E81 · Indian · a defense for Black
King's Indian Defense: Sämisch Variation, Normal Defense
10/10
1.d4Nf62.c4g63.Nc3Bg74.e4d65.f3O-O
Live databaseLichess 1600–2000 · blitz + rapid
King's Indian Defense: Sämisch Variation, Normal Defense1.9M games · White to move
MoveWhite / draw / BlackPlayedGamesScore
78%1.4M54%
8.1%150k49%
0.5%8.4k49%
0.3%5.9k48%
0.2%4.4k46%
0.2%3.1k46%
0.1%2.7k45%
0.1%1.6k46%
Famous games in this line14k master games
Carlsen, M. (2881) – Grischuk, A. (2792)Nakamura, Hi (2816) – Caruana, F. (2789)Carlsen, M. (2861) – Erigaisi, Arjun (2725)Ding Liren (2805) – Grischuk, A. (2775)Aronian, L. (2805) – Vachier Lagrave, M. (2768)Nakamura, Hi (2802) – Firouzja, Alireza (2767)Carlsen, M. (2881) – Polgar, Ju (2685)Ponomariov, Ruslan (2733) – Carlsen, Magnus (2813)Heroes of this opening Carlsen, Magnus · Nakamura, Hi
- Family
- King's Indian Defense
- Category
- Indian
- First move
- 1.d4
- ECO
- E81
- Line
- 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. f3 O-O
FianchettoSharpHypermodern
★ Read the guide: King's Indian DefenseExplore all 119 King's Indian Defense lines →Keep exploring
Go deeper — named lines from here
King's Indian Defense: Steiner AttackE81 6.Bg5 · 1 deeper lineKing's Indian Defense: Sämisch Variation, Bobotsov-Korchnoi-Petrosian VariationE81 6.Nge2King's Indian Defense: Sämisch Variation, Yates DefenseE83 6.Be3 Nc6 · 3 deeper linesKing's Indian Defense: Sämisch Variation, Sämisch GambitE81 6.Be3 c5 · 1 deeper line
Nearby lines in the family
From the archives
For decades the King's Indian was considered suspect — until Bronstein, Fischer and Kasparov showed the plan: let White build the big center, lock it, and throw every kingside pawn at the enemy king. Some of the most violent attacking games ever played (Kasparov's ...g3 sacrifices) come from this defense.
Study this opening