Bogo-Indian Defense: Exchange Variation
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 Bb4+ 4. Bd2 Bxd2+
The Bogo-Indian Defense: Exchange Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO E11, reached after 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 Bb4+ 4. Bd2 Bxd2+. It is a line of the Bogo-Indian Defense. White is to move.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 795 times by this move order. White won 50%, 8% were drawn and Black won 42%. The most popular continuation is 5. Nbxd2 (68% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.26 (Stockfish, depth 50; best line 5. Qxd2 O-O 6. g3 d5 7. Bg2 c6)
- ECO
- E11
- Moves
- 8 plies
- FEN
rnbqk2r/pppp1ppp/4pn2/8/2PP4/5N2/PP1bPPPP/RN1QKB1R w KQkq - 0 5- PGN
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 Bb4+ 4. Bd2 Bxd2+
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 93 | |
| 1500-1999 | 404 | |
| 2000+ | 298 | |
| All | 795 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 5. Nbxd2 | 539 (68%) | |
| 5. Qxd2 | 247 (31%) | |
| 5. Nfxd2 | 9 (1%) |
Master games
1,172 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 41%, draw 35%, Black 24%). The strongest:
- GM Levon Aronian (2809) – GM Magnus Carlsen (2872) 1/2-1/2 · FIDE Candidates · 2013-03-15
- GM Hikaru Nakamura (2787) – GM Magnus Carlsen (2855) 1/2-1/2 · GCT Blitz YourNextMove · 2016-06-19
- GM Levon Aronian (2759) – GM Magnus Carlsen (2861) 1/2-1/2 · 9th Sinquefield Cup 2022 · 2022-09-03
- GM Jan-Krzysztof Duda (2740) – GM Magnus Carlsen (2864) 1-0 · FTX Crypto Cup 2022 · 2022-08-19
- GM Liren Ding (2762) – GM Magnus Carlsen (2830) 1/2-1/2 · GRENKE Chess Classic 2024 · 2024-03-30
Search all games of the Bogo-Indian Defense: Exchange Variation and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- GM sillyMASTER (2842) – IM AngelitoRT (2902) 1-0 · 2026-09-02 · 180 + 0s
- V4ess (2674) – IM mmsanchezchess (2709) 1/2-1/2 · 2026-09-03 · 180 + 0s
- Opteron85 (2650) – atsaynm (2668) 1-0 · 2026-09-07 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Bogo-Indian Defense 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 Bb4+
More Bogo-Indian Defense lines (all)
- Bogo-Indian Defense: Grünfeld Variation E11
- Bogo-Indian Defense: Haiti Variation E11
- Bogo-Indian Defense: Monticelli Trap E11
- Bogo-Indian Defense: New England Variation E11
- Bogo-Indian Defense: Nimzowitsch Variation E11
- Bogo-Indian Defense: Retreat Variation (4. Bd2 Be7) E11
- Bogo-Indian Defense: Retreat Variation (5… d5 6. Nf3) E11
- Bogo-Indian Defense: Retreat Variation (6. Nf3 O-O) E11
- Bogo-Indian Defense: Retreat Variation (6… O-O 7. O-O) E11
- Bogo-Indian Defense: Retreat Variation (7… c6 8. O-O) E11
- Bogo-Indian Defense: Retreat Variation (8. Qc2 c6) E11
- Bogo-Indian Defense: Retreat Variation (8… c6 9. b3) E11
Opening names and moves from the Lichess openings dataset; statistics from the Lichess open database, 2026-09 (CC0), sample of 12.6 million games, bots excluded; evaluations from Lichess cloud analysis (all CC0). Master games from The Week in Chess #920–#1664 by Mark Crowther, used with permission.