Queen's Indian Defense: Capablanca Variation (7. O-O d5)
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. g3 Bb7 5. Bg2 Bb4+ 6. Nbd2 O-O 7. O-O d5
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 d5. It is a line of the Queen's Indian Defense. White is to move.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 14 times by this move order. White won 64%, 0% were drawn and Black won 36%. The most popular continuation is 8. Ne5 (64% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.16 (Stockfish, depth 50; best line 8. b3 Nbd7 9. Bb2 Rc8 10. Rc1 Qe7)
- ECO
- E16
- Moves
- 14 plies
- FEN
rn1q1rk1/pbp2ppp/1p2pn2/3p4/1bPP4/5NP1/PP1NPPBP/R1BQ1RK1 w - - 0 8- PGN
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. g3 Bb7 5. Bg2 Bb4+ 6. Nbd2 O-O 7. O-O d5
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 1500-1999 | 2 | |
| 2000+ | 12 | |
| All | 14 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 8. Ne5 | 9 (64%) | |
| 8. Qc2 | 2 (14%) | |
| 8. cxd5 | 1 (7%) | |
| 8. b3 | 1 (7%) | |
| 8. Re1 | 1 (7%) |
Master games
101 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 38%, draw 30%, Black 32%). The strongest:
- GM Grigoriy Oparin (2653) – GM Sanan Sjugirov (2646) 1/2-1/2 · Titled Tue 10th Dec Late · 2024-12-10
- IM Renato R. Quintiliano (2484) – GM Xiangzhi Bu (2705) 0-1 · World Rapid 2016 · 2016-12-26
- GM Pavel Ponkratov (2631) – IM Zurab Javakhadze (2454) 1-0 · PNWCC Online Blitz JP 17 · 2020-07-18
- GM Haik M. Martirosyan (2622) – IM Mamikon Gharibyan (2423) 1/2-1/2 · 81st ch-ARM Highest 2021 · 2021-02-24
- GM Tiberiu-Marian Georgescu (2463) – GM Lalith, B. (2575) 0-1 · 23rd Abu Dhabi Masters · 2016-08-23
Search all games of the Queen's Indian Defense: Capablanca Variation and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- sierra92 (2520) – awerksma (2391) 1-0 · 2026-09-05 · 180 + 0s
- Shiaxou (2355) – awerksma (2365) 0-1 · 2026-09-03 · 180 + 0s
- TacticalBeast_21 (2297) – Arley-Restrepo (2354) 1-0 · 2026-09-06 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
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
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.