King's Indian Defense: Orthodox Variation, Positional Defense
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 d6 3. Nc3 Nbd7 4. e4 e5 5. Nf3 g6 6. Be2 Bg7 7. O-O O-O
The King's Indian Defense: Orthodox Variation, Positional Defense is a chess opening classified as ECO E94, reached after 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 d6 3. Nc3 Nbd7 4. e4 e5 5. Nf3 g6 6. Be2 Bg7 7. O-O O-O. 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 11 times by this move order. White won 27%, 9% were drawn and Black won 64%. The most popular continuation is 8. Be3 (27% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.75 (Stockfish, depth 55; best line 8. Be3 exd4 9. Nxd4 a6 10. Qc2 b6)
- ECO
- E94
- Moves
- 14 plies
- FEN
r1bq1rk1/pppn1pbp/3p1np1/4p3/2PPP3/2N2N2/PP2BPPP/R1BQ1RK1 w - - 4 8- PGN
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 d6 3. Nc3 Nbd7 4. e4 e5 5. Nf3 g6 6. Be2 Bg7 7. O-O O-O
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 1500-1999 | 2 | |
| 2000+ | 9 | |
| All | 11 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 8. Be3 | 3 (27%) | |
| 8. Qc2 | 2 (18%) | |
| 8. Bg5 | 2 (18%) | |
| 8. Re1 | 1 (9%) | |
| 8. h3 | 1 (9%) | |
| 8. Ne1 | 1 (9%) | |
| 8. d5 | 1 (9%) |
Master games
148 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 37%, draw 29%, Black 34%). The strongest:
- GM Alexander Moiseenko (2707) – GM Laurent Fressinet (2717) 0-1 · FIDE World Blitz 2014 · 2014-06-20
- GM Rustam Kasimdzhanov (2712) – GM Aleksander Mista (2597) 1/2-1/2 · 5th Dziedzica Mem 2015 · 2015-04-19
- GM Mircea-Emilian Parligras (2616) – GM Robert Markus (2644) 1-0 · 21st European Teams · 2017-11-05
- GM Tomi Nyback (2572) – GM Robert Markus (2644) 1-0 · 21st European Teams · 2017-11-03
- GM AlR Abdulla (2514) – GM Vladimir Akopian (2687) 0-1 · 40th Olympiad Open · 2012-08-29
Highest-rated Lichess games
- FM iustin104 (2556) – InvadedDorms (2682) 0-1 · 2026-09-01 · 180 + 0s
- Neftegor (2494) – pantera12 (2464) 0-1 · 2026-09-02 · 180 + 0s
- tonistark08 (2387) – FM bartsimpson6 (2414) 0-1 · 2026-09-06 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Old Indian Defense: Normal Variation 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 d6 3. Nc3 Nbd7 4. e4 e5 5. Nf3
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.