Queen's Indian Defense: Riumin Variation (8. Nc3 d5)
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. g3 Bb7 5. Bg2 Bb4+ 6. Bd2 Be7 7. O-O O-O 8. Nc3 d5
The Queen's Indian Defense: Riumin Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO E16, reached after 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. g3 Bb7 5. Bg2 Bb4+ 6. Bd2 Be7 7. O-O O-O 8. Nc3 d5. 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 56%, 11% were drawn and Black won 33%. The most popular continuation is 9. cxd5 (33% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.46 (Stockfish, depth 42; best line 9. cxd5 exd5 10. Qc2 Nbd7 11. Rad1 Re8)
- ECO
- E16
- Moves
- 16 plies
- FEN
rn1q1rk1/pbp1bppp/1p2pn2/3p4/2PP4/2N2NP1/PP1BPPBP/R2Q1RK1 w - - 0 9- PGN
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. g3 Bb7 5. Bg2 Bb4+ 6. Bd2 Be7 7. O-O O-O 8. Nc3 d5
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 1500-1999 | 3 | |
| 2000+ | 6 | |
| All | 9 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 9. cxd5 | 3 (33%) | |
| 9. Ne5 | 3 (33%) | |
| 9. Qc2 | 2 (22%) | |
| 9. b3 | 1 (11%) |
Master games
50 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 46%, draw 22%, Black 32%). The strongest:
- GM Vugar Rasulov (2454) – GM Hikaru Nakamura (2760) 0-1 · Titled Tue 7th Jun Late · 2022-06-07
- FM Ilyass Msellek (2353) – GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (2751) 0-1 · Titled Tuesday 31st Aug · 2021-08-31
- GM Pavel Skatchkov (2457) – GM Martyn Kravtsiv (2598) 1-0 · Titled Tue 5th Aug Late · 2025-08-05
- GM Lukasz Cyborowski (2494) – IM Tomas Kraus (2484) 1/2-1/2 · Ceske Budejovice GMA 2023 · 2023-07-09
- IM Pierre Barbot (2440) – GM Bojan Kurajica (2522) 0-1 · 12th Montalvo Mem 2019 · 2019-04-19
Search all games of the Queen's Indian Defense: Riumin Variation and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- ScaryIndianJunior (2817) – canc3111 (2792) 0-1 · 2026-09-01 · 180 + 0s
- UKHOVARAKOMPERM1985 (2159) – ChessMaster564 (2571) 1/2-1/2 · 2026-09-06 · 180 + 2s
- Prosto_Valeriy (2204) – Manni2308 (2339) 1-0 · 2026-09-06 · 180 + 2s
Comes from
Queen's Indian Defense: Riumin Variation (7… O-O 8. Nc3) 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. g3 Bb7 5. Bg2 Bb4+ 6. Bd2 Be7 7. O-O O-O 8. 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 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
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.