Queen's Indian Defense: Yates Variation
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 Bb4+ 4. Bd2 a5 5. g3 b6 6. Bg2 Bb7
The Queen's Indian Defense: Yates Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO E16, reached after 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 Bb4+ 4. Bd2 a5 5. g3 b6 6. Bg2 Bb7. 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 26 times by this move order. White won 54%, 8% were drawn and Black won 38%. The most popular continuation is 7. O-O (100% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.48 (Stockfish, depth 42; best line 7. O-O O-O 8. Bf4 Be7 9. Nc3 Ne4)
- ECO
- E16
- Moves
- 12 plies
- FEN
rn1qk2r/1bpp1ppp/1p2pn2/p7/1bPP4/5NP1/PP1BPPBP/RN1QK2R w KQkq - 2 7- PGN
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 Bb4+ 4. Bd2 a5 5. g3 b6 6. Bg2 Bb7
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 1500-1999 | 3 | |
| 2000+ | 23 | |
| All | 26 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 7. O-O | 26 (100%) |
Master games
378 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 39%, draw 32%, Black 29%). The strongest:
- GM Nodirbek Abdusattorov (2780) – GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (2717) 1/2-1/2 · Chess.com Open Loser Playoffs · 2026-04-24
- GM Ernesto Inarkiev (2660) – GM Alexander Morozevich (2711) 0-1 · World Blitz 2015 · 2015-10-14
- GM Radoslaw Wojtaszek (2746) – IM Alexander Donchenko (2570) 1/2-1/2 · TCh-FRA Top 12 2015 · 2015-06-05
- GM Dmitry Andreikin (2725) – GM Luka Paichadze (2583) 1-0 · PRO League Group Stage · 2019-02-07
- GM Leon Livaic (2550) – GM Chithambaram VR. Aravindh (2723) 1/2-1/2 · Titled Tue 19th Aug Late · 2025-08-19
Search all games of the Queen's Indian Defense: Yates Variation and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- IM boasovietica (2424) – Piksi69 (2546) 0-1 · 2026-09-07 · 180 + 0s
- FM JuanPabloKallpa1 (2452) – MrHR (2475) 1-0 · 2026-09-07 · 180 + 0s
- ForkliftOp3rator (2429) – IM Ogloblin (2475) 1-0 · 2026-09-07 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Bogo-Indian Defense: Wade-Smyslov Variation 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 Bb4+ 4. Bd2 a5
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.