King's Indian Defense: Petrosian Variation
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. Nf3 O-O 6. Be2 e5 7. d5
The King's Indian Defense: Petrosian Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO E92, reached after 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. Nf3 O-O 6. Be2 e5 7. d5. It is a line of the King's Indian Defense. Black is to move. 2 named lines continue from this position.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 311 times by this move order. White won 45%, 6% were drawn and Black won 49%. The most popular continuation is 7… a5 (58% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.46 (Stockfish, depth 46; best line 7… a5 8. h3 Nh5 9. Ng1 Nf4 10. Bf3)
- ECO
- E92
- Moves
- 13 plies
- FEN
rnbq1rk1/ppp2pbp/3p1np1/3Pp3/2P1P3/2N2N2/PP2BPPP/R1BQK2R b KQ - 0 7- PGN
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. Nf3 O-O 6. Be2 e5 7. d5
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 17 | |
| 1500-1999 | 121 | |
| 2000+ | 173 | |
| All | 311 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 7… a5 Petrosian Variation, Stein Defense | 180 (58%) | |
| 7… Nbd7 Petrosian Variation, Normal Defense | 59 (19%) | |
| 7… Na6 | 21 (7%) | |
| 7… c6 | 14 (5%) | |
| 7… Nh5 | 12 (4%) | |
| 7… Ne8 | 11 (4%) | |
| 7… c5 | 5 (2%) | |
| 7… h6 | 3 (1%) |
Master games
242 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 49%, draw 14%, Black 37%). The strongest:
- AllieSteinv0.8-120f959_PS1.7 (3543) – Stockfish2021061923 (3632) 1/2-1/2 · TCEC 21 Premier 2021 · 2021-07-03
- Stockfish2021061923 (3632) – AllieSteinv0.8-120f959_PS1.7 (3543) 1/2-1/2 · TCEC 21 Premier 2021 · 2021-07-01
- Igel3.0.5 (3512) – KomodoDragon2747.00 (3582) 1/2-1/2 · TCEC 21 Premier 2021 · 2021-07-03
- KomodoDragon2747.00 (3582) – Igel3.0.5 (3512) 1-0 · TCEC 21 Premier 2021 · 2021-07-01
- GM Evgeny Postny (2600) – GM Vladimir Fedoseev (2678) 0-1 · PNWCC Online Blitz JP 8 · 2020-05-02
Search all games of the King's Indian Defense: Petrosian Variation and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- CogitoErgoVinco (2626) – DoubleHelix2 (2627) 1-0 · 2026-09-06 · 180 + 2s
- Knuspermeister2 (2713) – Viva_La_Gloria (2484) 1-0 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 2s
- Knuspermeister2 (2708) – Viva_La_Gloria (2489) 1-0 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 2s
Comes from
King's Indian Defense: Orthodox Variation (6. Be2 e5) 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. Nf3 O-O 6. Be2 e5
Continuations
- King's Indian Defense: Petrosian Variation, Normal Defense E93 · 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. Nf3 O-O 6. Be2 e5 7. d5 Nbd7
- King's Indian Defense: Petrosian Variation, Stein Defense E92 · 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. Nf3 O-O 6. Be2 e5 7. d5 a5
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.