King's Indian Defense: Smyslov Variation
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. Nf3 d6 5. Bg5
The King's Indian Defense: Smyslov Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO E61, reached after 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. Nf3 d6 5. Bg5. 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 696 times by this move order. White won 48%, 6% were drawn and Black won 46%. The most popular continuation is 5… O-O (66% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.06 (Stockfish, depth 44; best line 5… Bf5 6. e3 Ne4 7. Nxe4 Bxe4 8. Nd2)
- ECO
- E61
- Moves
- 9 plies
- FEN
rnbqk2r/ppp1ppbp/3p1np1/6B1/2PP4/2N2N2/PP2PPPP/R2QKB1R b KQkq - 1 5- PGN
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. Nf3 d6 5. Bg5
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 79 | |
| 1500-1999 | 428 | |
| 2000+ | 189 | |
| All | 696 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 5… O-O | 457 (66%) | |
| 5… Nbd7 | 83 (12%) | |
| 5… h6 | 78 (11%) | |
| 5… Bg4 | 25 (4%) | |
| 5… c6 | 19 (3%) | |
| 5… Nc6 | 11 (2%) | |
| 5… Bf5 | 5 (1%) | |
| 5… b6 | 4 (1%) |
Master games
518 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 43%, draw 17%, Black 40%). The strongest:
- GM Aleksandar Indjic (2622) – GM Fabiano Caruana (2795) 0-1 · 3rd 3-0 Thu 12th Mar 2026 · 2026-03-12
- GM Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (2770) – GM Vladislav Kovalev (2637) 1-0 · Titled Arena May 8th 2021 · 2021-05-08
- GM Andrey Esipenko (2678) – GM Teimour Radjabov (2689) 1-0 · Chess Stars 6.0 Blitz · 2026-07-05
- GM Alexandr Predke (2668) – GM Anton Korobov (2684) 0-1 · Lindores Abbey Tal Mem · 2021-11-08
- GM Daniil Dubov (2710) – GM Baadur Jobava (2603) 1/2-1/2 · Titled Tuesday 11th May · 2021-05-11
Search all games of the King's Indian Defense: Smyslov Variation and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- Your_Waterloo (2687) – chessdax (2535) 1-0 · 2026-09-02 · 180 + 0s
- Your_Waterloo (2690) – DanT13 (2511) 0-1 · 2026-09-02 · 180 + 0s
- Hudson_Lowe (2533) – steal2000 (2599) 1-0 · 2026-09-05 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
King's Indian Defense 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3
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: 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: 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.