King's Indian Defense: Zinnowitz Variation
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. Nf3 O-O 6. Bg5
The King's Indian Defense: Zinnowitz Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO E90, reached after 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. Nf3 O-O 6. 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 296 times by this move order. White won 45%, 7% were drawn and Black won 48%. The most popular continuation is 6… h6 (28% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.23 (Stockfish, depth 40; best line 6… h6 7. Bf4 e5 8. dxe5 dxe5 9. Qxd8)
- ECO
- E90
- Moves
- 11 plies
- FEN
rnbq1rk1/ppp1ppbp/3p1np1/6B1/2PPP3/2N2N2/PP3PPP/R2QKB1R b KQ - 3 6- PGN
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. Nf3 O-O 6. Bg5
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 71 | |
| 1500-1999 | 177 | |
| 2000+ | 48 | |
| All | 296 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 6… h6 | 83 (28%) | |
| 6… Nbd7 | 75 (25%) | |
| 6… Bg4 | 43 (15%) | |
| 6… c5 | 36 (12%) | |
| 6… Nc6 | 19 (6%) | |
| 6… Re8 | 10 (3%) | |
| 6… b6 | 7 (2%) | |
| 6… Nfd7 | 4 (1%) |
Master games
50 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 42%, draw 18%, Black 40%). The strongest:
- IM Pierre Barbot (2451) – IM Anastasia Savina (2358) 0-1 · TCh-FRA Top 16 Haute 2022 · 2022-06-19
- GM Borko Lajthajm (2472) – Milan Jocev (2197) 1-0 · TCh-SRB Premier 2014 · 2014-09-01
- CM Marko Jelcic (2209) – IM Josep Anton Lacasa Diaz (2341) 1-0 · Titled Tue 20th Feb Early · 2024-02-20
- GM Kevin Spraggett (2426) – David Nuno M E Farias (2117) 1-0 · 4th Leca Chess Open 2025 · 2025-07-31
- FM Richard Keresztes (2227) – IM Dimitar Marholev (2284) 1/2-1/2 · Chess in Kecskemet IM Dec · 2015-12-21
Search all games of the King's Indian Defense: Zinnowitz Variation and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- olegP_BY (2462) – improvingo (2436) 0-1 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 2s
- olegP_BY (2401) – Woodenmouse (2487) 1-0 · 2026-09-02 · 180 + 2s
- olegP_BY (2414) – vasilalex (2472) 1-0 · 2026-09-02 · 180 + 2s
Comes from
King's Indian Defense: Normal Variation, Rare Defenses 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. Nf3
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.