Queen's Indian Defense: Kasparov-Petrosian Variation, Kasparov Attack
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. a3 Bb7 5. Nc3 d5 6. cxd5 Nxd5 7. Qc2
The Queen's Indian Defense: Kasparov-Petrosian Variation, Kasparov Attack is a chess opening classified as ECO E12, reached after 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. a3 Bb7 5. Nc3 d5 6. cxd5 Nxd5 7. Qc2. 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 25 times by this move order. White won 36%, 4% were drawn and Black won 60%. The most popular continuation is 7… Be7 (68% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.02 (Stockfish, depth 65; best line 7… Nxc3 8. Qxc3 h6 9. g3 Nd7 10. Bg2)
- ECO
- E12
- Moves
- 13 plies
- FEN
rn1qkb1r/pbp2ppp/1p2p3/3n4/3P4/P1N2N2/1PQ1PPPP/R1B1KB1R b KQkq - 1 7- PGN
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. a3 Bb7 5. Nc3 d5 6. cxd5 Nxd5 7. Qc2
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 2000+ | 25 | |
| All | 25 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 7… Be7 | 17 (68%) | |
| 7… Nxc3 | 5 (20%) | |
| 7… Nd7 | 2 (8%) | |
| 7… c5 | 1 (4%) |
Master games
583 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 39%, draw 29%, Black 32%). The strongest:
- GM Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (2800) – GM Pavel Eljanov (2739) 1/2-1/2 · Geneva Grand Prix 2017 · 2017-07-09
- GM Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (2753) – GM Judit Polgar (2696) 1-0 · Geneva Masters GpA 2013 · 2013-06-28
- GM Radoslaw Wojtaszek (2715) – GM Pavel Eljanov (2723) 1/2-1/2 · FIDE World Blitz 2014 · 2014-06-20
- GM Dmitry Jakovenko (2709) – GM Evgeny Tomashevsky (2722) 1/2-1/2 · 32nd ECC Open 2016 · 2016-11-11
- GM Alireza Firouzja (2728) – GM Vasyl Ivanchuk (2678) 1/2-1/2 · ch-FRA Blitz Online Qual · 2020-05-16
Highest-rated Lichess games
- oldandnotcold (2636) – THECHESGOAT (2538) 1-0 · 2026-09-03 · 180 + 2s
- oldandnotcold (2647) – THECHESGOAT (2523) 0-1 · 2026-09-03 · 180 + 2s
- SmirnovAleksey (2519) – frepricot1 (2528) 1-0 · 2026-09-02 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Queen's Indian Defense: Kasparov-Petrosian Variation, Modern Variation 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. a3 Bb7 5. Nc3 d5 6. cxd5 Nxd5
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, Main Line E12
- Queen's Indian Defense: Kasparov-Petrosian Variation, Marco Defense E12
- Queen's Indian Defense: Kasparov-Petrosian Variation, Petrosian Attack E12
- Queen's Indian Defense: Kasparov-Petrosian Variation, Polovodin Gambit E12
- Queen's Indian Defense: Kasparov-Petrosian Variation, Rashkovsky 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.