Bogo-Indian Defense: Retreat Variation (9. Rd1 h6)

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. g3 Bb4+ 4. Bd2 Be7 5. Bg2 d5 6. Nf3 Nbd7 7. O-O O-O 8. Qc2 c6 9. Rd1 h6

The Bogo-Indian Defense: Retreat Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO E11, reached after 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. g3 Bb4+ 4. Bd2 Be7 5. Bg2 d5 6. Nf3 Nbd7 7. O-O O-O 8. Qc2 c6 9. Rd1 h6. It is a line of the Bogo-Indian Defense. White is to move.

This exact move order didn't appear in our sample of 12.6 million Lichess games: it's a rare line.

Engine evaluation: +0.25 (Stockfish, depth 32; best line 10. Bf4 a5 11. Nc3 dxc4 12. Nd2 Nb6)

ECO

E11

Moves

18 plies

FEN

r1bq1rk1/pp1nbpp1/2p1pn1p/3p4/2PP4/5NP1/PPQBPPBP/RN1R2K1 w - - 0 10

PGN

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. g3 Bb4+ 4. Bd2 Be7 5. Bg2 d5 6. Nf3 Nbd7 7. O-O O-O 8. Qc2 c6 9. Rd1 h6

Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess

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.