Queen's Indian Defense: Kasparov-Petrosian Variation
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. a3 Bb7 5. Nc3
The Queen's Indian Defense: Kasparov-Petrosian 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. It is a line of the Queen's Indian Defense. Black is to move. 4 named lines continue from this position.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 368 times by this move order. White won 46%, 5% were drawn and Black won 49%. The most popular continuation is 5… d5 (39% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.07 (Stockfish, depth 55; best line 5… d5 6. Qc2 Be7 7. Bf4 c5 8. Rd1)
- ECO
- E12
- Moves
- 9 plies
- FEN
rn1qkb1r/pbpp1ppp/1p2pn2/8/2PP4/P1N2N2/1P2PPPP/R1BQKB1R b KQkq - 2 5- PGN
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. a3 Bb7 5. Nc3
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 3 | |
| 1500-1999 | 64 | |
| 2000+ | 301 | |
| All | 368 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 5… d5 Kasparov-Petrosian Variation, Main Line | 142 (39%) | |
| 5… Be7 Kasparov-Petrosian Variation, Marco Defense | 108 (29%) | |
| 5… Ne4 Kasparov-Petrosian Variation, Andersson Variation | 42 (11%) | |
| 5… c5 | 34 (9%) | |
| 5… d6 | 19 (5%) | |
| 5… g6 Kasparov-Petrosian Variation, Hedgehog Variation | 6 (2%) | |
| 5… h6 | 6 (2%) | |
| 5… a5 | 5 (1%) |
Master games
104 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 56%, draw 9%, Black 35%). The strongest:
- GM Erigaisi Arjun (2776) – GM Vincent Keymer (2730) 1/2-1/2 · FIDE Grand Swiss 2025 · 2025-09-15
- GM Nodirbek Yakubboev (2686) – GM Hans Moke Niemann (2735) 0-1 · Chess.com Open PlayIn1 · 2026-03-16
- GM Andrey Esipenko (2680) – GM Hans Moke Niemann (2725) 1-0 · Titled Tue 25th Aug 2026 · 2026-08-25
- GM Dmitry Andreikin (2729) – GM Gata Kamsky (2661) 1-0 · Titled Tue 10th May Early · 2022-05-10
- GM Nikolas Theodorou (2634) – GM Hans Moke Niemann (2742) 0-1 · FIDE World Rapid Team · 2026-06-17
Search all games of the Queen's Indian Defense: Kasparov-Petrosian Variation and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- oldandnotcold (2645) – FM condansator3 (2712) 0-1 · 2026-09-02 · 180 + 2s
- 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
Comes from
Queen's Indian Defense: Petrosian Variation 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. a3
Continuations
- Queen's Indian Defense: Kasparov-Petrosian Variation, Andersson Variation E12 · 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. a3 Bb7 5. Nc3 Ne4
- Queen's Indian Defense: Kasparov-Petrosian Variation, Hedgehog Variation E12 · 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. a3 Bb7 5. Nc3 g6
- Queen's Indian Defense: Kasparov-Petrosian Variation, Main Line E12 · 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. a3 Bb7 5. Nc3 d5
- Queen's Indian Defense: Kasparov-Petrosian Variation, Marco Defense E12 · 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. a3 Bb7 5. Nc3 Be7
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, Classical Variation E12
- Queen's Indian Defense: Kasparov-Petrosian Variation, Kasparov Attack 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
- Queen's Indian Defense: Kasparov-Petrosian Variation, Romanishin Attack E12
- Queen's Indian Defense: Miles 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.