Queen's Indian Defense: Spassky System (4… Bb7 5. Bd3)
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. e3 Bb7 5. Bd3
The Queen's Indian Defense: Spassky System is a chess opening classified as ECO E14, reached after 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. e3 Bb7 5. Bd3. It is a line of the Queen's Indian Defense. Black is to move. 2 named lines continue from this position.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 49 times by this move order. White won 51%, 6% were drawn and Black won 43%. The most popular continuation is 5… Be7 (27% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.04 (Stockfish, depth 36; best line 5… d5 6. O-O Bd6 7. b3 Nbd7 8. cxd5)
- ECO
- E14
- Moves
- 9 plies
- FEN
rn1qkb1r/pbpp1ppp/1p2pn2/8/2PP4/3BPN2/PP3PPP/RNBQK2R b KQkq - 2 5- PGN
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. e3 Bb7 5. Bd3
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 1 | |
| 1500-1999 | 21 | |
| 2000+ | 27 | |
| All | 49 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 5… Be7 | 13 (27%) | |
| 5… c5 Spassky System3 (5. Bd3 c5) | 11 (22%) | |
| 5… Bb4+ | 10 (20%) | |
| 5… d5 Spassky System (5. Bd3 d5) | 10 (20%) | |
| 5… Ne4 | 4 (8%) | |
| 5… Nc6 | 1 (2%) |
Master games
213 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 43%, draw 26%, Black 31%). The strongest:
- GM Erigaisi Arjun (2751) – GM Bardiya Daneshvar (2596) 1-0 · Titled Tue 19th May 2026 · 2026-05-19
- GM Dmitry Andreikin (2729) – GM V Pranav (2611) 1-0 · Titled Tue 20th Feb Late · 2024-02-20
- GM Erigaisi Arjun (2782) – GM Vladislav Kovalev (2557) 1-0 · Chess.com Classic Play-In · 2025-05-19
- GM David Shengelia (2579) – GM Pentala Harikrishna (2743) 0-1 · TCh-CZE Extraliga 2015-16 · 2015-12-05
- GM Boris Grachev (2661) – GM Vladimir Fedoseev (2662) 1/2-1/2 · 67th ch-RUS HL 2014 · 2014-06-12
Search all games of the Queen's Indian Defense: Spassky System and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- Akula_Krakula (2639) – land12345 (2589) 0-1 · 2026-09-06 · 180 + 2s
- Akula_Krakula (2612) – dolynachess (2513) 1-0 · 2026-09-01 · 180 + 2s
- Grone2024 (2515) – IM Arrowlimit (2517) 1-0 · 2026-09-05 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Queen's Indian Defense: Spassky System (4. e3 Bb7) 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. e3 Bb7
Continuations
- Queen's Indian Defense: Spassky System (5. Bd3 d5) E14 · 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. e3 Bb7 5. Bd3 d5
- Queen's Indian Defense: Spassky System3 (5. Bd3 c5) E14 · 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. e3 Bb7 5. Bd3 c5
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.