King's Indian Defense: Orthodox Variation, Positional Defense, Closed Line
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. Nf3 O-O 6. Be2 Nbd7 7. O-O e5 8. d5
The King's Indian Defense: Orthodox Variation, Positional Defense, Closed Line is a chess opening classified as ECO E94, reached after 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. Nf3 O-O 6. Be2 Nbd7 7. O-O e5 8. d5. 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 138 times by this move order. White won 41%, 6% were drawn and Black won 53%. The most popular continuation is 8… Nc5 (48% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.23 (Stockfish, depth 38; best line 8… Nc5 9. Qc2 a5 10. Bg5 h6 11. Be3)
- ECO
- E94
- Moves
- 15 plies
- FEN
r1bq1rk1/pppn1pbp/3p1np1/3Pp3/2P1P3/2N2N2/PP2BPPP/R1BQ1RK1 b - - 0 8- PGN
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. Nf3 O-O 6. Be2 Nbd7 7. O-O e5 8. d5
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 13 | |
| 1500-1999 | 69 | |
| 2000+ | 56 | |
| All | 138 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 8… Nc5 | 66 (48%) | |
| 8… a5 | 26 (19%) | |
| 8… Ne8 | 14 (10%) | |
| 8… c6 | 9 (7%) | |
| 8… Nh5 | 4 (3%) | |
| 8… a6 | 4 (3%) | |
| 8… h6 | 4 (3%) | |
| 8… Qe7 | 3 (2%) |
Master games
217 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 35%, draw 20%, Black 45%). The strongest:
- GM Christian Gabriel (2495) – GM Zoltan Almasi (2700) 1/2-1/2 · Bundesliga 2015-16 · 2016-02-06
- GM Vladimir Fedoseev (2515) – GM Alexei Fedorov (2578) 1-0 · Polugaevsky Mem 2013 · 2013-07-10
- IM Torbjorn Ringdal Hansen (2444) – GM Wojciech Moranda (2559) 1/2-1/2 · XXIII Krakow Open · 2012-12-30
- GM Timman, J. (2528) – IM Zhansaya Abdumalik (2472) 1/2-1/2 · 23rd Hoogeveen Matches · 2019-10-26
- IM Tadeas Kriebel (2459) – IM Marian Jurcik (2487) 0-1 · Mitropa Cup 2015 · 2015-06-18
Highest-rated Lichess games
- Ray_Peat_Bioenergy (2330) – bearpoet (2507) 0-1 · 2026-09-02 · 180 + 2s
- Ray_Peat_Bioenergy (2327) – pbasta (2423) 0-1 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 2s
- Feofanov_Vladimir (2329) – pbasta (2394) 1-0 · 2026-09-07 · 180 + 2s
Comes from
King's Indian Defense: Orthodox Variation (5… O-O 6. Be2) 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. Nf3 O-O 6. Be2
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.