Queen's Indian Defense: Classical Variation, Polugaevsky Gambit
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. g3 Bb7 5. Bg2 Be7 6. O-O O-O 7. d5 exd5 8. Nh4
The Queen's Indian Defense: Classical Variation, Polugaevsky Gambit is a chess opening classified as ECO E17, reached after 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. g3 Bb7 5. Bg2 Be7 6. O-O O-O 7. d5 exd5 8. Nh4. It is a line of the Queen's Indian Defense. Black is to move.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 29 times by this move order. White won 48%, 11% were drawn and Black won 41%. The most popular continuation is 8… c6 (86% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.11 (Stockfish, depth 48; best line 8… c6 9. cxd5 Nxd5 10. Nf5 Nc7 11. e4)
- ECO
- E17
- Moves
- 15 plies
- FEN
rn1q1rk1/pbppbppp/1p3n2/3p4/2P4N/6P1/PP2PPBP/RNBQ1RK1 b - - 1 8- PGN
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. g3 Bb7 5. Bg2 Be7 6. O-O O-O 7. d5 exd5 8. Nh4
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 1500-1999 | 2 | |
| 2000+ | 27 | |
| All | 29 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 8… c6 | 25 (86%) | |
| 8… d6 | 2 (7%) | |
| 8… Ne4 | 2 (7%) |
Master games
357 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 45%, draw 28%, Black 27%). The strongest:
- GM Alireza Firouzja (2759) – GM Magnus Carlsen (2840) 1-0 · SpeedChess Final 2025 · 2026-02-08
- GM Radoslaw Wojtaszek (2733) – GM Pavel Eljanov (2723) 1-0 · 48th Biel GM 2015 · 2015-07-22
- GM Markus Ragger (2700) – GM Nikita Vitiugov (2721) 1/2-1/2 · Bundesliga 2016-17 · 2017-03-18
- GM Alexander Moiseenko (2649) – GM Ernesto Inarkiev (2730) 1/2-1/2 · TCh-TUR Super League 2016 · 2016-07-29
- GM Markus Ragger (2632) – GM Pavel Eljanov (2723) 0-1 · FIDE World Blitz 2014 · 2014-06-20
Highest-rated Lichess games
- SchhW (2566) – Towser1 (2672) 1/2-1/2 · 2026-09-05 · 180 + 0s
- Adrian_DelaCruz (2523) – CATalan0P (2504) 0-1 · 2026-09-05 · 180 + 0s
- FM Commissaire-Maigret (2455) – Kayrosas (2569) 0-1 · 2026-09-03 · 600 + 0s
Comes from
Queen's Indian Defense: Classical Variation 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. g3 Bb7 5. Bg2 Be7 6. 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.