Bogo-Indian Defense: Retreat Variation 5…d5 6. Nf3
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Statistics from Lichess
179,691 games: White 46.8% / Draw 8.7% / Black 44.4%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 135,904136K | ||
| 23,20423K | ||
| 6,4316,431 | ||
| 4,6044,604 | ||
| 2,7552,755 | ||
| 2,5472,547 | ||
| 2,3292,329 | ||
| 845845 |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Nov 9, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.15 The position is about equal
Best play: 6... O-O 7. O-O Nbd7 8. Qc2 c6 9. Rd1 b6 10. b3 a5 11. Bc3
Stockfish 19, depth 30, after the line's last move. Scores are in pawns, from White's side.
By rating
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 1,389 | |
| 1400–1799 | 12K | |
| 1800–2199 | 70K | |
| 2200 and up | 101K | |
| Masters, over the board | 13K |
Master games
- Carlsen, M. – Ding Liren
- Ding, L. – Carlsen, M.
- Carlsen, M. – Eljanov, P.
- So, W. – Nakamura, H.
- Ding Liren – Carlsen, M.
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: Retreat Variation (ECO E11, Indian Defenses) is a variation of the Catalan Opening, reached after 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. g3 Bb4+ 4. Bd2 Be7 5. Bg2 d5 6. Nf3 (6 moves).
In 179,691 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 46.8%, Black 44.4% and 8.7% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 6…O-O, in 76% of those games.
It branches into 2 named variations. In all, 8 named lines continue from it.
Written from the Lichess opening list and explorer. Know this line well? Write about it.
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How to answer 6. Nf3
6…c6 scores best for Black: 49.6%, with Black winning 45.1% and White 45.9% of 23K games. The most played answer, 6…O-O, scores lowest: 49.1% in 136K games. Stockfish's first choice is 6…O-O.
Main answers: those played in at least 5% of these games. Score: Black'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
This line is played more than three times as often as in 2016: 0.0088% of Lichess games in 2025, up from 0.0025%.
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.0025% | 896 |
| 2017 | 0.0042% | 2,311 |
| 2018 | 0.0061% | 4,828 |
| 2019 | 0.0054% | 6,714 |
| 2020 | 0.0061% | 18,001 |
| 2021 | 0.0054% | 20,979 |
| 2022 | 0.0065% | 24,528 |
| 2023 | 0.0077% | 28,884 |
| 2024 | 0.0083% | 29,753 |
| 2025 | 0.0088% | 30,366 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.0088% | 9,657 |
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
Variations (2)
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “Bogo-Indian Defense: Retreat Variation (E11)”. Lichess data as of 9 Nov 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/bogo-indian-defense-retreat-variation-2