Queen's Indian Defense: Capablanca Variation (6… O-O 7. O-O)
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. g3 Bb7 5. Bg2 Bb4+ 6. Nbd2 O-O 7. O-O
The Queen's Indian Defense: Capablanca Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO E16, reached after 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. g3 Bb7 5. Bg2 Bb4+ 6. Nbd2 O-O 7. O-O. It is a line of the Queen's 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 42 times by this move order. White won 57%, 5% were drawn and Black won 38%. The most popular continuation is 7… d5 (33% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.11 (Stockfish, depth 36; best line 7… d5 8. b3 Bc3 9. Ba3 Bxa1 10. Bxf8)
- ECO
- E16
- Moves
- 13 plies
- FEN
rn1q1rk1/pbpp1ppp/1p2pn2/8/1bPP4/5NP1/PP1NPPBP/R1BQ1RK1 b - - 6 7- PGN
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. g3 Bb7 5. Bg2 Bb4+ 6. Nbd2 O-O 7. O-O
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 1500-1999 | 5 | |
| 2000+ | 37 | |
| All | 42 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 7… d5 Capablanca Variation (7. O-O d5) | 14 (33%) | |
| 7… d6 | 7 (17%) | |
| 7… c5 | 5 (12%) | |
| 7… Bxd2 | 5 (12%) | |
| 7… h6 | 3 (7%) | |
| 7… Be7 | 2 (5%) | |
| 7… a5 Capablanca Variation (7. O-O a5) | 2 (5%) | |
| 7… c6 | 1 (2%) |
Master games
127 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 39%, draw 19%, Black 42%). The strongest:
- GM Grigoriy Oparin (2674) – GM Igor Kovalenko (2674) 0-1 · Chess.com RCC Wk11 Swiss · 2022-04-23
- GM Maksim Chigaev (2632) – GM Adam Kozak (2526) 1-0 · World Blitz 2021 · 2021-12-29
- GM Artem Chernobay (2490) – GM Vasif Durarbayli (2606) 0-1 · Titled Tuesday 20th Oct · 2020-10-20
- GM Victor Mikhalevski (2562) – GM Adam Kozak (2526) 1-0 · World Blitz 2021 · 2021-12-30
- GM Benjamin Gledura (2633) – IM David Brodsky (2455) 0-1 · Pan-Am Intercollegiate · 2021-01-06
Search all games of the Queen's Indian Defense: Capablanca Variation and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- GM cutemouse83 (2922) – vistagusta (2828) 1-0 · 2026-09-03 · 180 + 0s
- sierra92 (2520) – awerksma (2391) 1-0 · 2026-09-05 · 180 + 0s
- EscafandraTubular (2445) – aballarjess (2449) 0-1 · 2026-09-02 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Queen's Indian Defense: Capablanca Variation (5. Bg2 Bb4+) 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. g3 Bb7 5. Bg2 Bb4+
Continuations
- Queen's Indian Defense: Capablanca Variation (7. O-O d5) E16 · 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. g3 Bb7 5. Bg2 Bb4+ 6. Nbd2 O-O 7. O-O d5
- Queen's Indian Defense: Capablanca Variation (7. O-O a5) E16 · 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. g3 Bb7 5. Bg2 Bb4+ 6. Nbd2 O-O 7. O-O a5
More Queen's Indian Defense lines (all)
- Queen's Indian Defense E12
- Queen's Indian Defense: Kasparov Variation (3… b6 4. Nc3) E12
- Queen's Indian Defense: Kasparov Variation, Botvinnik Attack E12
- Queen's Indian Defense: Kasparov-Petrosian Variation E12
- Queen's Indian Defense: Kasparov-Petrosian Variation, Andersson Variation E12
- Queen's Indian Defense: Kasparov-Petrosian Variation, Classical Variation E12
- Queen's Indian Defense: Kasparov-Petrosian Variation, Hedgehog Variation E12
- Queen's Indian Defense: Kasparov-Petrosian Variation, Kasparov Attack E12
- Queen's Indian Defense: Kasparov-Petrosian Variation, Main Line E12
- Queen's Indian Defense: Kasparov-Petrosian Variation, Marco Defense E12
- Queen's Indian Defense: Kasparov-Petrosian Variation, Modern Variation E12
- Queen's Indian Defense: Kasparov-Petrosian Variation, Petrosian Attack E12
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.