Queen's Indian Defense
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6
The Queen's Indian Defense is a chess opening classified as ECO E12, reached after 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6. White is to move. 5 named lines continue from this position.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 3,775 times by this move order. White won 49%, 7% were drawn and Black won 44%. The most popular continuation is 4. g3 (49% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.23 (Stockfish, depth 54; best line 4. a3 Bb7 5. Bf4 Bd6 6. Bxd6 cxd6)
- ECO
- E12
- Moves
- 6 plies
- FEN
rnbqkb1r/p1pp1ppp/1p2pn2/8/2PP4/5N2/PP2PPPP/RNBQKB1R w KQkq - 0 4- PGN
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 135 | |
| 1500-1999 | 1,256 | |
| 2000+ | 2,384 | |
| All | 3,775 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 4. g3 Fianchetto Variation | 1,851 (49%) | |
| 4. Nc3 Kasparov Variation (3… b6 4. Nc3) | 780 (21%) | |
| 4. a3 Petrosian Variation | 543 (14%) | |
| 4. Bg5 | 274 (7%) | |
| 4. e3 Spassky System (3… b6 4. e3) | 191 (5%) | |
| 4. Bf4 Miles Variation | 72 (2%) | |
| 4. Nbd2 | 22 (1%) | |
| 4. Qc2 | 8 (0%) |
Master games
288 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 35%, draw 18%, Black 47%). The strongest:
- GM Yuri Vovk (2617) – GM Peter Leko (2707) 1/2-1/2 · World Blitz 2015 · 2015-10-13
- GM Yuri Vovk (2617) – GM Peter Leko (2707) 0-1 · World Rapid 2015 · 2015-10-12
- GM Bogdan-Daniel Deac (2690) – GM Dennis Wagner (2614) 1/2-1/2 · Titled Tue 27th Feb Late · 2024-02-27
- GM Vasyl Ivanchuk (2691) – GM Jose Eduardo Martinez Alcantara (2583) 1/2-1/2 · 10th Dolomiti Open 2019 · 2019-06-19
- GM Zdenko Kozul (2597) – GM Sergey A. Fedorchuk (2666) 1-0 · 19th European Teams · 2013-11-09
Search all games of the Queen's Indian Defense and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- vistagusta (2825) – GM cutemouse83 (2940) 1/2-1/2 · 2026-09-03 · 180 + 0s
- GM cutemouse83 (2922) – vistagusta (2828) 1-0 · 2026-09-03 · 180 + 0s
- NM Andrey11976 (2798) – winx_m (2952) 1-0 · 2026-09-03 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Indian Defense: Anti-Nimzo-Indian 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3
Continuations
- Queen's Indian Defense: Fianchetto Variation E15 · 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. g3
- Queen's Indian Defense: Kasparov Variation (3… b6 4. Nc3) E12 · 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. Nc3
- Queen's Indian Defense: Miles Variation E12 · 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. Bf4
- Queen's Indian Defense: Petrosian Variation E12 · 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. a3
- Queen's Indian Defense: Spassky System (3… b6 4. e3) E14 · 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. e3
More Queen's Indian Defense lines (all)
- 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
- Queen's Indian Defense: Kasparov-Petrosian Variation, Polovodin Gambit E12
- Queen's Indian Defense: Kasparov-Petrosian Variation, Rashkovsky 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.