Queen's Indian Defense: Kasparov Variation (6. Bh4 Bb7)
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. Bg5 h6 6. Bh4 Bb7
The Queen's Indian Defense: Kasparov Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO E13, reached after 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. Bg5 h6 6. Bh4 Bb7. 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 9 times by this move order. White won 78%, 0% were drawn and Black won 22%. The most popular continuation is 7. e3 (67% of games).
Engine evaluation: 0.00 (Stockfish, depth 60; best line 7. Qb3 Bxc3+ 8. Qxc3 g5 9. Bg3 Ne4)
- ECO
- E13
- Moves
- 12 plies
- FEN
rn1qk2r/pbpp1pp1/1p2pn1p/8/1bPP3B/2N2N2/PP2PPPP/R2QKB1R w KQkq - 2 7- PGN
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. Bg5 h6 6. Bh4 Bb7
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 1 | |
| 1500-1999 | 4 | |
| 2000+ | 4 | |
| All | 9 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 7. e3 | 6 (67%) | |
| 7. Nd2 | 2 (22%) | |
| 7. d5 | 1 (11%) |
Master games
29 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 24%, draw 31%, Black 45%). The strongest:
- GM Baadur Jobava (2701) – GM Magnus Carlsen (2838) 0-1 · PRO League KO Stage 2017 · 2017-03-25
- GM Tosic, M. (2426) – GM Sergey Grigoriants (2574) 0-1 · Karpos Open 2014 · 2014-04-04
- GM S.P. Sethuraman (2644) – IM Nikolay Ogloblin (2346) 1-0 · Titled Tuesday 15th Sept · 2020-09-15
- GM Yuri S Balashov (2429) – GM Dmitry Bocharov (2557) 0-1 · ch-RUS Blitz 2018 · 2018-10-07
- IM Sebastien Cossin (2494) – GM Vladimir Hamitevici (2476) 0-1 · TCh-FRA Top 12 2019 · 2019-05-24
Search all games of the Queen's Indian Defense: Kasparov Variation and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- GM Renier07 (2609) – VoinTeka (2559) 1-0 · 2026-09-02 · 180 + 2s
- GM Renier07 (2599) – IM ich2 (2433) 1-0 · 2026-09-02 · 180 + 2s
- odayhore1 (2085) – victorloyaga0205 (2117) 1-0 · 2026-09-07 · 300 + 0s
Comes from
Queen's Indian Defense: Kasparov Variation (3… b6 4. Nc3) 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. Nc3
More Queen's Indian Defense lines (all)
- Queen's Indian Defense 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
- Queen's Indian Defense: Kasparov-Petrosian Variation, Polovodin Gambit 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.