Queen's Indian Defense, with e3 (5… c5 6. c4)
1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 e6 3. e3 b6 4. Bd3 Bb7 5. O-O c5 6. c4
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 c5 6. c4. 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 21 times by this move order. White won 62%, 5% were drawn and Black won 33%. The most popular continuation is 6… cxd4 (38% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.23 (Stockfish, depth 38; best line 6… Be7 7. Nc3 cxd4 8. exd4 d5 9. cxd5)
- ECO
- E14
- Moves
- 11 plies
- FEN
rn1qkb1r/pb1p1ppp/1p2pn2/2p5/2PP4/3BPN2/PP3PPP/RNBQ1RK1 b kq - 0 6- PGN
1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 e6 3. e3 b6 4. Bd3 Bb7 5. O-O c5 6. c4
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 1500-1999 | 5 | |
| 2000+ | 16 | |
| All | 21 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 6… cxd4 | 8 (38%) | |
| 6… Be7 Queen's Indian Defense, with e3 (6. c4 Be7) | 7 (33%) | |
| 6… d5 | 3 (14%) | |
| 6… g6 Queen's Indian Defense, with e3 (6. c4 g6) | 1 (5%) | |
| 6… Nc6 | 1 (5%) | |
| 6… d6 | 1 (5%) |
Master games
135 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 39%, draw 27%, Black 34%). The strongest:
- GM Pentala Harikrishna (2711) – GM Gukesh D (2758) 1-0 · Tata Steel IND Blitz Open · 2023-09-08
- GM Nihal Sarin (2662) – GM Vladimir Fedoseev (2704) 1/2-1/2 · World Rapid 2021 · 2021-12-26
- GM Leon Luke Mendonca (2605) – GM Richard Rapport (2729) 1/2-1/2 · FIDE World Bl Team Final · 2026-06-20
- GM Rafael A Vaganian (2449) – GM Nodirbek Abdusattorov (2766) 0-1 · Titled Tue 25th Feb Late · 2025-02-25
- GM Mateusz Bartel (2635) – GM Emilio Cordova (2571) 0-1 · Chess24 Banter Blitz Cup · 2019-10-18
Search all games of the Queen's Indian Defense, with e3 and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- Boreminator (2535) – Ishmael67 (2497) 1-0 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 0s
- Ouakam (2544) – random_fan (2444) 1-0 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 2s
- Ogetta (2490) – N1k1taM (2497) 1-0 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 2s
Comes from
Yusupov-Rubinstein System 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 e6 3. e3
Continuations
- Queen's Indian Defense, with e3 (6. c4 Be7) E14 · 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 e6 3. e3 b6 4. Bd3 Bb7 5. O-O c5 6. c4 Be7
- Queen's Indian Defense, with e3 (6. c4 g6) E14 · 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 e6 3. e3 b6 4. Bd3 Bb7 5. O-O c5 6. c4 g6
More Queen's Indian Defense, with e3 lines (all)
- Queen's Indian Defense, with e3 (6… O-O 7. Nc3) 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
- Queen's Indian Defense, with e3 (8… O-O 9. Nbd2) 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.