Queen's Indian Defense: Fianchetto Variation, Check Variation
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. g3 Ba6 5. b3 Bb4+
The Queen's Indian Defense: Fianchetto Variation, Check Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO E15, reached after 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. g3 Ba6 5. b3 Bb4+. It is a line of the Queen's Indian Defense. White is to move. 2 named lines continue from this position.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 118 times by this move order. White won 59%, 9% were drawn and Black won 32%. The most popular continuation is 6. Bd2 (96% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.20 (Stockfish, depth 40; best line 6. Bd2 Be7 7. Nc3 O-O 8. Bg2 d5)
- ECO
- E15
- Moves
- 10 plies
- FEN
rn1qk2r/p1pp1ppp/bp2pn2/8/1bPP4/1P3NP1/P3PP1P/RNBQKB1R w KQkq - 1 6- PGN
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. g3 Ba6 5. b3 Bb4+
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 1 | |
| 1500-1999 | 16 | |
| 2000+ | 101 | |
| All | 118 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 6. Bd2 | 113 (96%) | |
| 6. Nbd2 | 5 (4%) |
Master games
87 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 32%, draw 28%, Black 40%). The strongest:
- GM Anish Giri (2734) – GM Gata Kamsky (2721) 0-1 · SportAccord Basque Men 2013 · 2013-12-17
- GM Vladimir Potkin (2621) – GM Pentala Harikrishna (2726) 1/2-1/2 · FIDE World Rapid 2014 · 2014-06-17
- GM Vincent Keymer (2693) – GM Kacper Piorun (2623) 1-0 · Enea TCh-POL Ekstraliga · 2022-09-05
- GM Yannick Pelletier (2601) – GM Victor Bologan (2695) 0-1 · 28th European Club Cup · 2012-10-11
- GM Praggnanandhaa R (2648) – GM Vasif Durarbayli (2638) 1-0 · 44th Olympiad 2022 · 2022-08-07
Highest-rated Lichess games
- LuckyStar2011 (2816) – Nana_jede_cevape (2799) 0-1 · 2026-09-01 · 180 + 0s
- July16Q (2670) – Nana_jede_cevape (2908) 1-0 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 0s
- ScaryIndianJunior (2818) – Tempstream (2742) 1/2-1/2 · 2026-09-01 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Queen's Indian Defense: Fianchetto Variation, Nimzowitsch Variation, Quiet Line 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. g3 Ba6 5. b3
Continuations
- Queen's Indian Defense: Fianchetto Variation, Check Variation, Intermezzo Line E15 · 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. g3 Ba6 5. b3 Bb4+ 6. Bd2 Be7
- Queen's Indian Defense: Fianchetto Variation, Check Variation, Modern Line E15 · 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. g3 Ba6 5. b3 Bb4+ 6. Bd2 Qe7
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.