The King's Indian Defence: 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4... 5.h3 begins with 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.h3 (ECO E71). Lichess records 1,155,335 games in this line, which gives us a reliable view of how it actually performs in practice.
History and Notable Players
It arises from the King's Indian Defence: 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4... 4.e4. On the White side, Mihai Suba (68 games), Vladimir Lazarev (49 games), Alina L'Ami (38 games) top the database. Notable Black exponents: Joseph G Gallagher (14 games), Ilia Smirin (13 games), Wolfgang Uhlmann (13 games).
Performance Across Rating Levels
Popularity and results vary sharply by rating level. Among 1200-rated players, it appears in 0.00% of games — 25,519 of them on record — with White winning 51.2% and Black 45.8%. By 1800, popularity is 0.04% and White's score is 49.1% to Black's 46.1%. Among 2500-rated players the line appears in 0.15% of games and draws spike to 8.2%, indicating tight preparation. Positions also become less sharp as level rises (sharpness 0.97 → 0.92).
Time Control Patterns
The King's Indian Defence: 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4... 5.h3 skews toward blitz chess. In bullet, it appears in 0.01% of games (283,005); White wins 50.4%. Blitz shows 0.03% adoption across 900,905 games, White scoring 50%. In rapid, the share rises to 0.02% — 251,214 games, White 49.6%.
Move Diversity and Theory Depth
What players actually play after the opening moves depends heavily on rating. At 1200 Elo, the top reply is O-O, played 72.6% of the time. There are 2 other moves seeing meaningful share, and 84.4% of games stick to established theory. Entropy: 1.66. By 2500, O-O dominates at 88.5% of replies; only 1 viable alternatives remain and 96.6% of moves are theory. Entropy drops to 0.78. The narrowing is significant — strong players consolidate around a small set of best moves, while amateurs scatter across many plausible-looking options.
Historical Trends
Long-term, the trajectory of this opening is informative. Adoption peaked in 2025 at 0.03% (208,352 games). 2025 marks the high — the opening is rising, currently at 0.03%.
Common Mistakes
- Drifting away from main theory — At 400 Elo, theory adherence sits at 85% — versus 92.8% at 2000. The most popular deviation is e5 (played 9.5% of the time at 400, much less so up top). It looks fine but quietly hands the better-prepared side an edge.
- Neglecting development — Extra pawn moves in the opening are tempting, especially when you "know the moves". Developing a piece each turn is the simple correction.
- Letting White own the centre — Hypermodern openings concede central space on purpose, but only if you strike back in time. Delay the counter-blow and you end up squeezed.
Practice on Chessiverse
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