King's Indian Defense: Sämisch Variation, Sämisch Gambit Accepted
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. f3 O-O 6. Be3 c5 7. dxc5 dxc5 8. Qxd8 Rxd8 9. Bxc5
The King's Indian Defense: Sämisch Variation, Sämisch Gambit Accepted is a chess opening classified as ECO E81, reached after 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. f3 O-O 6. Be3 c5 7. dxc5 dxc5 8. Qxd8 Rxd8 9. Bxc5. 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 73 times by this move order. White won 55%, 11% were drawn and Black won 34%. The most popular continuation is 9… Nc6 (96% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.12 (Stockfish, depth 38; best line 9… Nc6 10. Rd1 Rxd1+ 11. Kxd1 Nd7 12. Bf2)
- ECO
- E81
- Moves
- 17 plies
- FEN
rnbr2k1/pp2ppbp/5np1/2B5/2P1P3/2N2P2/PP4PP/R3KBNR b KQ - 0 9- PGN
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. f3 O-O 6. Be3 c5 7. dxc5 dxc5 8. Qxd8 Rxd8 9. Bxc5
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 1500-1999 | 12 | |
| 2000+ | 61 | |
| All | 73 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 9… Nc6 | 70 (96%) | |
| 9… a6 | 1 (1%) | |
| 9… Nbd7 | 1 (1%) | |
| 9… Na6 | 1 (1%) |
Master games
417 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 39%, draw 29%, Black 32%). The strongest:
- GM Nikita Vitiugov (2712) – GM Liren Ding (2707) 1/2-1/2 · Alekhine Mem · 2013-05-01
- GM So, W. (2770) – GM Ivan Saric (2646) 1/2-1/2 · PRO League Group Stage · 2020-02-03
- GM Jorden Van Foreest (2702) – GM Gawain C B Maroroa Jones (2665) 1-0 · TCh-FRA Top 16 Haute 2022 · 2022-06-19
- GM Vasyl Ivanchuk (2726) – GM Vladislav Kovalev (2639) 1-0 · World Blitz 2017 · 2017-12-30
- GM Mikheil Mchedlishvili (2618) – GM Etienne Bacrot (2720) 0-1 · 41st Olympiad Open 2014 · 2014-08-09
Highest-rated Lichess games
- manuel-abarca (2557) – BEWATER_2005 (2570) 1-0 · 2026-09-07 · 180 + 0s
- manuel-abarca (2543) – symbiote (2462) 0-1 · 2026-09-02 · 180 + 0s
- Mondesespoir2700 (2468) – aionix64 (2461) 1/2-1/2 · 2026-09-05 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
King's Indian Defense: Sämisch Variation, Sämisch Gambit 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. f3 O-O 6. Be3 c5
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.