Queen's Indian Defense: Kasparov Variation (3… b6 4. Nc3)
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. Nc3
The Queen's Indian Defense: Kasparov Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO E12, reached after 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. 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 780 times by this move order. White won 49%, 6% were drawn and Black won 45%. The most popular continuation is 4… Bb4 (48% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.15 (Stockfish, depth 50; best line 4… Bb4 5. e3 O-O 6. Bd3 d5 7. O-O)
- ECO
- E12
- Moves
- 7 plies
- FEN
rnbqkb1r/p1pp1ppp/1p2pn2/8/2PP4/2N2N2/PP2PPPP/R1BQKB1R b KQkq - 1 4- PGN
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. Nc3
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 54 | |
| 1500-1999 | 375 | |
| 2000+ | 351 | |
| All | 780 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 4… Bb4 | 374 (48%) | |
| 4… Bb7 | 371 (48%) | |
| 4… Ba6 | 26 (3%) | |
| 4… d5 | 5 (1%) | |
| 4… Be7 | 3 (0%) | |
| 4… c5 | 1 (0%) |
Master games
1,439 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 36%, draw 28%, Black 36%). The strongest:
- LCZero 0.31-dag-e429eeb-BT3-2790000 (3642) – Stockfish dev-20231010-00263636 (3673) 1-0 · TCEC 25 Superfinal 2023 · 2023-10-12
- Stockfish dev-20231010-00263636 (3673) – LCZero 0.31-dag-e429eeb-BT3-2790000 (3642) 1-0 · TCEC 25 Superfinal 2023 · 2023-10-12
- RubiChess 20230823 (3508) – Ethereal 14.24 (3535) 1/2-1/2 · TCEC 25 Premier 2023 · 2023-09-06
- Ethereal 14.24 (3535) – RubiChess 20230823 (3508) 1/2-1/2 · TCEC 25 Premier 2023 · 2023-09-06
- Berserk13 (3540) – StoofvleesII d2 (3479) 1/2-1/2 · TCEC 26 Premier 2024 · 2024-04-30
Search all games of the Queen's Indian Defense: Kasparov Variation and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- IM Burjugul_7 (2636) – Knightrider6767 (2635) 1/2-1/2 · 2026-09-06 · 180 + 0s
- GM Renier07 (2609) – VoinTeka (2559) 1-0 · 2026-09-02 · 180 + 2s
- alejandromagno92 (2476) – KFC2025 (2671) 0-1 · 2026-09-06 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Queen's Indian Defense 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6
Continuations
- Queen's Indian Defense: Kasparov Variation (6. Bh4 Bb7) E13 · 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. Bg5 h6 6. Bh4 Bb7
- Queen's Indian Defense: Kasparov-Petrosian Variation, Polovodin Gambit E12 · 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. Nc3 Bb7 5. a3 d5 6. cxd5 Nxd5 7. e4
- Queen's Indian Defense: Kasparov Variation, Botvinnik Attack E12 · 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. Nc3 Bb7 5. Bg5 h6 6. Bh4 g5 7. Bg3 Nh5
- Queen's Gambit Declined: Pillsbury Attack D55 · 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. Nc3 d5 5. cxd5 exd5 6. Bg5 Be7 7. e3 O-O 8. Bd3 Bb7 9. Ne5
More Queen's Indian Defense lines (all)
- 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, Rashkovsky Attack E12
- Queen's Indian Defense: Kasparov-Petrosian Variation, Romanishin Attack E12
- Queen's Indian Defense: Miles Variation 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.