King's Indian Defense: Santasiere Variation
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nf3 Bg7 4. b4
The King's Indian Defense: Santasiere Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO E60, reached after 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nf3 Bg7 4. b4. 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 12 times by this move order. White won 58%, 0% were drawn and Black won 42%. The most popular continuation is 4… O-O (83% of games).
Engine evaluation: −0.19 (Stockfish, depth 42; best line 4… d6 5. a3 O-O 6. e3 c5 7. Bb2)
- ECO
- E60
- Moves
- 7 plies
- FEN
rnbqk2r/ppppppbp/5np1/8/1PPP4/5N2/P3PPPP/RNBQKB1R b KQkq - 0 4- PGN
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nf3 Bg7 4. b4
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 1500-1999 | 1 | |
| 2000+ | 11 | |
| All | 12 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 4… O-O | 10 (83%) | |
| 4… a5 | 1 (8%) | |
| 4… d6 | 1 (8%) |
Master games
21 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 62%, draw 14%, Black 24%). The strongest:
- GM Magnus Carlsen (2832) – GM Hikaru Nakamura (2786) 0-1 · chess.com Speed 3m+2spm 2017 · 2018-01-03
- GM Dmitry Andreikin (2695) – GM Cristobal Henriquez Villagra (2594) 1-0 · Titled Tue 17th Dec Late · 2024-12-17
- GM Dmitry Andreikin (2695) – GM Jacek Tomczak (2570) 1-0 · Titled Tue 10th Dec Late · 2024-12-10
- GM Dmitry Andreikin (2695) – GM Krikor Sevag Mekhitarian (2562) 1-0 · Titled Tue 3rd Dec Late · 2024-12-03
- GM Dmitry Andreikin (2695) – IM Ilamparthi A R (2495) 0-1 · Titled Tue 7th Jan Early · 2025-01-07
Search all games of the King's Indian Defense: Santasiere Variation and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- Lauris_Laimins (2563) – Fraysinator (2659) 0-1 · 2026-09-02 · 180 + 0s
- Lauris_Laimins (2511) – PawnsTractorist (2574) 0-1 · 2026-09-07 · 180 + 0s
- Lauris_Laimins (2474) – Mitichkin_Ivan (2549) 0-1 · 2026-09-02 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Indian Defense: West Indian Defense 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6
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: 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
- King's Indian Defense: Fianchetto Variation, Carlsbad Variation E62
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.