Queen's Indian Defense: Spassky System (5. Bd3 d5)
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. e3 Bb7 5. Bd3 d5
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 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 10 times by this move order. White won 40%, 10% were drawn and Black won 50%. The most popular continuation is 6. b3 (40% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.04 (Stockfish, depth 44; best line 6. O-O Bd6 7. Nbd2 O-O 8. b3 Ne4)
- ECO
- E14
- Moves
- 10 plies
- FEN
rn1qkb1r/pbp2ppp/1p2pn2/3p4/2PP4/3BPN2/PP3PPP/RNBQK2R w KQkq - 0 6- PGN
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. e3 Bb7 5. Bd3 d5
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 1500-1999 | 3 | |
| 2000+ | 7 | |
| All | 10 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 6. b3 | 4 (40%) | |
| 6. O-O | 4 (40%) | |
| 6. cxd5 | 2 (20%) |
Master games
253 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 32%, draw 30%, Black 38%). The strongest:
- GM Erigaisi Arjun (2775) – GM Vincent Keymer (2776) 0-1 · TechM GCL 3rd-4th 2025 · 2025-12-23
- GM Vladimir Kramnik (2777) – GM Peter Leko (2737) 1/2-1/2 · 42nd GM 2014 · 2014-07-19
- GM Anish Giri (2748) – GM Hans Moke Niemann (2736) 1/2-1/2 · Niemann-Giri Rerematch · 2025-06-18
- GM Santosh Gujrathi Vidit (2689) – GM Sergey Karjakin (2785) 1/2-1/2 · World Rapid 2016 · 2016-12-27
- GM Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (2775) – GM Maxim Matlakov (2676) 1-0 · FIDE World Cup 2013 · 2013-08-16
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
- oldryuk (2409) – Aet64 (2333) 1-0 · 2026-09-04 · 300 + 0s
Comes from
Queen's Indian Defense: Spassky System (4… Bb7 5. Bd3) 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. e3 Bb7 5. Bd3
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.