- ECO code
- E80
- Moves
- 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.f3
- Family
- King's Indian Defense
- To move
- Black
- Master games
- 433
- Average game length
- 42 moves
- Years covered
- 1931–2026
King's Indian Defense: Sämisch Variation is the opening filed under ECO code E80, reached after 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.f3. It belongs to the King's Indian Defense family and is known as the Sämisch Variation; in the resulting position it is Black to move.
Katuranga's collection of 138,070 master games contains 433 games on this line — the 238th most played opening in the collection. The oldest game on this line is from 1931 and the most recent from 2026. The busiest decade in this collection is the 1990s, with 134 games. An average game here lasts 42 moves.
White wins 44% of those games, 32% end in a draw, and Black wins 24%. Compared with the collection average (White 37%, draws 35%, Black 28%), Black scores worse here by 4 percentage points.
From this position the most popular move is 5...O-O, played in 356 games, followed by 5...e5 (35) and 5...c6 (13). 5...O-O leads into King's Indian Defense: Sämisch Variation, Normal Defense. After 5...O-O White scores 44% and Black 24%.
The name that appears most often on the White side of this line is Kortschnoj, Viktor (31 games); on the Black side, Kasparov, Gary (30).
1 named variation branch off this position and have their own page here, among them King's Indian Defense: Sämisch Variation, Normal Defense.
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Results in master games
- White 44% (189)
- Draws 32% (138)
- Black 24% (106)
Most played continuations
| Move | Games | White / draws / Black | Leads into |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5...O-O | 356 | 44/32/24 | King's Indian Defense: Sämisch Variation, Normal Defense |
| 5...e5 | 35 | 40/31/29 | — |
| 5...c6 | 13 | 39/38/23 | — |
| 5...a6 | 11 | 73/9/18 | — |
| 5...Nbd7 | 7 | 42/29/29 | — |
| 5...c5 | 4 | 50/50/0 | — |
| 5...Nc6 | 4 | 0/50/50 | — |
| 5...Nfd7 | 2 | 50/50/0 | — |
Variations from this position
- Normal Defense · 5...O-O · 356 games
How the position is reached
- Queen's Pawn Game · 1.d4 · 45,810 games
- Indian Defense · 1.d4 Nf6 · 29,631 games
- Indian Defense: Normal Variation · 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 · 22,243 games
- Indian Defense: West Indian Defense · 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 · 6,337 games
- King's Indian Defense · 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 · 4,545 games
- King's Indian Defense: Normal Variation · 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 · 2,024 games
- King's Indian Defense: Normal Variation · 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 · 1,879 games
Played most often by
As White
- Kortschnoj, Viktor 31
- Spassky, Boris V 31
- Karpov, Anatoly 24
As Black
- Kasparov, Gary 30
- Fischer, Robert James 24
- Grischuk,A 17
Games per decade
- 1930s 4
- 1940s 2
- 1950s 67
- 1960s 50
- 1970s 17
- 1980s 21
- 1990s 134
- 2000s 41
- 2010s 62
- 2020s 35
Master games on this line
| White | Black | Result | Year | Events |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nosach,Roman Al | Caruana,F | 1-0 | 2026 | 2nd 3-0 Thu 9th Apr 2026 |
| Gong,Sunle | Grischuk,A | 0-1 | 2026 | Aeroflot Open A 2026 |
| Nosach,Roman Al | So,W | 0-1 | 2026 | Titled Tue 24th Mar 2026 |
| Abdusattorov,Nodirbek | Bodnaruk,A | 1-0 | 2026 | Titled Tue 21st Apr 2026 |
| Sklokin,Sergey | Firouzja,Alireza | 1/2-1/2 | 2025 | Titled Tue 30th Sep 2025 |
| Ivanchuk,V | Kim,Noah | 1-0 | 2025 | Titled Tue 11th Feb Late |
Frequently asked questions
What is the King's Indian Defense: Sämisch Variation?
It is the opening with ECO code E80, reached after 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.f3. It belongs to the King's Indian Defense family.
Is the King's Indian Defense: Sämisch Variation good for White or for Black?
In 433 master games on this line White wins 44%, 32% are drawn and Black wins 24%. The collection average is White 37%, draws 35%, Black 28% — so this line is no worse than usual for White than the field as a whole.
What is the main continuation of the King's Indian Defense: Sämisch Variation?
5...O-O — played in 356 of the master games on this line, which leads into King's Indian Defense: Sämisch Variation, Normal Defense.
Which grandmasters play the King's Indian Defense: Sämisch Variation?
On the White side Kortschnoj, Viktor (31), Spassky, Boris V (31), Karpov, Anatoly (24); on the Black side Kasparov, Gary (30), Fischer, Robert James (24), Grischuk,A (17).
Every number on this page is computed from Katuranga's master game collection; names and ECO codes follow the lichess opening book (CC0).
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