Queen's Indian Defense: Traditional Variation
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. g3 Bb7 5. Bg2 Be7
The Queen's Indian Defense: Traditional Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO E17, reached after 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. g3 Bb7 5. Bg2 Be7. It is a line of the Queen's Indian Defense. White is to move. 2 named lines continue from this position.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 484 times by this move order. White won 52%, 8% were drawn and Black won 40%. The most popular continuation is 6. O-O (91% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.25 (Stockfish, depth 46; best line 6. Nc3 O-O 7. O-O Ne4 8. Qd3 Nxc3)
- ECO
- E17
- Moves
- 10 plies
- FEN
rn1qk2r/pbppbppp/1p2pn2/8/2PP4/5NP1/PP2PPBP/RNBQK2R w KQkq - 3 6- PGN
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. g3 Bb7 5. Bg2 Be7
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 7 | |
| 1500-1999 | 90 | |
| 2000+ | 387 | |
| All | 484 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 6. O-O Classical Variation | 439 (91%) | |
| 6. Nc3 Anti-Queen's Indian System | 35 (7%) | |
| 6. Nbd2 | 3 (1%) | |
| 6. d5 | 2 (0%) | |
| 6. Qc2 | 1 (0%) | |
| 6. Bf4 | 1 (0%) | |
| 6. Nh4 | 1 (0%) | |
| 6. b3 | 1 (0%) |
Master games
34 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 47%, draw 21%, Black 32%). The strongest:
- GM B. Adhiban (2674) – GM Evgeny Alekseev (2642) 0-1 · World Blitz 2015 · 2015-10-13
- GM Alexandr Fier (2528) – GM Sergei Tiviakov (2615) 1/2-1/2 · 4th Rome City Masters · 2019-12-10
- GM Alexey Sarana (2655) – IM Lance Henderson de La Fuente (2487) 1/2-1/2 · TCh-ESP Div 1 2019 · 2019-08-31
- GM Bibisara Assaubayeva (2527) – GM Wenjun Ju (2559) 1-0 · 14th Norway Armageddon w · 2026-05-28
- FM Zaur Hasanov (2325) – GM Dennis Wagner (2592) 1-0 · Titled Tue 21st Apr 2026 · 2026-04-21
Search all games of the Queen's Indian Defense: Traditional Variation and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- ScaryIndianJunior (2825) – Towser1 (2720) 1/2-1/2 · 2026-09-03 · 180 + 0s
- ScaryIndianJunior (2813) – Towser1 (2723) 1-0 · 2026-09-03 · 180 + 0s
- July16Q (2662) – Towser1 (2686) 1-0 · 2026-09-05 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Queen's Indian Defense: Fianchetto Variation, Traditional Line 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. g3 Bb7
Continuations
- Queen's Indian Defense: Anti-Queen's Indian System E17 · 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. g3 Bb7 5. Bg2 Be7 6. Nc3
- Queen's Indian Defense: Classical Variation E17 · 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. g3 Bb7 5. Bg2 Be7 6. O-O
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.