King's Indian Defense: Semi-Classical Variation, Exchange Variation
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. Nf3 O-O 5. e3 d6 6. Be2 Nbd7 7. O-O e5 8. dxe5 dxe5
The King's Indian Defense: Semi-Classical Variation, Exchange Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO E61, reached after 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. Nf3 O-O 5. e3 d6 6. Be2 Nbd7 7. O-O e5 8. dxe5 dxe5. 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 5 times by this move order. White won 60%, 20% were drawn and Black won 20%. The most popular continuation is 9. e4 (80% of games).
Engine evaluation: 0.00 (Stockfish, depth 40; best line 9. e4 c6 10. Be3 Qe7 11. Qc2 Ng4)
- ECO
- E61
- Moves
- 16 plies
- FEN
r1bq1rk1/pppn1pbp/5np1/4p3/2P5/2N1PN2/PP2BPPP/R1BQ1RK1 w - - 0 9- PGN
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. Nf3 O-O 5. e3 d6 6. Be2 Nbd7 7. O-O e5 8. dxe5 dxe5
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 1 | |
| 1500-1999 | 4 | |
| All | 5 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 9. e4 | 4 (80%) | |
| 9. Qc2 | 1 (20%) |
Master games
10 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 30%, draw 0%, Black 70%). The strongest:
- CM Oscar Humberto Ardila (2019) – GM Mark L Hebden (2476) 0-1 · Titled Tue 2nd Aug Early · 2022-08-02
- CM Oscar Humberto Ardila (2019) – IM Thore Perske (2436) 0-1 · Titled Tue 12th Jul Late · 2022-07-12
- CM Oscar Humberto Ardila (1982) – GM Mikhail Golubev (2461) 0-1 · Titled Tue 18th Apr Early · 2023-04-18
- CM Oscar Humberto Ardila (1997) – IM Anastasia Bodnaruk (2364) 0-1 · Titled Tue 13th Dec Early · 2022-12-13
- CM Oscar Humberto Ardila (1979) – FM Daniel Taboas Rodriguez (2368) 0-1 · Titled Tue 19th Sep Late · 2023-09-19
Highest-rated Lichess games
- Nikita1990 (2003) – PPI (1988) 1-0 · 2026-09-04 · 300 + 0s
- Pollo18ajedrez (1985) – xIrI (1932) 1-0 · 2026-09-03 · 180 + 2s
- Prince-of-love (1673) – nrt273 (1637) 1-0 · 2026-09-05 · 180 + 2s
Comes from
King's Indian Defense: Semi-Classical Variation 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. Nf3 O-O 5. e3 d6 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, Queenside Storm Line E61
- King's Indian Defense: Smyslov Variation E61
- King's Indian Defense: Fianchetto Variation, Carlsbad Variation E62
- King's Indian Defense: Fianchetto Variation, Delayed Fianchetto 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.