Bogo-Indian Defense: Retreat Variation (6. Nf3 O-O)
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. g3 Bb4+ 4. Bd2 Be7 5. Bg2 d5 6. Nf3 O-O
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 O-O. It is a line of the Bogo-Indian Defense. White is to move. 2 named lines continue from this position.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 14 times by this move order. White won 7%, 22% were drawn and Black won 71%. The most popular continuation is 7. O-O (79% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.13 (Stockfish, depth 51; best line 7. O-O c6 8. Qc2 Nbd7 9. Rd1 b6)
- ECO
- E11
- Moves
- 12 plies
- FEN
rnbq1rk1/ppp1bppp/4pn2/3p4/2PP4/5NP1/PP1BPPBP/RN1QK2R w KQ - 2 7- PGN
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. g3 Bb4+ 4. Bd2 Be7 5. Bg2 d5 6. Nf3 O-O
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 1500-1999 | 1 | |
| 2000+ | 13 | |
| All | 14 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 7. O-O Retreat Variation (6… O-O 7. O-O) | 11 (79%) | |
| 7. Qc2 | 2 (14%) | |
| 7. h4 | 1 (7%) |
Master games
39 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 33%, draw 29%, Black 38%). The strongest:
- GM Maxim Matlakov (2674) – GM Vladimir Kramnik (2753) 1/2-1/2 · AI Cup Div 3 L · 2023-09-26
- GM Maxim Matlakov (2685) – GM Alexey Sarana (2654) 1/2-1/2 · Kurnosov Mem Rapid 2020 · 2020-09-05
- GM Karthik Venkataraman (2600) – GM Anish Giri (2731) 0-1 · Titled Tue 14th Jan Early · 2025-01-14
- GM Maxim Matlakov (2698) – GM Aleksey Goganov (2594) 1-0 · 73rd ch-RUS 2020 · 2020-12-16
- GM Xiangyu Xu (2626) – GM Yan Liu (2574) 1/2-1/2 · CHN Team Men 2024 · 2024-04-07
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
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
Continuations
- Bogo-Indian Defense: Retreat Variation (6… O-O 7. O-O) E11 · 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. g3 Bb4+ 4. Bd2 Be7 5. Bg2 d5 6. Nf3 O-O 7. O-O
- Bogo-Indian Defense: Retreat Variation (7… c6 8. O-O) E11 · 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. g3 Bb4+ 4. Bd2 Be7 5. Bg2 d5 6. Nf3 O-O 7. Qc2 c6 8. O-O
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 (8. Qc2 c6) E11
- Bogo-Indian Defense: Retreat Variation (8… c6 9. b3) E11
- Bogo-Indian Defense: Retreat Variation (8… c6 9. Rc1) E11
- Bogo-Indian Defense: Retreat Variation (8… c6 9. Rd1) 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.