E11

Bogo-Indian Defense: Exchange Variation

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Statistics from Lichess

377,357 games: White 51.0% / Draw 6.8% / Black 42.2%

The moves played next. Pick one to see it on the board.
Next move	Games	White / Draw / BlackW / D / B
	244,834245K
	130,220130K
	2,2272,227
	7676

Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Nov 9, 2026

Engine evaluation

+0.29 The position is about equal

Best play: 5. Qxd2 d5 6. g3 O-O 7. Bg2 Nbd7 8. O-O b6 9. cxd5 exd5

Stockfish 19, depth 30, after the line's last move. Scores are in pawns, from White's side.

By rating

Rating changes little here: Black scores 48% under 1400, 47% at 2200 and up and 42% in master games (wins plus half the draws).

Players	Games	White / Draw / BlackW / D / B
Under 1400	34K
1400–1799	141K
1800–2199	229K
2200 and up	58K
Masters, over the board	1,400

Master games

Rated blitz, rapid and classical Lichess games by rating band, and over-the-board games of players rated 2200+ from the Lichess masters database, updated Sep 27, 2026

Overview

Bogo-Indian Defense: Exchange Variation (ECO E11, Indian Defenses) is a variation of the Bogo-Indian Defense, reached after 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 Bb4+ 4. Bd2 Bxd2+ (4 moves).

In 377,357 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 51.0%, Black 42.2% and 6.8% were drawn. White's most played move here is 5. Nbxd2, in 65% of those games.

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Description

How to play against the Bogo-Indian Defense: Exchange Variation

5. Qxd2 scores best for White: 55.3%, with White winning 51.6% and Black 41.1% of 130K games. The most played answer, 5. Nbxd2, scores lowest: 53.9% in 245K games. Stockfish's first choice is also 5. Qxd2.

Main answers: those played in at least 5% of these games. Score: White's wins plus half the draws, in rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500. How to play against other popular openings

Popularity by year

The Bogo-Indian Defense: Exchange Variation has lost ground since 2016: 0.013% of Lichess games in 2025, down from 0.018%.

0.018%0.013%0.019%

Numbers by year

Year	Share of games	Games
2016	0.018%	6,511
2017	0.018%	9,863
2018	0.019%	15,290
2019	0.017%	21,646
2020	0.016%	47,242
2021	0.014%	53,096
2022	0.014%	53,737
2023	0.014%	54,291
2024	0.013%	47,805
2025	0.013%	45,934
2026 (Jan–Apr)	0.014%	15,054

Share of rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500 (blitz, rapid and classical) that reach this position, by year; 2026: January to April. Which openings are rising and falling

Cite this page

Caissa Codex. “Bogo-Indian Defense: Exchange Variation (E11)”. Lichess data as of 9 Nov 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/bogo-indian-defense-exchange-variation