Queen's Indian Defense: Capablanca Variation
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Statistics from Lichess
217,518 games: White 49.2% / Draw 7.9% / Black 42.8%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 160,020160K | ||
| 37,90038K | ||
| 18,68219K | ||
| 795795 | ||
| 116116 | ||
| 55 |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 29, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.29 The position is about equal
Best play: 6. Bd2 Bxd2+ 7. Qxd2 O-O 8. Nc3 d5 9. cxd5 exd5 10. O-O Re8
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 46% under 1400, 48% at 2200 and up and 42% in master games (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 3,024 | |
| 1400–1799 | 26K | |
| 1800–2199 | 121K | |
| 2200 and up | 78K | |
| Masters, over the board | 2,780 |
Master games
- Dubov, D. – Carlsen, M.
- Grischuk, A. – Giri, A.
- Morozevich, A. – Topalov, V.
- Ding, L. – Aronian, L.
- Kasparov, G. – Akopian, V.
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
Queen's Indian Defense: Capablanca Variation (ECO E16, Indian Defenses) is a variation of the Queen's Indian Defense: Fianchetto Variation, Traditional Line, reached after 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. g3 Bb7 5. Bg2 Bb4+ (5 moves).
In 217,518 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 49.2%, Black 42.8% and 7.9% were drawn. White's most played move here is 6. Bd2, in 74% of those games.
It branches into 2 named variations; the most played are Queen's Indian Defense: Riumin Variation and Bogo-Indian Defense: Monticelli Trap.
Written from the Lichess opening list and explorer. Know this line well? Write about it.
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How to play against the Queen's Indian Defense: Capablanca Variation
6. Nbd2 scores best for White: 53.9%, with White winning 50.1% and Black 42.2% of 38K games. The most played, 6. Bd2, scores 53.5% in 160K games, and 6. Nc3 scores lowest: 50.0%. Stockfish's first choice is 6. Bd2.
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 Queen's Indian Defense: Capablanca Variation peaked in 2018 at 0.012% of Lichess games and has slipped since: 0.0091% in 2025.
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.0078% | 2,783 |
| 2017 | 0.0095% | 5,237 |
| 2018 | 0.012% | 9,216 |
| 2019 | 0.01% | 12,671 |
| 2020 | 0.0086% | 25,275 |
| 2021 | 0.007% | 27,229 |
| 2022 | 0.0075% | 28,144 |
| 2023 | 0.0082% | 30,861 |
| 2024 | 0.0084% | 30,262 |
| 2025 | 0.0091% | 31,470 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.0095% | 10,369 |
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. “Queen's Indian Defense: Capablanca Variation (E16)”. Lichess data as of 29 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/queens-indian-defense-capablanca-variation