Bogo-Indian Defense
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 Bb4+
The Bogo-Indian Defense is a chess opening classified as ECO E11, reached after 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 Bb4+. White is to move. 9 named lines continue from this position.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 3,682 times by this move order. White won 50%, 6% were drawn and Black won 44%. The most popular continuation is 4. Bd2 (60% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.54 (Stockfish, depth 52; best line 4. Nbd2 b6 5. a3 Bxd2+ 6. Bxd2 Bb7)
- ECO
- E11
- Moves
- 6 plies
- FEN
rnbqk2r/pppp1ppp/4pn2/8/1bPP4/5N2/PP2PPPP/RNBQKB1R w KQkq - 2 4- PGN
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 Bb4+
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 262 | |
| 1500-1999 | 1,370 | |
| 2000+ | 2,050 | |
| All | 3,682 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 4. Bd2 | 2,226 (60%) | |
| 4. Nbd2 Grünfeld Variation | 793 (22%) | |
| 4. Nc3 | 656 (18%) | |
| 4. Qd2 | 4 (0%) | |
| 4. Nfd2 New England Variation | 3 (0%) |
Master games
477 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 43%, draw 22%, Black 35%). The strongest:
- GM Magnus Carlsen (2840) – GM M. Amin Tabatabaei (2700) 1/2-1/2 · Titled Tue 3rd Feb 2026 · 2026-02-03
- GM Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (2747) – GM Leinier Dominguez Perez (2732) 1/2-1/2 · IMSA Rapid 2016 · 2016-02-27
- GM Erigaisi Arjun (2775) – GM Chithambaram VR. Aravindh (2700) 1-0 · Tata Steel India Blitz · 2026-01-10
- GM Anton Korobov (2716) – GM Nikita Vitiugov (2729) 1-0 · 29th ECC Open 2013 · 2013-10-23
- GM Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (2817) – GM Ahmed Adly (2626) 1-0 · World Blitz 2018 · 2018-12-30
Search all games of the Bogo-Indian Defense and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- NM Andrey11976 (2799) – winx_m (2951) 1/2-1/2 · 2026-09-03 · 180 + 0s
- GM sillyMASTER (2832) – barteljaap-jan (2917) 1-0 · 2026-09-02 · 180 + 0s
- GM sillyMASTER (2842) – IM AngelitoRT (2902) 1-0 · 2026-09-02 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Indian Defense: Anti-Nimzo-Indian 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3
Continuations
- Bogo-Indian Defense: Grünfeld Variation E11 · 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 Bb4+ 4. Nbd2
- Bogo-Indian Defense: New England Variation E11 · 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 Bb4+ 4. Nfd2
- Bogo-Indian Defense: Exchange Variation E11 · 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 Bb4+ 4. Bd2 Bxd2+
- Bogo-Indian Defense: Haiti Variation E11 · 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 Bb4+ 4. Bd2 Nc6
- Bogo-Indian Defense: Nimzowitsch Variation E11 · 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 Bb4+ 4. Bd2 Qe7
- Bogo-Indian Defense: Retreat Variation (4. Bd2 Be7) E11 · 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 Bb4+ 4. Bd2 Be7
- Bogo-Indian Defense: Vitolins Variation E11 · 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 Bb4+ 4. Bd2 c5
- Bogo-Indian Defense: Wade-Smyslov Variation E11 · 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 Bb4+ 4. Bd2 a5
- Nimzo-Indian Defense: Three Knights Variation, Shocron Gambit E21 · 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 Bb4+ 4. Nc3 c5 5. d5 b5
More Bogo-Indian Defense lines (all)
- Bogo-Indian Defense: Monticelli Trap 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
- Bogo-Indian Defense: Retreat Variation (8… c6 9. Rc1) E11
- Bogo-Indian Defense: Retreat Variation (8… c6 9. Rd1) E11
- Bogo-Indian Defense: Retreat Variation (9. Rd1 h6) E11
- Bogo-Indian Defense: Retreat Variation (9… b6 10. Nbd2) E11
- Bogo-Indian Defense: Retreat Variation (10. Nbd2 Ba6) 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.