Queen's Indian Defense, with e3 (6… O-O 7. Nc3)
1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 e6 3. e3 b6 4. Bd3 Bb7 5. O-O Be7 6. c4 O-O 7. Nc3
The Queen's Indian Defense, with e3 is a chess opening classified as ECO E14, reached after 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 e6 3. e3 b6 4. Bd3 Bb7 5. O-O Be7 6. c4 O-O 7. Nc3. Black is to move.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 18 times by this move order. White won 39%, 17% were drawn and Black won 44%. The most popular continuation is 7… d5 (72% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.27 (Stockfish, depth 38; best line 7… d5 8. cxd5 exd5 9. b3 Ne4 10. Bb2)
- ECO
- E14
- Moves
- 13 plies
- FEN
rn1q1rk1/pbppbppp/1p2pn2/8/2PP4/2NBPN2/PP3PPP/R1BQ1RK1 b - - 2 7- PGN
1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 e6 3. e3 b6 4. Bd3 Bb7 5. O-O Be7 6. c4 O-O 7. Nc3
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 1500-1999 | 1 | |
| 2000+ | 17 | |
| All | 18 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 7… d5 | 13 (72%) | |
| 7… c5 | 3 (17%) | |
| 7… d6 | 1 (6%) | |
| 7… Bb4 | 1 (6%) |
Master games
272 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 50%, draw 25%, Black 25%). The strongest:
- GM Igor Kovalenko (2700) – GM Vasyl Ivanchuk (2726) 0-1 · World Rapid 2015 · 2015-10-12
- GM Vladimir Kramnik (2753) – GM Jose Eduardo Martinez Alcantara (2611) 0-1 · AI Cup Div 3 W · 2023-09-25
- GM Hikaru Nakamura (2810) – GM Vahap Sanal (2551) 1-0 · 1st 3-0 Thu 15th Jan 2026 · 2026-01-15
- GM Igor Kovalenko (2700) – GM Vladimir Fedoseev (2659) 0-1 · World Blitz 2015 · 2015-10-13
- GM A.R. Saleh Salem (2629) – GM Frederik Svane (2627) 0-1 · Titled Tue 16th Apr Early · 2024-04-16
Search all games of the Queen's Indian Defense, with e3 and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- Nakaruananas (2642) – Aspergill (2674) 1-0 · 2026-09-03 · 180 + 2s
- Boreminator (2561) – Douluo_Dalu (2550) 1/2-1/2 · 2026-09-07 · 180 + 0s
- Boreminator (2510) – MandibleusZygomidus (2510) 0-1 · 2026-09-03 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Yusupov-Rubinstein System 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 e6 3. e3
More Queen's Indian Defense, with e3 lines (all)
- Queen's Indian Defense, with e3 (5… c5 6. c4) E14
- Queen's Indian Defense, with e3 (6. c4 Be7) E14
- Queen's Indian Defense, with e3 (6. c4 g6) E14
- Queen's Indian Defense, with e3 (8… O-O 9. c4) E14
- Queen's Indian Defense, with e3 (5. Nc3 Bb7) E14
- Queen's Indian Defense, with e3 (5… Bd6 6. Bd3) E14
- Queen's Indian Defense, with e3 (7. O-O Bb7) E14
- Queen's Indian Defense, with e3 (6. b3 b6) E14
- Queen's Indian Defense, with e3 (6. Bd3 b6) E14
- Queen's Indian Defense, with e3 (7… Bb7 8. Bd3) E14
- Queen's Indian Defense, with e3 (6… Bb7 7. e3) E14
- Queen's Indian Defense, with e3 (8… Bb7 9. Bd3) E14
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.