King's Indian Defense: Normal Variation, Rare Defenses
Chess opening · ECO E90 · 9 half-moves
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. Nf3
The King's Indian Defense: Normal Variation, Rare Defenses is reached after 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. Nf3. It is Black's move in the position shown.
It branches from the King's Indian Defense: Normal Variation with 4… d6 5. Nf3.
How often it is played
The King's Indian Defense: Normal Variation, Rare Defenses and its variations appeared in 0.20% of games — 6,046 of 3,000,000 rated games sampled from Lichess in September 2026. That makes it number 182 of the openings listed here.
Results
White won 49%, 4.3% were drawn and Black won 47%. These are games between players of every strength and time control, so they say how the opening does in practice rather than how sound it is.
What the engine thinks
Stockfish, at depth 18, evaluates the position at +0.59 — a small edge for White. Positive numbers favour White; see reading the evaluation bar.
Similar openings
The most-played alternatives — what else could have been chosen around the move where this opening begins.
| Opening | Moves | Share of games |
|---|---|---|
| Indian Defense: Anti-Nimzo-Indian | 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 | 0.56% |
| Nimzo-Indian Defense | 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 | 0.24% |
| Benoni Defense | 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 c5 | 0.24% |
Main continuations
| Variation | Moves | Share of games |
|---|---|---|
| King's Indian Defense: Orthodox Variation | 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. Nf3 O-O 6. Be2 | 0.08% |
| King's Indian Defense: Zinnowitz Variation | 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. Nf3 O-O 6. Bg5 | 0.03% |
| King's Indian Defense: Larsen Variation | 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. Nf3 O-O 6. Be3 | 0.01% |
Check your own games
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