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
The Queen's Indian Defense: Kasparov-Petrosian Variation, Modern Variation 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. It is a line of the Queen's Indian Defense. White is to move. 4 named lines continue from this position.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 42 times by this move order. White won 40%, 5% were drawn and Black won 55%. The most popular continuation is 7. Qc2 (60% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.08 (Stockfish, depth 48; best line 7. Qc2 Nxc3 8. bxc3 Be7 9. e4 O-O)
- ECO
- E12
- Moves
- 12 plies
- FEN
rn1qkb1r/pbp2ppp/1p2p3/3n4/3P4/P1N2N2/1P2PPPP/R1BQKB1R w KQkq - 0 7- PGN
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. a3 Bb7 5. Nc3 d5 6. cxd5 Nxd5
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 1500-1999 | 1 | |
| 2000+ | 41 | |
| All | 42 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 7. Qc2 Kasparov-Petrosian Variation, Kasparov Attack | 25 (60%) | |
| 7. e3 Kasparov-Petrosian Variation, Petrosian Attack | 11 (26%) | |
| 7. Bd2 Kasparov-Petrosian Variation, Romanishin Attack | 3 (7%) | |
| 7. Bg5 | 2 (5%) | |
| 7. g3 | 1 (2%) |
Master games
33 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 36%, draw 34%, Black 30%). The strongest:
- GM Erigaisi Arjun (2761) – GM Hans Moke Niemann (2742) 1/2-1/2 · FIDE World Bl Team Final · 2026-06-21
- GM Nikolas Theodorou (2646) – GM Vincent Keymer (2730) 1/2-1/2 · FIDE Grand Swiss 2025 · 2025-09-11
- GM Nikolas Theodorou (2639) – GM Benjamin Bok (2592) 1/2-1/2 · Titled Tue 10th Feb 2026 · 2026-02-10
- IM Bojan Maksimovic (2486) – GM Nijat Abasov (2643) 0-1 · Titled Tue 6th Dec Late · 2022-12-06
- GM Andrey Rychagov (2545) – GM Giga Quparadze (2463) 0-1 · Titled Tuesday 15th Dec · 2020-12-15
Highest-rated Lichess games
- rustevs (2536) – Meatloaf927 (2713) 1/2-1/2 · 2026-09-02 · 180 + 0s
- Severus-Snape-1960 (2576) – songsololevel (2616) 1-0 · 2026-09-07 · 180 + 0s
- oldandnotcold (2636) – THECHESGOAT (2538) 1-0 · 2026-09-03 · 180 + 2s
Comes from
Queen's Indian Defense: Kasparov-Petrosian Variation, Main Line 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. a3 Bb7 5. Nc3 d5
Continuations
- Queen's Indian Defense: Kasparov-Petrosian Variation, Kasparov Attack E12 · 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. a3 Bb7 5. Nc3 d5 6. cxd5 Nxd5 7. Qc2
- Queen's Indian Defense: Kasparov-Petrosian Variation, Petrosian Attack E12 · 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. a3 Bb7 5. Nc3 d5 6. cxd5 Nxd5 7. e3
- Queen's Indian Defense: Kasparov-Petrosian Variation, Rashkovsky Attack E12 · 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. a3 Bb7 5. Nc3 d5 6. cxd5 Nxd5 7. Qa4+
- Queen's Indian Defense: Kasparov-Petrosian Variation, Romanishin Attack E12 · 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. a3 Bb7 5. Nc3 d5 6. cxd5 Nxd5 7. Bd2
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, Marco Defense E12
- Queen's Indian Defense: Kasparov-Petrosian Variation, Polovodin Gambit E12
- Queen's Indian Defense: Miles Variation E12
- Queen's Indian Defense: Petrosian Variation E12
- Queen's Indian Defense: Petrosian Variation, Farago Defense 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.