Queen's Indian Defense: Classical Variation, Traditional Variation, Nimzowitsch Line
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. g3 Bb7 5. Bg2 Be7 6. O-O O-O 7. Nc3 d5
The Queen's Indian Defense: Classical Variation, Traditional Variation, Nimzowitsch Line is a chess opening classified as ECO E18, reached after 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. g3 Bb7 5. Bg2 Be7 6. O-O O-O 7. Nc3 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 50 times by this move order. White won 60%, 8% were drawn and Black won 32%. The most popular continuation is 8. cxd5 (38% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.29 (Stockfish, depth 48; best line 8. Ne5 Nbd7 9. Bf4 h6 10. Rc1 c6)
- ECO
- E18
- Moves
- 14 plies
- FEN
rn1q1rk1/pbp1bppp/1p2pn2/3p4/2PP4/2N2NP1/PP2PPBP/R1BQ1RK1 w - - 0 8- PGN
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. g3 Bb7 5. Bg2 Be7 6. O-O O-O 7. Nc3 d5
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 3 | |
| 1500-1999 | 9 | |
| 2000+ | 38 | |
| All | 50 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 8. cxd5 | 19 (38%) | |
| 8. Ne5 | 19 (38%) | |
| 8. b3 | 2 (4%) | |
| 8. Bg5 | 2 (4%) | |
| 8. Re1 | 2 (4%) | |
| 8. Qc2 | 2 (4%) | |
| 8. e3 | 1 (2%) | |
| 8. Bd2 | 1 (2%) |
Master games
184 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 52%, draw 22%, Black 26%). The strongest:
- GM Mustafa Yilmaz (2588) – GM Nijat Abasov (2621) 1/2-1/2 · TCh-TUR Super League 2024 · 2024-07-18
- GM Hannes Stefansson (2518) – GM Vladimir Fedoseev (2675) 0-1 · 24th European Teams · 2023-11-15
- GM Valentina Gunina (2518) – GM Rinat Jumabayev (2613) 1-0 · Eurasian Blitz Chess Cup · 2016-06-19
- GM Humpy Koneru (2567) – GM Alexandra Kosteniuk (2535) 1/2-1/2 · Armageddon Women Win · 2023-05-08
- GM David W L Howell (2687) – IM David J Eggleston (2397) 1-0 · 105th ch-GBR 2018 · 2018-08-03
Highest-rated Lichess games
- calculus9001 (2581) – Brillant_Sacriffice (2530) 1-0 · 2026-09-03 · 180 + 0s
- calculus9001 (2539) – NM PawnSacrifice98 (2461) 1-0 · 2026-09-02 · 180 + 0s
- KingChessT007 (2519) – LouisPasteur (2461) 1-0 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Queen's Indian Defense: Classical Variation, Traditional Variation 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. g3 Bb7 5. Bg2 Be7 6. O-O O-O 7. Nc3
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.