for Black · advanced
Queen's Indian Defense
6/6
1.d4Nf62.c4e63.Nf3b6
When White avoids the Nimzo with Nf3, Black fianchettoes the light-squared bishop to contest the key e4 square from afar. It is a solid, positional hypermodern defense that pairs naturally with the Nimzo-Indian.
Key ideas
- Fianchetto to b7 to fight for control of e4
- Play ...Bb4+ or ...Bb7 setups depending on White's development
- Keep the structure solid and manoeuvre for small advantages
- Neutralise White's centre before seeking active counterplay
Live databaseLichess 1600–2000 · blitz + rapid
Queen's Indian Defense1.4M games · White to move
MoveWhite / draw / BlackPlayedGamesScore
8.5%120k49%
0.6%8.2k51%
0.3%3.8k50%
0.2%2.5k49%
0.2%2.2k43%
Famous games in this line57k master games
Aronian, L. (2815) – Carlsen, M. (2881)Aronian, Levon (2816) – Carlsen, Magnus (2843)Anand, V. (2792) – Carlsen, M. (2863)Carlsen, M. (2881) – Karjakin, Sergey (2772)Kasparov, Garry (2838) – Kramnik, Vladimir (2802)Kramnik, Vladimir (2802) – Kasparov, Garry (2838)Kasparov, Garry (2838) – Kramnik, Vladimir (2802)Nakamura, Hi (2787) – Carlsen, M. (2853)Heroes of this opening Kasparov, Garry · Carlsen, M.
Keep exploring
Go deeper — named lines from here
Queen's Indian Defense: Spassky System4.e3 · 2 deeper linesQueen's Indian Defense: Miles Variation4.Bf4Queen's Indian Defense: Kasparov Variation4.Nc3 · 3 deeper linesQueen's Indian Defense: Petrosian Variation4.a3 · 12 deeper lines
Nearby lines in the family
Study this opening