-ITA 2016 · 2016-12-17
- FM Sergio Trigo Urquijo (2392) – IM Jaime Santos Latasa (2523) 0-1 · 2nd Getxo Open 2017 · 2017-09-10
- GM Kivanc Haznedaroglu (2496) – GM Mikulas Manik (2415) 1-0 · 3rd Ordu Open 2017 · 2017-04-05
Highest-rated Lichess games
- Kusanidr (2514) – feetquestionwhither (2656) 0-1 · 2026-09-07 · 180 + 2s
- Kusanidr (2507) – amor4ati (2368) 1-0 · 2026-09-07 · 180 + 2s
- lidenbrook (2425) – trotsky2 (2414) 1-0 · 2026-09-07 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
King's Indian Defense: Normal Variation (4. e4 d6) 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6
Continuations
- King's Indian Defense: Pomar System E72 · 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. g3 O-O 6. Bg2 e5 7. Nge2
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.