Bogo-Indian Defense: Retreat Variation (5… d5 6. Nf3)
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. g3 Bb4+ 4. Bd2 Be7 5. Bg2 d5 6. Nf3
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. It is a line of the Bogo-Indian Defense. Black is to move. 2 named lines continue from this position.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 25 times by this move order. White won 24%, 16% were drawn and Black won 60%. The most popular continuation is 6… O-O (56% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.07 (Stockfish, depth 55; best line 6… c6 7. O-O O-O 8. Qc2 Nbd7 9. e3)
- ECO
- E11
- Moves
- 11 plies
- FEN
rnbqk2r/ppp1bppp/4pn2/3p4/2PP4/5NP1/PP1BPPBP/RN1QK2R b KQkq - 1 6- PGN
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. g3 Bb4+ 4. Bd2 Be7 5. Bg2 d5 6. Nf3
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 1500-1999 | 4 | |
| 2000+ | 21 | |
| All | 25 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 6… O-O Retreat Variation (6. Nf3 O-O) | 14 (56%) | |
| 6… c6 | 8 (32%) | |
| 6… c5 | 2 (8%) | |
| 6… Nbd7 | 1 (4%) |
Master games
181 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 29%, draw 38%, Black 33%). The strongest:
- GM Dmitry Jakovenko (2759) – GM Nikita Vitiugov (2719) 1/2-1/2 · 68th ch-RUS 2015 · 2015-08-13
- GM Gata Kamsky (2740) – GM Nikita Vitiugov (2694) 1/2-1/2 · 11th Gibraltar Masters · 2013-01-29
- GM Li Chao2 (2687) – GM Nikita Vitiugov (2703) 1/2-1/2 · 8th RUS-CHN Summit Men Classical · 2012-07-03
- GM M. Amin Tabatabaei (2677) – GM Alexey Sarana (2685) 1-0 · Chessable Masters Div 3 W · 2023-04-06
- GM M. Amin Tabatabaei (2677) – GM Alexey Sarana (2685) 0-1 · Chessable Masters Div 3 W · 2023-04-06
Search all games of the Bogo-Indian Defense: Retreat Variation and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- whopper211 (2722) – canc3111 (2766) 1/2-1/2 · 2026-09-05 · 180 + 0s
- whopper211 (2688) – GM Dragso (2748) 0-1 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 0s
- C01B01 (2562) – umbrella5000 (2553) 0-1 · 2026-09-03 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Catalan Opening (2… e6 3. g3) 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. g3
Continuations
- Bogo-Indian Defense: Retreat Variation (6. Nf3 O-O) E11 · 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. g3 Bb4+ 4. Bd2 Be7 5. Bg2 d5 6. Nf3 O-O
- Bogo-Indian Defense: Retreat Variation (8. Qc2 c6) E11 · 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
More Bogo-Indian Defense lines (all)
- Bogo-Indian Defense E11
- Bogo-Indian Defense: Exchange Variation E11
- 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 (6… O-O 7. O-O) E11
- Bogo-Indian Defense: Retreat Variation (7… c6 8. O-O) E11
- Bogo-Indian Defense: Retreat Variation (8… c6 9. b3) E11
- Bogo-Indian Defense: Retreat Variation (8… c6 9. Rc1) 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.