Queen's Indian Defense: Capablanca Variation (7. O-O a5)
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. g3 Bb7 5. Bg2 Bb4+ 6. Nbd2 O-O 7. O-O a5
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 a5. 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 2 times by this move order. White won 100%, 0% were drawn and Black won 0%. The most popular continuation is 8. a3 (100% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.31 (Stockfish, depth 32; best line 8. Nb1 Be7 9. Re1 d6 10. Nc3 Ne4)
- ECO
- E16
- Moves
- 14 plies
- FEN
rn1q1rk1/1bpp1ppp/1p2pn2/p7/1bPP4/5NP1/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 a5
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 2000+ | 2 | |
| All | 2 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 8. a3 | 2 (100%) |
Master games
24 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 25%, draw 33%, Black 42%). The strongest:
- GM Daniil Dubov (2710) – GM Magnus Carlsen (2839) 1-0 · Titled Tue 24th Oct Early · 2023-10-24
- GM Vladislav Artemiev (2641) – GM Quang Liem Le (2731) 1/2-1/2 · Titled Tue 24th Mar 2026 · 2026-03-24
- GM Aydin Suleymanli (2586) – GM Dmitry Andreikin (2729) 0-1 · Titled Tue 29th Aug Late · 2023-08-29
- GM A.R. Saleh Salem (2608) – GM Sergei Zhigalko (2653) 1/2-1/2 · Najdorf Mem Open A 2016 · 2016-07-15
- GM Emre Can (2541) – GM Dmitry Andreikin (2710) 0-1 · World Rapid 2025 · 2025-12-26
Search all games of the Queen's Indian Defense: Capablanca Variation and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- NikolaMatic (2181) – BEERLOGAMEN (2203) 1-0 · 2026-09-05 · 180 + 2s
- Yakov_Slonov (2150) – beaver4139 (2074) 1-0 · 2026-09-07 · 180 + 2s
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.