Queen's Indian Defense: Kasparov-Petrosian Variation, Marco Defense
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. a3 Bb7 5. Nc3 Be7
The Queen's Indian Defense: Kasparov-Petrosian Variation, Marco Defense is a chess opening classified as ECO E12, reached after 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. a3 Bb7 5. Nc3 Be7. 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 108 times by this move order. White won 51%, 2% were drawn and Black won 47%. The most popular continuation is 6. d5 (37% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.54 (Stockfish, depth 38; best line 6. d5 O-O 7. e4 d6 8. Bd3 exd5)
- ECO
- E12
- Moves
- 10 plies
- FEN
rn1qk2r/pbppbppp/1p2pn2/8/2PP4/P1N2N2/1P2PPPP/R1BQKB1R w KQkq - 3 6- PGN
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. a3 Bb7 5. Nc3 Be7
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 1500-1999 | 25 | |
| 2000+ | 83 | |
| All | 108 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 6. d5 | 40 (37%) | |
| 6. Qc2 | 31 (29%) | |
| 6. Bg5 | 15 (14%) | |
| 6. Bf4 | 9 (8%) | |
| 6. e3 | 6 (6%) | |
| 6. g3 | 4 (4%) | |
| 6. g4 | 2 (2%) | |
| 6. Qd3 | 1 (1%) |
Master games
428 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 56%, draw 19%, Black 25%). The strongest:
- GM Teimour Radjabov (2692) – GM Hans Moke Niemann (2736) 1/2-1/2 · Karpov Cup - 50 years · 2025-05-22
- GM Magnus Carlsen (2831) – GM Vladislav Kovalev (2557) 1-0 · Titled Tue 10th Dec Early · 2024-12-10
- GM Nikolas Theodorou (2611) – GM Hans Moke Niemann (2734) 0-1 · Chessable Masters Play-In · 2025-02-17
- GM Aleksandra Goryachkina (2584) – GM Teimour Radjabov (2747) 1-0 · Crocus City Stars Blitz · 2022-10-04
- GM Andrey Esipenko (2620) – GM Alexey Sarana (2636) 1/2-1/2 · TCh-RUS Premier 2019 · 2019-05-09
Highest-rated Lichess games
- GM ftorodent (2738) – FM Mind_Soul (2591) 0-1 · 2026-09-06 · 180 + 2s
- V4ess (2658) – secret_mikalsen (2649) 1-0 · 2026-09-03 · 180 + 0s
- imsk (2562) – CM chess23time (2661) 0-1 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Queen's Indian Defense: Kasparov-Petrosian Variation 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. a3 Bb7 5. 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, 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, Modern Variation 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.