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King's Indian Defense: Sämisch Variation

ECO code
E80
Moves
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About this variation

White plays f3 to support e4 and often follows with Be3 and Qd2, preparing a kingside attack. Black looks for counterplay with ...c5 or ...e5.

The Sämisch Variation is 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. f3. The pawn on f3 supports e4 and prevents ...Ng4 ideas, and it prepares Be3, Qd2 and sometimes long castling followed by a kingside pawn storm with g4 and h4. It is named after Friedrich Sämisch, who developed the idea in the 1920s.

Black has several answers. 5...O-O 6. Be3 e5 leads to closed positions after d5, where Black's usual kingside play with ...f5 is harder to achieve because the pawn on f3 already controls g4 and e4. 6...c5 is a gambit that gives up a pawn for pressure on the dark squares and the queenside. 6...Nc6 and ...a6 with ...Rb8 and ...b5 aim to open the queenside before White's attack gets going.

If White castles long, the game becomes a race. White attacks on the kingside with h4-h5 and Bh6 to exchange Black's important bishop, while Black counterattacks on the queenside with ...c5, ...b5 and the open b-file. In lines where White castles short, the game is slower and White uses the space advantage to restrict Black's pieces.

The Sämisch suits White players who want a solid center and attacking chances, and it has been used by many world champions, including Botvinnik, Spassky and Karpov. Black players need to know at least one reliable set-up, since the natural Orthodox plans do not always work.

Learning the Sämisch is mostly about understanding which pawn break fits which set-up. Against an early Be3 and Qd2, Black often chooses between ...c5 as a gambit and ...e5 with a closed center, or ...a6 and ...c6 followed by ...b5. Players who know those three plans can handle most of the positions that arise without memorizing long lines.

It is one of the main lines of the King's Indian Defense.

King's Indian Defense: Sämisch Variation statistics

The King's Indian Defense: Sämisch Variation was reached in 66,056 master games (0.3% of all master games), and White scored 54% from there. On Lichess it comes up in <0.1% of games, most often among players rated 2201–2400 (0.1%).

Master games

66,056

0.3% of games between players rated 2500+

Club games on Lichess

118.8K

<0.1% of games between players rated up to 2400

White wins Draws Black wins

How often it comes up, by rating

  • 0–1000 <0.1%
  • 1001–1200 <0.1%
  • 1201–1400 <0.1%
  • 1401–1600 <0.1%
  • 1601–1800 <0.1%
  • 1801–2000 <0.1%
  • 2001–2200 0.1%
  • 2201–2400 0.1%

Most common next moves in master games

MoveGamesPlayedResults
5... O-O58,96989%
5... c61,7592.7%
5... a61,1751.8%
5... e51,1351.7%
5... Nbd71,0441.6%

Famous players with the most games here

  • Alexandra Botez 545 games
  • Daniel Naroditsky 489 games
  • Hikaru Nakamura 124 games
  • Alireza Firouzja 81 games
  • Chessbrah 76 games
  • Garry Kasparov 42 games

Master games from the Chessmont database (CC BY-SA 4.0). Club games from the Lichess open database.

Other King's Indian Defense variations